... must have been made by the same bunch of back-garden engineers
Rootes had this column linkage developed by Piper Aircraft Co
Perhaps this was where the "fly-by-wire" term came from?
My observations are that many so-called "drivers" can't change anything, not
even their outlook.
The 49 on Hillman Minx models had a spare dash square for an accessory
instrument such as ammeter clock or temperature gauge. You could select but
one option.
Initially, until an option was taken, the window had a Rootes badge, but
that badge was soon replaced with a gear change diagram.
A roadmap on the dash of where to push the lever.
Wow, how things have changed.
Peter
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kevin McLemore" <kmclemore@hotmail.com>
To: <jan.eyerman@usa.net>; <RootesRooter@aol.com>; <alpines@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 1:10 PM
Subject: Re: Early Alpine ('53-55) Shifting
> Ha.. yes my 1949 Triumph Renown has a similar 'highly accurate' column
> shifter... must have been made by the same bunch of back-garden engineers!
> (...or perhaps, dare I say... Lucas? ;o)
>
> I've found that by paying *very* careful attention to all the rubber
> insulating joints that it can be made into a moderately tolerable
> mechanisim, but even then it's very much 'shift and pray', with each shift
> being taken at a leisurely but quite deliberate pace. How the heck did
> they ever sell these things off the showroom floor - they can't have been
> any better when new!
>
> -Kevin McLemore
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: Jan Eyerman <jan.eyerman@usa.net>
> Reply-To: Jan Eyerman <jan.eyerman@usa.net>
> To: <RootesRooter@aol.com>, <alpines@autox.team.net>
> Subject: Early Alpine ('53-55) Shifting
> Date: Tue, 10 Dec 2002 13:26:51 -0500
>
> Great writing! I corresponded with him many, many years ago. He is my
all
> time favorite automotive writer, I used to get Mechanix Illustrated (now
> sadly
> gone) just because of him.
>
> He was probably being generous about Rootes' column shifter-you push or
pull
> the lever and pray. Maybe you get the right gear, maybe you get no gear
at
> all or maybe you get terrible noises. You also learn to let up the clutch
> SLOWLY in case you hit second when you were aiming at fourth. If the car
> slows
> down and the engine revs up, you missed fourth and must try again. There
> was
> a beautiful accessory floor shift for the early Alpines, it vastly
improved
> the shifting!
>
> Jan Eyerman
>
>
>
>
>
> RootesRooter@aol.com wrote:
> Referring to the '54 Alpine:
>
> "The column-mounted, reverse-pattern shifter is still as balky as when
> McCahill called it b as easy... as driving a Navy blimp through the
Lincoln
> tunnel without touching the walls.b "
>
> Now that is great writing...
>
>
>
> In a message dated 12/10/02 3:25:27 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> rmaddock@petrie.hotkey.net.au writes:
>
> << Hope this link works. If not, go to www.autoweek.com and you should see
a
> Sunbeam Alpine link under the heading Recent Stories.
>
>
>
>
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content.mv?port_code=autoweek&cat_code=thecar&lo
c_
>
> code=index&content_code=03318193
>
>
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