little miss sunshine

[squarebacklove]

alright, you all knew this was coming;

so i watched little miss sunshine last night. it's pretty good. but there is a question involved... so the clutch breaks and they end up push starting their bus. i've actually push started a few bussees in my day too... and i've gone down hills to start bugs... but i've never actually been the one driving it.

to save myself the embarressment of asking someone in person when my sheila goes... can i push start a square? AND once you get going can you down shift or do i have to keep it over 20mph the whole time i'm driving her?
i mean, she's running and driving great NOW... but you never know... and i sure do like to pretend to know what i'm talking about when i get towed...
p.s. how come my greese monkies are never as hot as the ones in the movies (or, remotely attractive at all)...

[Mike Fisher]

Manual or Automatic?

[Ace]

It's a flaw in the movie. If the clutch breaks like they are portraying it, that would mean it is always engaged. You can't bump start it without a clutch. The actual technique is to put it 1st and hit the starter with it in gear every time you start from a dead stop. The whole horn thing is true though. I has to do with the turn signal switch. If you have to push start your sqauare, it will probably be because of a dead battery. Once it is running, drive it normal. Just don't stall it and keep the rpms up a little when you are stopped and idling. If your charging system is having a problem, your time running is limited. You can't push start an auto.

[notchback]

On my first square, way back in 1984, the clutch pedal hook broke. I was able to push the stick up into the 1st gear position from a stop and it would slowly engage. I would get going about 5 mph or so and then bring the stick back to neutral and then pop it right into first. Luckily, when I learned to drive a stick, I learned how to shift without a clutch, so I didn't have a problem shifting. I still drive "clutchless" most of the time.
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[Ace]

How are you getting it moving in first? I don't see how you are getting the forward momentum to get the 1st gear to mesh.

[Wagoon]

I had a GTI (I know it isn't aircooled) that the slave cylinder for the clutch gave out at a traffic light and the pedal went right to the floor. It took me by surprise so the car of course stalled out. I sat there at the red light thinking about what I could do. It was a slight decline so when the light turned green, I just tried to start the car with the clutch fully engaged. I basically drove forward on the starter motor until the engine fired up. I powershifted it into second and cruised home (only about 1.5 miles).

[Ace]

YOu can hit all gears if you shift at the right rpm. The gears naturally mesh at certain rpms and speeds where a clutch isn't necessary. Running though all gears isn't hard once you get the feel for it. I'm just trying to figure you how you guys are getting it moving from a dead stop. I guess you can get it pushed fast enough to get 1st to mesh, especially in a lower geared bus. Using the starter to get moving is used in other applications. Many manual transmission 4x4s have a clutch start cancel switch for this reason.