Having a Slush Box is not a bad thing.

[Bozz10mm]

We called a manual transmission a "stick shift". It was either 4 on the floor, or 3 on the tree. Automatics were just automatics, except for the Power Glide slip and slide.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Three on the tree...Ahhhh yes remember it well. Old White Chevy C10 with an in line six, AM radio and nothing else. WHAT A GREAT TRUCK

 

[Alpo]

A "stick" grew out of the floor. A three-on-the-tree WAS a standard, but it weren't no "stick shift".

While I know "cackleberries" I've never used the term (or, for that matter, can recall hearing anyone else use it, so don't know HOW I know it), but "rooster bullets"?

Just how far back in the sticks to you live?

 

[1morethan8]

My first car was a 1954 Pontiac Star Chief with the 268 cubic inch straight eight engine and hydromatic.

Many didn't know the transmission was a 4-speed!

 

[NYlakesider]

Three on the tree...Ahhhh yes remember it well. Old White Chevy C10 with an in line six, AM radio and nothing else. WHAT A GREAT TRUCK

I remember when I first started driving (early 60s)all the 3 speeds manuals/sticks (pick the term you like) had none synchromesh first gears. If you were rolling into a light as it changed you had two choices lug it out of there in 2ed gear or be good at double clutching.

In regards to 3 on the tree it was quite popular to put in a floor shift that gave you three by the knee!

Dave a long time gear-head!

 

[jag312]

Who among us has ever driven a car with a Hewland transaxle?

 

[CW Spook]

I haven't heard the term 'slush-box' for years....dang' near forgotten it. The old Buick Dynaflow probably came closest to meeting the definition....OMG it was smooth. I'm still a fan of manual trannies....my '12 Jeep Wrangler has the new(at that time) 6-speed. I had the fun of teaching a deputy sheriff friend who's about the same age as my son to drive a 'stick after his wife bought a PT Cruiser with a manual tran.

 

[DeadAye]

Was it the '63 Dodge Dart that had that mash-the-dash shifter for that slush box? Remember those things - looked like the radio with the buttons for the presets, but it was the shifter?

Edit: googled it, found a pic at; http://www.flickr.com/photos/davydutchy/179603649/

Turns out it was the '62 Dodge Dart...not sure if they put that on the '63 Dart...

Ahhhhhhhhh - I had a '63

 

[Salty RI]

When I got my license nobody wanted to be caught dead driving a slush box, back then if you took your driving test on an automatic your license was stamped automatic only.

 

[jframe]

I drove stick shifts for years with my GT Mustangs, and I bought a '99 Corvette last year with the slush box. I tried to hold out for a nice six speed, but this car was pretty much what I wanted in every other way. I still secretly hunt for stick shift 'vette's, hoping someone may be interested in a trade.

 

[Kinman]

For a real thrill try operating a pre-selector transsmission...to get moving you pre-select 1st gear or shift the transmission into 1st gear, then step down on the clutch with is referred to as de-clutching, you are now in first gear and accelerating, pre-select 2nd gear and when your speed it up...de-clutch and accelerate. I nearly bought a 1953 Daimler Ferret armoured car, it was amazing and would go as fast in reverse as it would forward, was completely street legal and the most fun thing I have ever driven, had a big six cylinder Rolls Royce engine for power and would run 55-60mph all day long.
Not to steal a thread or drift too far off the subject but the term "slush fund" gets its roots from the old sailing day aboard Royal Navy ships. When the cook would boil the meat it would result in a layer of fat on the top which was referred to as "slush", 2/3 of the slush was used to keep the lines well greased and conditioned the other 1/3 was kept by the cook which he was allowed to sell to candle makers back in port hence the term slush fund. The cook, carpenter, and in some cases even the gunner's mate weren't necessarily members of the Royal Navy and we often allowed different privileges including actually bringing their wives on board which was highly against regulations but often overlooked by virtue of their positions. Cooks were often older sailors that may have been injured in action or by a bad fall or other common injury which kept them from being useful in the rigging or elsewhere.

 

[Old TexMex]

My second car was a 1959 Mercedes 219 with an in line six and a four speed column shift. I used to get passed by the post man. That car needed a dash calendar instead of a clock.

 

[skrazo]

When I was a young lad, my dad had a 49 Dodge coupe with a "Gyro-Matic" transmission. It was a "fluid drive" with two positions of the shift(on steering column) lever.............a) conventional "second" gear position for gears 1 and 2, b) "third" gear position for gears 3 and 4. In either position you could accelerate to a reasonable speed, take your foot off the accelerator pedal, listen for a "click", then proceed in the higher gear. Also could come to a complete stop without depressing the clutch pedal. Boy, was that thing sloooooow accelerating. It kept me from drag racing my friends.