The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Granny Gear Questions

Hey everyone. I know what a granny gear is, and that I wont really be needing it THAT much. But the 1951 6400 I'm about to go check out has one. My question is, could you put it in 1st, let go of the clutch, and not apply gas and have it not stall? I heard you could do this, but no confirmations. Main reason would be for teaching my sister how to drive a standard shift car. If you can drive a hunking mechanical clutch, you can drive anything ( i learned on a 78 camaro) Thanks guys!

Myself, I would leave granny gear out of teaching someone how to drive. Use second for a fist gear instead.
You'l get her discouraged by giving her a bucking bronco. Why would you want to teach someone how to dump the clutch anyway?

Yes, it will not stall.

I use it from time to time. If you give it enough steady gas you can shift into 2nd easily then to 3rd.

Recently i was in line for a car show and put it in granny when creeping through the line.

I agree wih above, start in second so your sister isn't tossed around the truck. I too use granny gear at shows to crawl along fields and such. Never for normal driving.

if you want to win a slow truck race you have to do it that way.
to make it more exciting than it already is is to have a slight incline 25 yds after the start line and watch the torque take over as you snail accross the finish line only to loose because someone has a lower gear than you
id make her use first gear that way she wouldnt get into a bad habit of riding the clutch in 2nd or higher gear when no one is looking. like a guy told me many years ago they put first in that thing for a reason. by heeding that advise ive neever had to replace or adjust a clutch.

Use of the granny gear for initial teaching would be a mistake. You can let the clutch out easily but a person would not learn anything about the feel of the clutch. They are very handy to have, especially in stop and go lineups on an incline.

trucker, your reply contradicts itself. that is part of the teaching and accuiring the feel. you can't use the tricks of the trade until one first masters the trade (driving a stick is just like a trade)

you cant throughly teach someone how to drive a stick without throwing everything at them. starting with the basics of pulling out on the level and progressing to a hill going up and then down. which entails using first gear.

when i was getting qualified to drive the firetruck to the company i belong to many years ago, i already knew how to drive a stick. i had to go through all the basics with the instructor which included first gear everytime regardlesss of the terrain. i thought i knew everything then which i didnt. the same procedure that was used on me i use on anyone i teach and if theyre going to drive one of my trucks i run them through the paces as i was. when i have to do all the work on mine you will drive it as instructed. each to thier own.

Whenever I teach a woman how to drive... I start with changing the tire. Might be challenging on a 6400. LOL!

An old girlfriend didn't know how to change a tire. I told her the next flat, she would change while I coached. Long story short....It was raining. The neighbor ladies thought I was a cad. The guys were wondering how they could get their wives to change the tire in the rain.

Good points, 51_Ashton. You sound like a true educator. Maybe you'll succeed in teaching me double de-clutching and two-speed rear-end shifting?

bigbadswingdaddy, neither of my children were allowed to drive any of our cars until they demonstrated how to change a tire (and find the registration, and find the insurance reps' phone number).