Stick or no stick as we get older

[gmc684x4]

I was looking at installing my 6 speed into my build of my truck only got to play with it 6 months in my z28 before my brother took out the rear quarter panel
Then I had complications with a broken leg since 2019 changed my mind this will get a 4l80e then I can have a ride no mater what

I miss a stick my last 2 z28's sentra and ram 6.7 all had six speeds
I tried driving it last year decided until I regain strength to quickly shift I better off going with a slush box

[Ironhorse]

I'm 72 years young with bad back and bad knees. Too many years of working heavy equipment in the elements. Have Arthur in my hands and both knees, makes the wrenching somewhat challenging. Getting down on the floor is not a problem as gravity helps there, getting back up can be.

I didn't like the idea but I swapped out my SM465 granny four speed in my 71 4x4 for a 350TH auto. Have had my truck for too many years to not enjoy driving it but was tough on the knees as a standard. Would I rather have my 4 speed, yes, would I be happy not driving my truck, no.

My 57 Chevy 2 door former 1/4 mile racer is a 283, dual four barrel carbs, Muncie 4 speed, headers and posi. To enjoy it I will leave it a four speed and down a couple of Aleve tablets. Brings back the 19 year old kid in me.

There is no one right answer, each person has to decide for themselves what will work for them. Good luck in your decision.

[BigBird05]

I had to stop driving sticks because of my knees. But I do miss them.

[Carl Spangler]

68 here and my 1971 C10 has a SM465 and I love it. The granny gear has come in very handy on a few critical occasions. Once, the truck was stuck in mud and I put it in the granny low and hopped out, shut the door, and proceeded to push the truck as it idled through the mud.

The big long shifter is totally old school and as others have mentioned a manual trans makes for a great theft deterrent from the current ilk of dim witted thieves.

[jumpsoffrock]

This thread is screaming at me: start using knee pads you moron!!
Im young and have good knees still, and I also enjoy stick shifts and hope to still be driving my old trucks in 40 years. At this time I don't actually own a single drivable automatic vehicle. Honda, two chevy's, a ford, all stick.

[1970 CST Short Wide]

I’ve had my truck for 30 years and it’s always been an automatic until a couple years ago when I went LS and T56 six speed manual. Was Leary about a stick and thought long and hard. I remembered my high school days in my 62 Impala SS 4 Speed so I said what the hell let’s do it. I’m Totally Loving shifting every gear and I’m 66

[rechinca]

Definitely a preference, and I may be there at some point, but one of the reasons I bought my truck was the 3OTT. I put in a new base crate 350, but I had the Saginaw cleaned up with new bearings and seals and put it back in. I know it winds up on the freeway, but still nowhere near where the wires 71 F250 is at 65. 99% of this trucks life will be spent in town as my daily driver and I (for now) enjoy the manual. Almost weekly I have guys pull up at stop lights and ask if I am still driving the 3OTT. Great conversation starter and as long as my knees hold out (already had 3 major back surgeries but it doesn't bother the back one bit to drive my truck) I will drive this truck as it is. Something visceral about driving around with a 3 OTT/manual.

[Grumpy old man]

Automatics are for sitting in traffic driving 5 mph light to light ... Boring I'd rather be rowing thru the gears on a old country road and we have plenty of those around here . With more than it's fair share of project creep my 67 short beds drive line ended up at 350 4 bolt with a Muncie and 3.73 posi . Just something that should be fun to drive . My knees are still fine but when they go I'll be the old guy driving / shifting slow in front of you on your way to work during rush hour It's in the manual on how and when to drive when you retire .

Build them anyway that makes you happy

[Tommyups]

Thanks for all the great replies, you guys bring up a lot of good points on both sides of the fence. Besides the T 56, what are my other options for five or six speed with the LS. I thought I remember reading about certain transmissions,
The shifter is way too close to the seat?

[weq92f]

.

52 here and I'd love to swap my 700r for a T56! I'll always have a manual tranny car...with 300hp+...nothing wimpy now. The truck unfortunately for me will have to stay auto for now.

Stick with the manual. With a 3.42 gear in the rear you can cruise 70MPH under 2000RPM...then grab 4th for a blast before settling back to 6th at 100MPH.

-klb

[RustyBucket]

I'll be 70 in Sept. w/good knees and an old back. I have 1 auto & 1stick shift old truck. The 2wd Blazer has a hyd. clutch and a TKO500 trans. The '71 GMC stepside has a 700r4. I prefer the stick and would've converted the GMC when I had to rebuild the 700r4.. BUT I'm 6' & 300++lbs. I don't have room between the seat back & the driver's side floor to work a clutch pedal without bending my knee out to the side. The Blazer has plenty of leg room because the seat is further back. I still enjoy the down shifting/backing down in gear noise & also to push in the clutch & rev it under an overpass.... not for anybody else but ME.

[palallin]

I am 57, and I have a knee going bad. When I can't drive my SM465 any more, they can go ahead and bury me in the truck (see the coffin thread).

[68 C10 Driver]

Originally Posted by BigBird05

I had to stop driving sticks because of my knees. But I do miss them.

You miss your knees? Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[LS short box]

To answer the question on other than a the T56. I had a LS3/TKO 600 5 speed combo in a 73 Camaro. It worked well. The TKO didn't shift as nice a the T56 Magnum I had in my C10. The two three shift was some what notchy. As under stand the new TKO's have been modded to the make the shifting better.

[toms68cst]

We should start a Tom/Tommy/Thomas club on this board.

I'm 62 YO and I have a love/hate relationship with my CH465. I hate that it takes about 3 seconds to go from second to third gear, and you can't rush it. It also fondly takes me back to when I was helping my father-in-law haul grain in his old GMC field truck.

