Am I shifting wrong?

Once you get a feel for double clutching it's pretty easy to upshift and downshift with no clutch at all between 2nd and 3rd. (Not recommended between 1st and 2nd.) 2nd to 3rd upshift: let up on the gas and when the load is off the gears slip into neutral. Then as the motor slows down gently slip into 3rd. No clutch and no grind. Same on downshift; let up on the gas and slip from 3rd to neutral when the load is off the gears. Rev the motor in neutral and slip into 2nd. No clutch and no grind. Lots of fun but because of the necessity to match RPM carefully it is not for every driving situation.
 
when you enter your turn , put it neutral , coast thru the corner , rev the motor a little & put it in 2nd. been doing it for like 35 yrs . cars & big rigs both .......... no syncros .
 
If you miss while trying to shift up or down without using the clutch, that's when it's more likely to chip or break a gear tooth. I would use the clutch.
 
Have some patience! If you wait a while between gears for the car to slow down, it'll slide right in. My grandpa told me how to drive a model A, and he grew up on Ts and As. Keep the hand throttle all the way up so the engine idles slow. WAIT! between gears, both up and down. Shift early, meaning don't rev it up much on the way up. Shift before you at first think you should. On the way down double clutching is the quickest, although if your good you can slip it out/in without using the clutch at all. Really the best advice is to wait for it... don't get in a hurry or you'll grind em every time. Also, "lugging" is NOT the same as running at low rpms. You can drive an A at 20 mph in third and it'll be fine, just keep your foot very lightly on the throttle, speed up slowly. Lugging comes in when you are running real low rpms and then floor it, causing it to pull hard at low rpms. Pay attention to the sound and feel of the engine, it will tell you a lot. A high compression head will exacerbate the lugging.
 
'Clutch in, shift to neutral, clutch out, rev engine, clutch in, downshift to 2nd...'
Correct.

If you are good and shift soon and slowly most ppl won't have to double clutch to upshift.
BUT you can never be wrong to double-clutch a non-synchro ****** up or down

Heck, I have driven some more modern stick shifts where the synchronizers were so worn I had to double clutch. If .020 or less for the synchro gap they are worn past useability. Banging on shifts can wear synchros real fast unless you have a true performance vehicle made for the purpose
 
Sure was a lot of excessive shifting in that video and about 2 clutch depressions. So im excited to go try the new shifting method. I think ill practice decelerating on straightaways before I try the turns.
 
BILL WILLIAMSON said:
Here's my opinion on FLATLAND lugging: With it's LOW compression, the Model A is a proficient lugger, main thing, is to accelerate from a lugging condition slowly & gently. FULL throttle from a lugging condition, or when on hills, I feel would be "tough" on the engine! On HILLS, jist grab a lower gear, so's she'll be REVED up & running freely.
Model A's ain't no "***** cat", fragile, old car & I NEVER heard of breaking a drive shaft from shifting wrong!! As to shifting problems, you have to learn to adapt YOURSELF to the transmission, NOT visa-versa! It's design IS what it IS!
Bill W.
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What Bill says is so right.
You can take the speed right down on the flat, retard the spark & leave it in top & she will pull away with no harm to the engine. If you want a quicker take off going around a corner, just put it in 2nd.
 
My 29 was a bit tender in the shifting department when I got it and dripping a bit from the ******. I drained the oil and it appeared to be pretty thin. Put in some 600W and it now shifts great & no more drips. Just a thought. Tim
 
tbirdtbird said:
'Clutch in, shift to neutral, clutch out, rev engine, clutch in, downshift to 2nd...'
Correct.

If you are good and shift soon and slowly most ppl won't have to double clutch to upshift.
BUT you can never be wrong to double-clutch a non-synchro ****** up or down

Heck, I have driven some more modern stick shifts where the synchronizers were so worn I had to double clutch. If .020 or less for the synchro gap they are worn past useability. Banging on shifts can wear synchros real fast unless you have a true performance vehicle made for the purpose
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Yes i noticed that and "feeling" the gears in slow helps... i just slow my upshifting a bit helps
 
Even though it's not necessary, I double clutch on upshifts. It helps me slow down. It must work since the only time I've ground gears is going back to first while stopped at a light.
 
I learned to double clutch on my 1955 VW (non-export). I got so in tune with the rpm that I could shift without using the clutch at all. Probably would work on the model A also.
 
