Anna Glypta Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 When I took my driving test in 1960 the cars then were nowhere near as sophisticated as nowadays no power steering,drum brakes on most cars the gearing wasn,t brilliant,noisy engines suspension so so.One of todays super-minis could outperform more quietly smoother ect.than a motor with twice its power from the 60s,gearboxes were whiney most cars had no syncromesh in 1st and clutches were not great so you had to double-clutch to do a smooth change.This came natural to me as I learned in a lorry which had no syncro at all so it was what you called a crashgearbox,you dipped the clutch pulled the stick to neutral let it out dipped again changed let out again,accelerated repeated the process up the box.To change down dip clutch move stick to neutral rev engine dip clutch change down let clutch out,after a while you got used to the revs and didn,t grate the gears,I got that good at it in the end I could change gear without the clutch just by getting the revs right.How would you drivers of today fancy putting up with all that messing about?.My artic lorry unit has an automatic gearbox is as quiet as a car and as comfy and a treat to drive a far cry from when I started 50yrs ago!!.:D That's interesting. I am reading a Top Gear magazine in which a 1968 Mini Cooper S is put up against a 2010 Mini Cooper S. The old car has narrow tyres and only around 90 bhp, but leaves the modern car for dead despite it having double the power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willman Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I found it necessary to use the procedure when the clutch and gearbox decided to play up on the tf. It gets to be standard practice for TF and F owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I used to double declutch various old cars when I was younger, but these days I'd probably struggle even with a synchromesh gearbox after 15 years of driving automatics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Glypta Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I found it necessary to use the procedure when the clutch and gearbox decided to play up on the tf. It gets to be standard practice for TF and F owners. Do you mean you actually get as far as gear changing between replacing head gaskets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANGELFIRE1 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 That's interesting. I am reading a Top Gear magazine in which a 1968 Mini Cooper S is put up against a 2010 Mini Cooper S. The old car has narrow tyres and only around 90 bhp, but leaves the modern car for dead despite it having double the power. Power to weight ratio I suspect. The "new" mini is larger and heavier than the old one. My oppo had the "real" mini cooper s, you could spin the wheels in third gear when the road was wet. It was possible to burn out the front tyres in well less than a month if it was driven hard. I can only say it was like driving a go cart on the main roads, tremendous fun - but heavy on the pocket tyre wise. I miss those days of long ago, less traffic and no cash collecting cameras to dodge. Angel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old tup Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 Come on Tuppy get it right it was double de-clutch but your getting old so mistakes can happen.Try driving one of Syd Harrisons old Scammells. Arrs tha mean getting owd cheeky get mind they I ,ve just looked in,t mirror and tha min,t have a point there owd ****!!:roll: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Power to weight ratio I suspect. The "new" mini is larger and heavier than the old one. My oppo had the "real" mini cooper s, you could spin the wheels in third gear when the road was wet. It was possible to burn out the front tyres in well less than a month if it was driven hard. I can only say it was like driving a go cart on the main roads, tremendous fun - but heavy on the pocket tyre wise. I miss those days of long ago, less traffic and no cash collecting cameras to dodge. Angel. The good part was that you could buy almost any spare parts for original Minis (including the tyres) with just the change you find down the back of the settee, so a new set of tyres every month or two wasn't the end of the world really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alien52 Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 It's a shame that they did away with the man with the red flag walking in front of the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteMorris Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I remember a clutch 'going' on a car I once owned (think it was a mark 2 cortina), and having to drive it 25 miles or so, with no clutch at all. I got pretty good at anticipation, and moving through the gears both up and down, merely by getting the engine speed right and slipping the gears from one to another. It did get a bit 'hairy' at traffic signals though, and if I had to stop, I had to turn the engine off. Put it into second gear and get it going again via the starter motor and bunny hopping it. Happy days eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigthumb Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 It's a shame that they did away with the man with the red flag walking in front of the vehicle. I think you can have one if you want, as long as you avoid motorways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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