ever heard of the 1981 Dodge Colt’s optional “Twin-Stick” 4-speed trans?. It employed a 2-speed transfer case that gave the driver eight forward gears and two reverse gears.
My buddy had one of these. The E setting acted almost like an overdrive on the highway. You had to be careful though because you could accidentally have it go into a neutral setting if the lever was bumped into the middle
Looks like entertainment unlike the Mack Quadruplex and the Spicer 4x4, both of which were hardly for entertainment. They helped move heavy loads within the specifications of the Diesel engines in trucks.
I had two Colt Vistas with this transmission. One a two wheel drive one, and later a 4 wheel drive. An unusually compact design for so many gears, it worked pretty well in the two-stick configuration, though my first one with the two levers ended up with a bad detent requiring a bungee cord to hold it in high range. Later versions eliminated the two stick arrangement, and instead used a complex linkage to provide a fifth speed using the same basic transmission design. That was plagued with difficulties because it was finicky to get the linkage just right, and notorious for eating up its bearings. I could go on about this, but suffice it to say it was a bear of a transmission to take out and fix. The Colt Vista itself was a brilliantly designed package, a compact van-wagon crossover with a third seat and all sorts of little conveniences in an economical small car - brilliantly engineered but fatally flawed in numerous ways.
My buddy had one of these. The E setting acted almost like an overdrive on the highway. You had to be careful though because you could accidentally have it go into a neutral setting if the lever was bumped into the middle
ReplyDeleteIn Australia we had these on really early Colts and Cordias.
ReplyDeleteOne of my high school friends had one. I learned how to drive a stick shift with it before I had my license.
ReplyDeleteLooks like entertainment unlike the Mack Quadruplex and the Spicer 4x4, both of which were hardly for entertainment. They helped move heavy loads within the specifications of the Diesel engines in trucks.
ReplyDeleteI had two Colt Vistas with this transmission. One a two wheel drive one, and later a 4 wheel drive. An unusually compact design for so many gears, it worked pretty well in the two-stick configuration, though my first one with the two levers ended up with a bad detent requiring a bungee cord to hold it in high range. Later versions eliminated the two stick arrangement, and instead used a complex linkage to provide a fifth speed using the same basic transmission design. That was plagued with difficulties because it was finicky to get the linkage just right, and notorious for eating up its bearings. I could go on about this, but suffice it to say it was a bear of a transmission to take out and fix. The Colt Vista itself was a brilliantly designed package, a compact van-wagon crossover with a third seat and all sorts of little conveniences in an economical small car - brilliantly engineered but fatally flawed in numerous ways.
ReplyDeletethank you!
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