Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 06, 2017, 05:48:58 pm
Post by: Raydar on March 06, 2017, 06:44:16 pm
Back in 85, I drove an 85 MR2, before I went out and drove (and purchased) my 85 GT.
I have repeated this comment often...
Up until I droe the MR2, the only car I had ever driven that felt anything like it was a Lotus Europa that belonged to a friend of mine. It was just... precise.
The Fiero won me over due to the sound of the V6 over my right shoulder. Add to that, the fact that I had just put a front clip on an Olds Cutlass that a G/F had wrecked, and was sick and tired of fighting rust.
I can't speak to the F23, but shifting my Beretta Getrag (aka New Venture T550) is like stirring a bucket of ball bearings. The forward and backward (shift) function is fine, but the side-to-side (select) is especially stiff. My shorter shifter doesn't help any.
Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 06, 2017, 06:50:19 pm
I never really thought about it with the manuals I've had in the past, but some of them were hard to shift. On one, my youngest sister couldn't shift into reverse. She didn't have the strength or the weight.
Post by: TopNotch on March 06, 2017, 08:44:22 pm
Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 06, 2017, 08:47:10 pm
Post by: Raydar on March 06, 2017, 08:47:59 pm
Edit... I absolutely love the Isuzu 3rd gear. For some reason it just seems to pull forever. behind a V6. No real logic to it, though.
Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 06, 2017, 08:52:04 pm
Post by: TopNotch on March 06, 2017, 08:58:13 pm
Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 06, 2017, 09:01:50 pm
Post by: Raydar on March 06, 2017, 09:04:01 pm
I babied it while it was in there.
Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 06, 2017, 09:19:01 pm
Post by: Fierofool on March 06, 2017, 09:38:22 pm
Post by: Drewbdo on March 07, 2017, 12:54:39 pm
When I was 16, I drove a 1966 Ford Falcon Futura station wagon with a 302 or 351 V8. My dad bought it in about 1982 for either $50 or $100 because the on-the-column shifting automatic transmission had died. The neighbor didn't know how to fix it, and didn't have the money to have a shop fix it. There were four kids, so dad needed a bigger vehicle... station wagon to the rescue. He found a 3 speed manual transmission, cut a hole in the floor for the shifter, installed a clutch pedal, and away we went. When I turned 16, that old hooptie-mobile became mine. The handling was somewhat reminiscent of an early model aircraft carrier, but in a straight line, it would haul butt, as well as kids and groceries.
I also drove Dad's 1960's era GMC truck with a straight six, and a 3 or 4 speed manual. Glass packs made it sound awesome!
My next car was a 1979 Mazda GLC with a 5 speed. It had so much rust, I had to tie the rear hatch down with a rope. Otherwise, it would lift up at highway speed... although, that was effective for scaring off tailgaters on the highway. 8)
Also had a 1984 Mazda B2300 truck with a 5 speed, and a 1984 Ford Escort with a 5 speed and factory installed 4 cylinder diesel engine... that Escort always got funny looks when I'd pull in between dump trucks and 18 wheelers to fill the fuel tank.
In over 30 years of driving, other than my wife's vehicles and company vehicles, I've only had two non-manual transmission rides... A Monte Carlo (late 70's early 80's model?) when I was 19, and the 1997 Ford Escort I drove from 1997 to 2016. That Escort had 246k miles when the odometer broke, and I drove it 3-4 years after that. It was probably over 300,000 miles. That was the car I had when I bought the 88 Fiero GT/Testarossa replica.
Maybe I'll have to find a Fiero with a 3800SC and 5-speed, and install the Ferrari replica body on it. :) lol
Photos are from Google, not my cars
Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 07, 2017, 05:41:29 pm
Post by: Drewbdo on March 08, 2017, 09:13:33 am
... minutes. :o
It was SLOOOOW to accelerate. On the good side, it averaged well over 40 MPG, close to 50 MPG sometimes, if I remember correctly.
Unfortunately, it was very hard to find parts. That was back before the internet was widely available, and junk/salvage yards and parts distributors didn't have a strong presence online. The vacuum booster died, so I lost power brakes, and had manual brakes. Heading back to Houston after visiting my parents in Tennessee, the lights got dimmer and dimmer. Somewhere along I-40, they went out. IIRC, it had a generator rather than an alternator. Once the battery died, the engine would continue to run, but there was no way to generate power for headlight, taillights, etc.
It was a 12 hour drive, and I had no lights, so I spent the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Once it was daylight, I finished the drive home. I can't remember if I found a replacement generator or had to get it rebuilt.
Finally, enough stuff broke without replacement parts available, so I ended up buying a 1987 Honda CRX ... with a 5-speed manual. ;D Forgot that one in the list above. That was a fun little car... two seater, sunroof, red.
Post by: GTRS Fiero on March 08, 2017, 06:34:44 pm
Post by: Fierofool on March 08, 2017, 08:23:33 pm
Post by: GTRS Fiero on May 10, 2019, 09:51:03 pm
They only dove the Getrag on that Motortrend show. The Isuzu is actually a pretty good transmission. The only complaint I have about it is that 2nd gear is too "tall". You have to wind up 1st pretty far to get into the power curve in 2nd, but if you wind up in 2nd, you're already 1/2 way through 3rd.
I looked all over the RFTH threads for this post, last month. Never could find it with search, either.