Who's relatively new truck had a manual transmission?

[FFFORD 27]

I just bought a 2000 F250 7.3 powerstroke with the ZF6 6 speed manual tranny. I remember in the recent past, some company bought a new brush truck with a 6 speed manual tranny (and it was bad a$$). Who was it and where can I find the pictures? the only reason why I am asking is because I am looking to buy a console for my radio's and switch box and obviously with the shifter there its tougher. I was just wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. I want to see what they did. Thanks.

[Turborich 12]

Woodstock 67-14 - Link to thread

[mreis95 77]

Goldens Bridge

[FFFORD 27]

Woodstock 67-14 - Link to thread

That was the truck I was looking for. Sharp truck. I applaud them for the manual tranny. VERY rare these days. That being said I was hoping it had bench seats cause mine does, but they have buckets so no help there. But thank you for the link.

Goldens Bridge

I cant see an inside shot of the truck from their website. only outside, got any?

thanks for the help guys. I gotta figure out what to do. I just dont want to drill into everything. the truck is in immaculate condition. I might have to build a custom box.

[PFDRes47cue 653]

I just bought a 2000 F250 7.3 powerstroke with the ZF6 6 speed manual tranny. I remember in the recent past, some company bought a new brush truck with a 6 speed manual tranny (and it was bad a$). Who was it and where can I find the pictures? the only reason why I am asking is because I am looking to buy a console for my radio's and switch box and obviously with the shifter there its tougher. I was just wondering if someone can point me in the right direction. I want to see what they did. Thanks.

Pleasantville VAC 7605 (Rehab Unit) is a refurbished 1980 Chevy. We have our siren controller, light controller, traffic advisor controller in a stack raised of the floor. This meant only drilling the support brace holes into the floor. No cluster and does not take up a lot of space.

Edited September 12, 2010 by PFDRes47cue

[FFFORD 27]

Pleasantville VAC 7605 (Rehab Unit) is a refurbished 1980 Chevy. We have our siren controller, light controller, traffic advisor controller in a stack raised of the floor. This meant only drilling the support brace holes into the floor. No cluster and does not take up a lot of space.

Pics???

I have a buddy that does metal work. I might see what he can do.

[mreis95 77]

No I don't sorry.

[FFFORD 27]

its all good buddy. I am probably just going to have to have my buddy weld something up. its a tight space and all of the emergency vehicles I have seen have bucket seats whereas I have a bench. So they can replace the center console, I cannot. Ill figure something out. Maybe Ill try to post up some pictures here and see what you guys think.

[mreis95 77]

Elightbars is a good site to check out for this kind of stuff.

[FFFORD 27]

thanks I'll check it out

[PFDRes47cue 653]

its all good buddy. I am probably just going to have to have my buddy weld something up. its a tight space and all of the emergency vehicles I have seen have bucket seats whereas I have a bench. So they can replace the center console, I cannot. Ill figure something out. Maybe Ill try to post up some pictures here and see what you guys think.

Our rehab has a bench too. I will try to get a picture for you.

[FFFORD 27]

Our rehab has a bench too. I will try to get a picture for you.

ohh man that would be awesome. See if you can get any names of the console too. But anything is appreciated.

[xfirefighter484x 234]

That was the truck I was looking for. Sharp truck. I applaud them for the manual tranny. VERY rare these days.

NFPA 1901 - Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus

I believe this standard states that all new apparatus shall be automatic transmission (unless the purchaser had a specific reason for a manual transmission).

This is most likely the reason it is so rare to find them these days.

[FFFORD 27]

NFPA 1901 - Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus

I believe this standard states that all new apparatus shall be automatic transmission (unless the purchaser had a specific reason for a manual transmission).

This is most likely the reason it is so rare to find them these days.

