Dear George,
I agree...'both' referring to 4-speeds and automatics for '74
production year (I'm not aware of any 5-speed conversions out there, are
there any or 4-speed automatics retrofits for '74's or '75's?). The pedal
placement of 4-speeds is not ergonomically correct for shorter drivers I
believe, and the heavy clutch does 'wear on you' over time. I was not aware
of the entire context in the original statement (e.g. no '75 4-speeds) you
were referring too, only the 'bad marks' portion.
We 4-speeders are probably a small group, I've heard different
production quantities of 4-speed production from 175 units down to 65 units.
Does anyone know of a correct production count in the club? Also, what is
"axel wind-up" you are referring to in '74 4-speeds?
-----Original Message-----
From: GLCurley@aol.com [mailto:GLCurley@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 1999 7:20 PM
To: paa5072@dscp.dla.mil
Cc: bricklin@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: 4-speed configuration 'bad marks'
You're are taking what I said out of context; which was trying to overcome a
buyer's objection to an automatic. I could just as easily have said white
was better than suntan, or vice versa and come up with rationalization for
either position. In this case, the presumption was that the potential buyer
was not looking for an original 4-speed Bricklin as much as she simply did
not want an automatic. (Because she evidently was not aware that all 75
Bricklins are automatics.) But now that we're debating the matter, here are
some things to consider:
> I would have to give 'high marks' for the 4-speed transmission
> having driven both
"both" what? A stock 1974 4 speed and a 5 speed conversion? I find it
hard
to believe that someone who knows what they are doing could not engineer a
manual transmission retrofit on a 75 that would perform better than a stock
74 manual transmission. Certainly there have been some improvements in
transmissions and clutches over the past 25 years, and one would expect that
given the proper resources, you could reduce the shortcomings and improve
performance.
> I do agree that over time, the heavy clutch use does wear out your leg
That was what I was referring to, and you just confirmed the point. I have
also heard about axel wind-up, and complaints about the pedal positioning,
some of these have come from other 4-speed owners.
Personally I don't consider any of these things to be very significant, and
I could certainly live with them. My (current) garage isn't big enough or I
would already have a 4-speed myself. I'm glad to see they are keeping a
loyal following.
George Curley
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