Vehicle classifieds 'Automatic!'

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Rope-Pusher
Master Standardshifter
Posts: 11607
Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:44 pm
Cars: '08 Jeep Liberty
Location: Greater Detroit Area

Re: Vehicle classifieds 'Automatic!'

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Stelcom66 wrote:
Rope-Pusher wrote: Reminds me when my friend went to a flea market and bought a home-made 'am radio - buncha parts mounted to a wooden board and some fahnstock clips along the back edge labeled: Ground, Antenna, B1+, B1-, B2+, B2- and two labeled Headphone.

Turns out that even if the seller was from Georgia, the radio was an AM radio, not the Ham radio we thought it might be.

So you had an A-833 4-speed MT in that Dodge pick-m-up? Those were cleverly-reengineered to swap 3rd and 4th gear positions by flipping the lever on the side of the trans 180 degrees and changing the 3rd gear ratio to an overdrive ratio. End result is they were able to cost-effectively offer improved highway fuel mileage without investing in a totally new transmission design.
That must have been an A-833 in the Dodge. I recall quite an increase in ratio from 1st to 2nd, If you didn't get to at least a moderately high rpm in 1st, 2nd almost seemed too high and the drivetrain would shudder a bit. Back in the 80s I recall a neighbor who had a Dodge Aspen - with the 4 speed on the floor and 225 6. I wonder if that was the same drivetrain as my Dodge truck?

Been to my share of Ham radio flea markets. I recall picking up up a 23 Single Sideband CB modified for the 10-meter band. Fortunately the unit was as described, still at the stock 5 watts but different frequencies.
The A-833 was MOPAR's only 4-speed trans then...for passenger cars at least. They had several versions for 6-cylinder or 8-cylinder applications. For the pick-m-ups, they also offered the A-435 - granny-gear, non-synchro "Low" and a shift lever comin' outta the box that mustard bean 2 feet long.

My buddy's skills with electronics improved and he ended up modifying a ham radio to broadcast on the FM band, built an antenna that looked like a stack of Halos and we'd set a stack of albums on the turntable and go driving to see how far it was broadcasting. A highlight was stopping at a 7-11 convenience store and hearing they were playing our "Commercial Free" bootleg station.
'08 Jeep Liberty 6-Speed MT - "Last of the Mohicans"
Stelcom66
Senior Standardshifter
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:47 pm

Re: Vehicle classifieds 'Automatic!'

Post by Stelcom66 »

Rope-Pusher wrote:
The A-833 was MOPAR's only 4-speed trans then...for passenger cars at least. They had several versions for 6-cylinder or 8-cylinder applications. For the pick-m-ups, they also offered the A-435 - granny-gear, non-synchro "Low" and a shift lever comin' outta the box that mustard bean 2 feet long.

My buddy's skills with electronics improved and he ended up modifying a ham radio to broadcast on the FM band, built an antenna that looked like a stack of Halos and we'd set a stack of albums on the turntable and go driving to see how far it was broadcasting. A highlight was stopping at a 7-11 convenience store and hearing they were playing our "Commercial Free" bootleg station.
The 225 with the 4-speed did fine with the 2WD D150. Ironically, the only time I got stuck here in New England with it was in September. I was at the dump, the ground was soft because a bulldozer had been going over it, got stuck in the dirt and whatever else was in the ground. The bulldozer then pushed me out.

Now that's interesting re: the FM transmitter. I had a former military transmitter made around 1950, some poor guy had to haul the heavy thing (an 829 tube final) on his back. It was originally made for around 77 mhz, a military band back then. It was modified to transmit around 97 mhz. I had a somewhat elaborate setup for a pirate, or bootleg station. Cool you found listeners at 7-11!

I finally got to drive my neighbor's 1971 Chevy C-10 a few months ago. He no longer drives, and his daughter asked me to move it but couldn't because it was a manual - 4-speed. She said of course I could take it around the block when I asked. I thought damn, 1st gear is low... then realized it was the kind like the GM school buses had that I rode on, where you'd usually start in 2nd, and 4th was direct 1:1 drive. Not sure if the Chevy C-10 has a 307 or 350. I'd probably buy it if I didn't already have a truck, it has less than 100k miles. I sure as heck loved driving that thing around the block. There's something about a full size pickup truck with a standard shift. Cumbersome I guess,especially a truck that age - but there's still that great direct-connected manual feel.
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