If I stop for long enough to put it in neutral, I just shift to second and then first. If I'm coming to a brief stop like at a stop sign, I just leave it in gear until I come to a complete stop and then shift to first. The only real problem is when I have to downshift to first while moving. I do my best to synchronize it myself by putting it in neutral and revving it just right before shifting, but it's quite difficult to get perfect especially in a car that I've only been driving for less than two weeks. Luckily I don't have to do that often. (I used to drive dump trucks that didn't have synchronizers and it was a lot easier to rev match in them for some reason. I didn't even use the clutch to shift.)

I'm going to continue occasionally trying this while I fix other minor issues and plan to eventually have to throw down the money to have it torn apart. Boy do I hope the engine in it is solid.

Thanks for all the help though. I found a shop in Denton where you can rent lifts for $20/hr. I think I'll do that and swap the connectors rather than try to jack this thing up in my driveway. I want to get a good look at the underside of the car anyway to see what kind of exhaust is on it.

 

Truck transmissions are quite different..they operate in much narrower RPM ranges...and have a lot more inertia in both the clutch and gears themselves

If you are still moving at all...2nd will work well.....

 

Dans right. Theres no need to put it in first if your rolling. Hell its easy enough to take off in second it has enough power to drive really slow in second.

First is just for starting from a complete stop.

Is there any chance that shop has a dyno?

 

Well if you think it's better, I'll stick to second in such situations even though it's going to cause more wear on the clutch.

The shop is Rotary Performance and yes, they had a car on the dyno while I was there. Would that be a better test than a compression test?

 

No for my own intrest.

If you know how to drive bug trucks then you should not have clutch worries. Its not a common failure on our cars.