Informal poll-Stick or Auto?

[the elder rocker]

Hi Folks-
New at this F100 thing. I have 2 '67s. 1 SWB Custom cab that's a 390 with a granny low 4 speed. The other is a Ranger parts truck with a 352 and an automatic. I could go either way here. Which is best? I prefer the stick shift, but I'm getting older and crotchety. I also learned to drive in a stick shift car. A stick shift is also somewhat of a theft deterrant nowadays. It's like the old "never trust a motorcycle you can't kick start" thing! Which is more desireable in the Ford truck world? You guys are the gurus, lay out some of that sweet, sweet Fordophile knowledge!
Thanks ahead!
Mike

[farmallmta]

NM

[Ohiotinkerer]

My preference is manual - some people think I'm dumb but I would rather replace a $100 clutch than a $1000+ rebuild of an automatic.......and a lot less things to go wrong with a manual.......as well as the theft issue - car thieves nowadays will pass up a stick shift because they never drove one.......


And I love to shift thru the gears.........

[Canonman67]

Manual for me. It's also easier to get an overdrive with a manual.

[71Fe2O3]

My preference is for manual. My trucks and my modern daily driver are manuals. When I began driving, automatic transmissions were not as durable as manuals, and, as Ohiotinkerer said, manual was less expensive to operate. Modern automatics are much better, and I suspect the maintenance has flipped the other way, with clutches wearing out long before automatics need to be overhauled. I still prefer working through the gears, the feeling of control, and using both arms and legs to drive. One of my trucks has three-on-the-tree, which I find very cool because I learned to drive on one, and because they are now obsolete.

[sargentrs]

Also a lot of options for swapping in a different transmission. Just something about that lunge forward as your foot leaves the clutch that gives me a cheap thrill.

[1972hiboy]

I think it depends on what kind of driving your doing most of. I have always been a conventional four-speed kind of guy, but the driving situation here in Cali make it to where sitting in literally stop,wait,then creep, then stop again traffic has made the four speed a pain in the left knee. Constant pumping is no fun. If your in a open area or town where traffic isn't a reality, then four speed driving would still be fun. But these days, in my part of the country a C6 is a welcome sight for everyday use.

[colnago]

I guess I'll buck the trend and say auto. I have a C6 in my '67 (it originally came with a Cruise-o-Matic, but it turned into a C6 somewhere in its 50-year history), and never felt the need to convert it. If I'm in stop-and-go traffic, I want an auto. If I'm in hill country with traffic, I definitely want auto (I had to do San Francisco once, driving my folks' '68 Dodge van with 3-on-the-tree; what a PITA that was). If I'm just cruising, there's no benefit to a manual. If the truck came with a manual, I would have kept it, but I don't feel the need for manual.

Now, if I ever get a sports car, it will have to have a manual, because that's half the fun! Zoom-zoom!

Just my

Joseph

[tnlprt]

Dare to be different

Reverse manual valve body C6 with a ratchet shifter

I have to physically shift it into each and every gear

[popeyes71]

I would have to agree with 1972hiboy. I love having a manual in my Highboy but I hate driving the truck in traffic. My leg starts getting tired quick from pushing the clutch in and out in the stop and go traffic. But when I'm cruising the back roads or playing with the truck off-road; the manual is king! So to me, it really depends on the kind of driving you plan on doing with your truck.

[Lee]

Well,... since my truck has 3 shifters,.... it's MANUAL for me.

1st shifter = 2-speed Ranger Torque Splitter
2nd shifter = NP-435 four speed.
3rd shifter = NP205 transfer case.



Lee

[tsherry]

Answer is, "depends."

Autos are more drivable in stop and go traffic. My left knee appreciates that....a lot.

Manuals though, are more fun and you can work the Hell out of them.

If I could find a way to afford to put a 2016 Ecoboost 3.5 6 speed in my '67 F-250 (390 4sp) I'd be all over it.

[KRob]

Pretty much the same as everyone else. I prefer a manual for work and normal driving, however i find myself in traffic more and more and thus the automatics are looking better and better.

[XABN82]

I prefer manual, but definitely a 5 speed

[Mancar1]

I used to prefer a manual, but I am older now, 68 yrs young, and I now prefer a A/T.
Bottom line is it is your choice not anyone else.
I know all about older,
I keep getting older, and I keep on Trucking............John