Back in the day when the 'A' was my daily driver, I had one tough turn off a 45mph 4-lane city street to a 2-lane suburban street. There was always someone waiting to get onto the 4-lane from the other side of the 2-lane. This caused me to need several more hands and feet than were available. I soon found that the start of the downshift needed to be made about the middle of the turn, right where the steering was most critical. Also at that point I was still in braking mode, so as someone noted above, quickly jabbing the nearby hand throttle to get the required engine revs was much handier than trying to use the 'foot-feed'.

Since this was a nearly daily occurance for a period of four years, I did get fairly efficient at flailing my right arm between the steering wheel, the hand throttle, and the shifter. Good thing the brakes and clutch were on the floor and foot operated.
 
Yes just learn to do the double -de-clutch. You will get real good at it with a bit of practice. I reckon that we might have it a bit easier than you guys as our canadian right hand drivers have the accellerator in the middle so your feet are sort working together. Narrow shoes/ boots also help us. Oh and we have round brake and clutch pedals. Dont worry about lugging them they seem to handle it Ok. I usually just leave her in top slow down a bit, turn the corner quickly and accelerate away. Knocking the spark back a bit also helps. Ive been driving the 4 cylinder Ford on and off for around 47 years now and Ive had a few of them and some definitely change better than others. The heavy 600w gear oil probably helps and mowing about 10lb of the fly wheel certainly helps also but thats getting us in to a whole lot of modification stuff. Happy Motoring
 
tbirdtbird has gotten it right.
tbirdtbird said:
'Clutch in, shift to neutral, clutch out, rev engine, clutch in, downshift to 2nd...'
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tbirdtbird said:
Correct.
When shifting up, it is just a matter of letting the engine rpm slow until the engine and transmission match, some hit the clutch an extra time or two, but it really is just a matter of giving the engine enough time to slow down and let you slide into the higher gear without grinding.

There is a very large flywheel spinning around keeping the engine from slowing, some take weight off the flywheel. One of the benefits is that the engine will slow faster and you will be able to shift a little earlier from a higher rpm due to the engine slowing faster.

I have had to show a few of my fellow Model A drivers the double clutching trick, it is hard to explain but it is really easy once you get the idea and practice a little.
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Well I did a few of these this afternoon

Clutch in, shift to neutral, clutch out, rev engine, clutch in, downshift to 2nd...

and from 2nd to 1st...

Takes more practice but the extra rev to speed up the engine with the clutch out in neutral seems to work...
 
The 3 to 2 downshift is almost intuitive - easy to match revs by ear. I never bothered to even try 2 to 1 because unless the car is at a standstill a tap on the clutch and a little gas lets you pull away smoothly in 2nd.
Actually I tore several teeth off low gear once (don't ask, but always make certain the gear lever is all the way in 1st before popping the clutch with the engine revved up - hey, it was 45 years ago). I drove it every day for two or three months with no low gear until I got a chance to pull the transmission and throw in a new gear. No idea why, but all those teeth found their way to the bottom of the transmission and stayed there. On the level you can start in 2nd with almost no clutch slip - on a hill it takes a healthy jab on the throttle and quite a bit of slippage. I think Model "A" clutches are as bulletproof as anything ever made - never did have to replace the disk.
 
I only got to try it once while I was driving her to get my inspection. I think ill try the hand throttle style next time. See how it goes.
 
I guess I just don't mind shifting.......I have never understood making a sharp right turn in high gear, and then slowly pulling away. Most folks are not going 20 mph around that corner, so the engine is going to be at very low rpm's. In past posts on this, even Marco has mentioned he doesn't do this. When I come to a corner, I just put it in neutral, glide around the corner, double clutch downshift to 2nd, and pull away nicely. No fumbling with the hand throttle....very easy to do when you are used to it, no drama, and I also don't need to retard the spark to keep from lugging.
 
TerryH said:
I guess I just don't mind shifting.......I have never understood making a sharp right turn in high gear, and then slowly pulling away. Most folks are not going 20 mph around that corner, so the engine is going to be at very low rpm's. In past posts on this, even Marco has mentioned he doesn't do this. When I come to a corner, I just put it in neutral, glide around the corner, double clutch downshift to 2nd, and pull away nicely. No fumbling with the hand throttle....very easy to do when you are used to it, no drama, and I also don't need to retard the spark to keep from lugging.
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Funny one of my 3rd to 2nd downshift was a right corner turn... rev the engine a little and it slipped into 2nd no problem...
 
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