twin stick trans

Danny-

Not sure if it's been answered, but, different manufacturers had different positions for the sticks on the main-box and auxiliary, plus, rebuilds could certainly cause changes.

Most manufacturers made the main-box the closer of the two sticks, which is slightly odd, if you think about it. The auxiliary is the stick you're throwing around quite a bit more. It was common practice to get the torch out and bend the sticks to make shifting easier. Throwing the auxiliary up against the dash on a straight stick in, say, a Kenworth, your arm is fairly far out there.

Mack and Ford did it the opposite way, auxiliary was the closer stick and main-box was the further stick.

Driven a 5x4 and a 6x4 before. I love driving sticks.

 

Aluminum frames were a lot more common if you go several decades back. Kenworth was a big user of them, as well as Freightliner. You could spec aluminum rails from a lot of manufacturers to save on weight. They're real easy to spot, actually. The rail is a lot thicker (1/2-3/4 of an inch thick), and the edge from the web to the flange of the rail tends to be more squared off versus the steel frames.

Lightness was the name of the game back in the days of 73,280 gross weight limit. A lot of the trucks out driving today would be considered obscenely heavy by '60s and '70s standards.

Kenworth still offers aluminum frames as an option.

 

Ran an old Louisville Ford with twin sticks and an 8V-71 for about a year back in the 80's, other than power steering it was plain jane. O

 

One of our "old timers" who now works in the shop once told me, "Back in the day, if a truck was passing you head-on around a curve and he waved at you, he must've had 3 hands".

He also told me that there is a certain way you can mess up when shifting that will put the tranny in a bind and, "It would take a team of mechanics and 3 priests to get it right"

 

http://youtu.be/KToruDvg6v8
not sure how to put the video here, but this is my buddy Joey And his 359 with boxes. Driving thru Dumas loaded.

 

Great video, thanks.

My Dad would shift by hooking his left arm through the steering wheel and shifting the brownie with his left hand & the main box with his right. This was a Mack Quadraplex with the brownie shifter closest to you. That was the truck I learned in & when I first got in a truck with a normal stick set up I was lost.

One of my all time favorites was Dad's '65 KW with a 10 speed & a 4 speed brownie.

 

Oh what a man you were splitting those gears with your thumb! LOL !!!

 

We prolly all do--1st time we got in my 80 359--my ol man looked at the single stick&asked how'd I get a Mack 5spd in a Pete?
Told em I wanna see how the other half lives--told me sumthin like ill never make a gnat on a drivers butt--or sumthin profound in that order--&since I'd only been on my own bout 5years then--actually kinda po.d me--lol
That was bout 4million miles ago---course ifn he was still around reckon I'd still be a steering wheel holder---
But I really would love to go back to Grandads B Model--pushing a triplex w/armstrong steering--10/100x20 bias ply tires on split rims--oh yeah and standing on the runnin board at bed time so I can unhook the chains to let the bed down---where do I sign up??
LMAO

 

He's still here 'olhand..........ride'n next to ya in the easy chair.