I didnt know of that standard. Interesting. Not only that, but I feel that not as many people these days know how to drive a standard shift. Also I am sure in the past there were incidence of parking brakes failing and trucks rolling if not properly chucked. As far as ambulances go, the ride of a stick shift is not as smooth as an auto which I can see leading to problems in the back of the rig. IVs, suctioning, etc. especially if the driver is not sufficient with a handshaker. Fire apparatus transmissions (at least in my department) are auto but can be shifted to the drivers desire. I can see how this would be better than a conventional clutch pedal/shifter.

I prefer a manual transmission. This truck I just bought took me over a year to find. Stick shift diesels in general are harder to find as far as POVs go, But I feel they are more suited for the size/weight of the truck and the torque diesel puts out. I also just prefer to throw gears myself over an automatic. Not to mention I never have to use the brakes.

It is too bad though. lots of tranny problems from automatics would never happen if people knew how to drive a stick. My VAC is actually going away from fords and moving to chevy's due to the problems with the 6.0/6.4 and the auto trans. can beat an alison tranny I admit, and I am a ford guy.

funny story - I have been away at PA school all summer and over my one week break I picked up a shift at my VAC. We went on a run around 3 am and I had a family member ride up front with me. coming from my truck to the ambulance, just hearing the diesel made me want to shift. so coming up to every red light I would stomp on the floor thinking I needed to depress the clutch, and I would move my hand looking for the shifter to downshift. it was just force of habit. needless to say I got some funny looks from the family member the first couple lights, until I had to explain. We both laughed about it.

[mfc2257 464]

I didnt know of that standard. Interesting. Not only that, but I feel that not as many people these days know how to drive a standard shift. Also I am sure in the past there were incidence of parking brakes failing and trucks rolling if not properly chucked. As far as ambulances go, the ride of a stick shift is not as smooth as an auto which I can see leading to problems in the back of the rig. IVs, suctioning, etc. especially if the driver is not sufficient with a handshaker. Fire apparatus transmissions (at least in my department) are auto but can be shifted to the drivers desire. I can see how this would be better than a conventional clutch pedal/shifter.

I prefer a manual transmission. This truck I just bought took me over a year to find. Stick shift diesels in general are harder to find as far as POVs go, But I feel they are more suited for the size/weight of the truck and the torque diesel puts out. I also just prefer to throw gears myself over an automatic. Not to mention I never have to use the brakes.

It is too bad though. lots of tranny problems from automatics would never happen if people knew how to drive a stick. My VAC is actually going away from fords and moving to chevy's due to the problems with the 6.0/6.4 and the auto trans. can beat an alison tranny I admit, and I am a ford guy.

funny story - I have been away at PA school all summer and over my one week break I picked up a shift at my VAC. We went on a run around 3 am and I had a family member ride up front with me. coming from my truck to the ambulance, just hearing the diesel made me want to shift. so coming up to every red light I would stomp on the floor thinking I needed to depress the clutch, and I would move my hand looking for the shifter to downshift. it was just force of habit. needless to say I got some funny looks from the family member the first couple lights, until I had to explain. We both laughed about it.

The way manufacturers are going now, many automatics have a higher HP/Torque rating than the manuals. I've got a 2007 Ram 2500 Mega Cab with the 6.7L Cummins TD with the 6speed auto. Its rated at 350hp and 650 lbs/ft. The manual for the same truck has the engine power limited to 610 lbs/ft. I like to row gears myself, but with wife and kid, I've got to be able to turn my truck over to them from time to time and only a slush box will do.

Automatics are very robust these days. There are a handful of things that will kill them though....

First is temperature. If you're pulling a load on a regular basis, spend the money to install a temp gauge the easiest way to kill a perfectly good auto is to fry it. If you find that it runs hot while pulling a load (I used to pull a tri axle 5th wheel race car trailer with a F-350 dually at about 16000lb GVW and the tranny would spike to 230+ pulling up to Watkins Glen) then install a heavy duty tranny cooler and a finned aluminum tranny pan that holds more fluid.

