"Four on the Floor..."

shoot&scoot

I learned on my mother's '67 Impala.  283 with three on the tree.  The nylon bushings were gone in the shifter assembly which resulted in huge throws from gear to gear.  The worst was the one-two upshift which led to the knuckles of the right hand slamming into the bottom of the dash visor.  This had been done so many times all the vinyl was missing leaving only bare steel to cushion the blow.  Long before Micheal Jackson had his signature single glove I was using one out of necessity.

                                                                                                       Pat.

                                                         

I drove a fire engine kind of like that. It had a stick shift with a splitter, when you shifted to 3rd gear you had to remember to use an underhand throw, if your hand was on top of the shifter you were almost certain to painfully mash a finger between the splitter and the sharp corner of a low mounted radio.

I learned on my mother's '67 Impala.  283 with three on the tree.  The nylon bushings were gone in the shifter assembly which resulted in huge throws from gear to gear.  The worst was the one-two upshift which led to the knuckles of the right hand slamming into the bottom of the dash visor.  This had been done so many times all the vinyl was missing leaving only bare steel to cushion the blow.  Long before Micheal Jackson had his signature single glove I was using one out of necessity.

                                                                                                       Pat.

I used to hate three on the tree.  When I was a probationary, straight out of the Academy, we often had to park the cars of drunk drivers, before we hauled the drunk driver away.  First time I got into this drunk drivers car with three in the tree, I thought WTF ?  A bit embarrassing when the sober Police officer drives the car worse than the drunk owner........   

Sprue-ce Goose

Aaronw:

I'm rather fond of three on the tree myself, although mostly for bragging rights. It doesn't seem like many drivers under 50 have ever driven a column shift and I love the confused looks when people see a clutch and no floor shift. It makes a great anti-theft device too.

 

Perhaps late 1940s / early 50s?

What brand / year vehicle ?

 

 

Column shifts were all the rage into the late 60s. I have a 1969 Toyota Landcruiser, and my dad has a 1952 GMC 3/4 ton I've been trying to talk him out of. I find it fun to work on both because you can easily see how closely Toyota based the Landcruiser on the early 50s GMC trucks.

Aaronw

I'm rather fond of three on the tree myself, although mostly for bragging rights. It doesn't seem like many drivers under 50 have ever driven a column shift and I love the confused looks when people see a clutch and no floor shift. It makes a great anti-theft device too.

Perhaps late 1940s / early 50s?

What brand / year vehicle ?

I'm rather fond of three on the tree myself, although mostly for bragging rights. It doesn't seem like many drivers under 50 have ever driven a column shift and I love the confused looks when people see a clutch and no floor shift. It makes a great anti-theft device too.

My mother's idea of four on the floor:

Personally, I prefer an M-23 Muncie rockcrusher.

                                                                         Pat.

Kugai

Manstein's revenge:

Safety first...if they don't comply, hurt 'em...

 

 

Actually, I meant more along the lines of "Don't lean back in that chair.  You'll get no sympathy from me when you fall back."  ( Obviously, making sure they don't have a concussion or something, there's a difference between "letting 'em learn the hard way" and being negligent )  Let them learn when they let themselves get a little hurt after being warned about something small, and they're more likely to listen and avoid trouble when you warn them about the big stuff later since you have a history of knowing what you're talking about with them.

Manstein's revenge

Safety first...if they don't comply, hurt 'em...

Actually, I meant more along the lines of "Don't lean back in that chair.  You'll get no sympathy from me when you fall back."  ( Obviously, making sure they don't have a concussion or something, there's a difference between "letting 'em learn the hard way" and being negligent )  Let them learn when they let themselves get a little hurt after being warned about something small, and they're more likely to listen and avoid trouble when you warn them about the big stuff later since you have a history of knowing what you're talking about with them.

Earlier today I had five on the floor...

Not as painful as when they took it off!

VanceCrozier

Never drove a 4 on the floor, my first instinct was the CBC Comedy series, featuring a man struck by lightning while portaging his canoe... Mr. Canoe-head!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YLLaOyQfx8

looks painful...........

Never drove a 4 on the floor, my first instinct was the CBC Comedy series, featuring a man struck by lightning while portaging his canoe... Mr. Canoe-head!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YLLaOyQfx8

Kugai

Manstein's revenge:

oddmanrush:

I had a librarian in grade school that always use to remind us to keep four on the floor.

 

Four what?

 

 

Legs of the chair.  Some teachers and such use the phrase to tell kids to quit leaning back in their chairs and balancing on 2, which risks falling back and getting hurt, as well as damaging the chairs which were built by the lowest bidder.

Personally, I'm all for "warn 'em once, then let 'em learn the hard way"

Manstein's revenge

oddmanrush:

I had a librarian in grade school that always use to remind us to keep four on the floor.

 

Four what?

Legs of the chair.  Some teachers and such use the phrase to tell kids to quit leaning back in their chairs and balancing on 2, which risks falling back and getting hurt, as well as damaging the chairs which were built by the lowest bidder.

Personally, I'm all for "warn 'em once, then let 'em learn the hard way" whenever it's practical.  If they have any brains, they'll pick up on the fact that you tell them these things for a reason and won't question every rule or instruction that comes out of your mouth.

Well, at least until they're teenagers.

dont forget it being used as a phrase meaning a drummer hitting the base drum on every quaternote in a 4/4 pattern.

MAJ Mike

I like it too.  Had to trade in my '79 Mustang II (302 V-8, sport suspension, 4-speed shift) after I got married.  SheWhoMustBeObeyed wouldn't learn to drive a standard shift.  Twenty-five years later, I still miss that car.

if the car was the hatchback, you ought to be able to find a model kit of that 3rd gen 'Stang and build it.

Might lessen the pain..............

Four on the floor is my policy for any pets that enter my house. Can't handle having animals on the furniture, so I will never have cats (they don't learn anything, other than the fact that they can get away with pooping in your house, and you're still gonna feed em). Can't stand having a jumpy dog either. Couple a swats on the nose when they're jumpy puppies learns em real quick!

oddmanrush

I had a librarian in grade school that always use to remind us to keep four on the floor.

Four what?

carsanab

it didnt have 4 on the floor but it had five on the steering wheel as well as the floor....I REALLY miss my car....

altough SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED, AT THAT TIME, never liked it....she didn't object THAT much..

Still.......sniff sniff......

c

It wasn't that my Lovely Bride disliked the car, she just refused to learn how to drive a standard shift.  We both bought new vehicles at the same time with automatic transmissions -- she an '85 Ford Tempo, me an '85 Bronco II.  She's still worth any sacrifice, but I miss that car.

BTW Ol' Lizard -- maximum cool car.

it didnt have 4 on the floor but it had five on the steering wheel as well as the floor....I REALLY miss my car....

altough SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED, AT THAT TIME, never liked it....she didn't object THAT much..

Still.......sniff sniff......

c

yes i like that nothing like holding it in your hand wow.

Ron

I like it too.  Had to trade in my '79 Mustang II (302 V-8, sport suspension, 4-speed shift) after I got married.  SheWhoMustBeObeyed wouldn't learn to drive a standard shift.  Twenty-five years later, I still miss that car.

I had a librarian in grade school that always use to remind us to keep four on the floor.

Manstein's revenge

I dunno----just like the way that sounds...

better than three in the Hs 129 cockpit......