Someday I might go automatic but I love the originality of my 4 speed.

[body bolt]

Originally Posted by toms68cst

We should start a Tom/Tommy/Thomas club on this board.

'T ³Club' for short.

[chevmn]

I know with me, a lot depends on where you drive, how often you drive the stick, etc. I have driven a lot of manual's, starting out with a 3 on the tree in a 59 Apache pickup, then a 67 pickup, later on I had a few S-10's with 4 speeds, and a BW 5 speed. In 92 I purchased a new C1500 with 350 and one of the new at the time "getrag" 5 speeds. Only reason I purchased that truck was that GM was offering a discount for a manual trans, and the auto was a $1000 option, so it made the truck about $2,000 less. I never liked that transmission, and I was towing a trailer a lot with the truck, and couple that with driving through some city driving, and I learned to hate it. I had a 3:73 rear ratio, but that 5 speed seemed geared completely wrong, and it was all aluminum, and very noisy. I know if I had an older C/K truck, and it came with a manual and I only drove on occasion, I would probably not bother with a trans swap, but if it is something I drove daily, especially in city stop/go, I would probably hate it. I am now 61, but I was much younger when I last had a manual, but it was more nuisance. I know I sure regretted buying that new 92 with 5 speed, but it was mostly due to towing, and I lived in town at the time where I was constantly shifting it.

[Bigdav160]

Almost all my drivers have been stick.

After 40+ years of driving them I appreciate an automatic now. Especially since my arthritis seems to be moving in to my hips.

[chevmn]

Originally Posted by chevmn

I know with me, a lot depends on where you drive, how often you drive the stick, etc. I have driven a lot of manual's, starting out with a 3 on the tree in a 59 Apache pickup, then a 67 pickup, later on I had a few S-10's with 4 speeds, and a BW 5 speed. In 92 I purchased a new C1500 with 350 and one of the new at the time "getrag" 5 speeds. Only reason I purchased that truck was that GM was offering a discount for a manual trans, and the auto was a $1000 option, so it made the truck about $2,000 less. I never liked that transmission, and I was towing a trailer a lot with the truck, and couple that with driving through some city driving, and I learned to hate it. I had a 3:73 rear ratio, but that 5 speed seemed geared completely wrong, and it was all aluminum, and very noisy. I know if I had an older C/K truck, and it came with a manual and I only drove on occasion, I would probably not bother with a trans swap, but if it is something I drove daily, especially in city stop/go, I would probably hate it. I am now 61, but I was much younger when I last had a manual, but it was more nuisance. I know I sure regretted buying that new 92 with 5 speed, but it was mostly due to towing, and I lived in town at the time where I was constantly shifting it.

Oh, for me, the automatics I have had have been more reliable with less maintenance. Knock on wood, I have never removed an automatic and only rarely ever even serviced one. But, I have been fortunate that I have not owned one of the type that are prone to issues (and those are many these days from what I read about). My daily driver is an auto and is approaching 400,000 miles, and had one trans fluid change, and filter at just under 300K (not a gm though).

[Grumpy old man]

[LS short box]

A question was asked above about transmission cost. The T56 Magnum was new from Summit. LS7 clutch fly wheel kit. Bell housing. Trans yoke. Captain Fab clutch setup. Don't remember the total cost but just add it up on the Summit site.
In regards to the 4L60E I have about $3000 in it. Completely rebuilt with upgraded parts and billet converter from Yank. $200 to rework the LS harness. $200 for ECM re-flash.

[body bolt]

If someone had the gumption or insanity, they could implement the Citroen 'boite vitesse hydraulique' (or BVH) system in electro-mechanical form for conventional cars. No clutch pedal, just shift.

https://youtu.be/698CVeIy558

[fourspeedwagon]

Originally Posted by LS short box

A question was asked above about transmission cost. The T56 Magnum was new from Summit. LS7 clutch fly wheel kit. Bell housing. Trans yoke. Captain Fab clutch setup. Don't remember the total cost but just add it up on the Summit site.
In regards to the 4L60E I have about $3000 in it. Completely rebuilt with upgraded parts and billet converter from Yank. $200 to rework the LS harness. $200 for ECM re-flash.

You can likely guess from my handle which I prefer— but I’m currently going back and forth on this same thing. Problem is, I’m a cheap bastard and the donor pickup I bought has an automatic in it. If it weren’t for the 4.11 gears in my suburban I’d just leave the trans in it and bolt up the LS. I go 60-70 miles a day to work and really want to have an overdrive. Been shopping for an O/D manual but if all I find are 3-4k then I’m going to use what I have.
Knees aren’t great but I really don’t want to give up the 3rd pedal- and that electric Citroen thing sounds awful to me. Pressing the clutch is half the fun.

[Steeveedee]

Back in the day, I drove sticks. When I got a job with a long commute, I got automatics. If everybody still drove sticks, they MIGHT be less stupid in rush hour traffic, but I wouldn't be holding my breath. If I buy another truck, I don't care what trans it has, I can drive it. Though, as has been mentioned, Arthur is encroaching. Fortunately it's only mild in my hands, feet and back (never mind the four foot surgeries for it). I intentionally don't drive very far any more, mainly because of the million miles that I've already driven with all those people who think that they know how to drive. My son says that I have "Highway PTSD".

[body bolt]

Originally Posted by fourspeedwagon

Knees aren’t great but I really don’t want to give up the 3rd pedal- and that electric Citroen thing sounds awful to me. Pressing the clutch is half the fun.

The Citroen is all hydraulic.