Second is poor downshifts.... When you're pulling a heavy load, don't let the tranny seek between two gears. Lock it into the lower gear until you can sustain enough speed to maintain consistency in the higher gear. Also, don't let the tranny bang a hard downshift under a heavy load. When going up a hill, and the motor is starting to lose revs to the point that a downshift is eminent, get out of the gas, downshift to the next gear manually, then get back into the gas.

Third is unnecessary manual shifting... the transmission is programmed under most circumstances to do it's job without your help. Leave it alone and in drive instead of trying to bang gears on your own.

Finally... When under a load, easy does it away from a stop. No reason for WOT the second you take your foot off the brake.

[FFFORD 27]

The way manufacturers are going now, many automatics have a higher HP/Torque rating than the manuals. I've got a 2007 Ram 2500 Mega Cab with the 6.7L Cummins TD with the 6speed auto. Its rated at 350hp and 650 lbs/ft. The manual for the same truck has the engine power limited to 610 lbs/ft. I like to row gears myself, but with wife and kid, I've got to be able to turn my truck over to them from time to time and only a slush box will do.

Automatics are very robust these days. There are a handful of things that will kill them though....

First is temperature. If you're pulling a load on a regular basis, spend the money to install a temp gauge the easiest way to kill a perfectly good auto is to fry it. If you find that it runs hot while pulling a load (I used to pull a tri axle 5th wheel race car trailer with a F-350 dually at about 16000lb GVW and the tranny would spike to 230+ pulling up to Watkins Glen) then install a heavy duty tranny cooler and a finned aluminum tranny pan that holds more fluid.

Second is poor downshifts.... When you're pulling a heavy load, don't let the tranny seek between two gears. Lock it into the lower gear until you can sustain enough speed to maintain consistency in the higher gear. Also, don't let the tranny bang a hard downshift under a heavy load. When going up a hill, and the motor is starting to lose revs to the point that a downshift is eminent, get out of the gas, downshift to the next gear manually, then get back into the gas.

Third is unnecessary manual shifting... the transmission is programmed under most circumstances to do it's job without your help. Leave it alone and in drive instead of trying to bang gears on your own.

Finally... When under a load, easy does it away from a stop. No reason for WOT the second you take your foot off the brake.

Actually I did not know that about the auto's these days. thanks for filling me in. I had to check it out for myself and its pretty interesting. I guess I was speaking for "older trucks" like my 7.3. I know the 7.3 was notorious for roasting the automatic's (E4OD/4R100). I think the big difference is the design of auto's these days is much better than what they were.

I wanted an older truck with the indestructible 7.3:D

as far as the auto's and the kill factors, I hear you. I am always nice to them, but many people dont know these things/dont care because its not theirs. the same thing goes for the engines themselves. How many people actually allow the truck to warm up before stomping on it or letting it cool down before shutting down. I am actually trying to get my ambulance corps to teach drivers some of these things to prevent some common, but major issues that happen. I, for one, at the beginning of my shift will fire the truck up and let it warm up. even if I dont go on a run, the truck is warm (as a diesel should be) and ready to roll. Some calls you cant wait for it to warm up and this is why I do this. oil and lube is in place and parts are good to run. likewise, when returning from a run, I will let it idle about 10 minutes before shutting down. Just simple things people should do to treat them right.

Fire trucks these days I know have the quick spool or quick oil set up so they are ready to roll as soon as you fire it up. I wish something like this was implemented in my VAC.

6.7 cummins huh? wanna have a tug of war

[mfc2257 464]

Actually I did not know that about the auto's these days. thanks for filling me in. I had to check it out for myself and its pretty interesting. I guess I was speaking for "older trucks" like my 7.3. I know the 7.3 was notorious for roasting the automatic's (E4OD/4R100). I think the big difference is the design of auto's these days is much better than what they were.

I wanted an older truck with the indestructible 7.3:D

6.7 cummins huh? wanna have a tug of war

My F-350 had the 7.3... One of the best diesels ever made.... The tranny was it's weakest link... Towing 16000+ is what made me research remedies to the issues the trannies had... 99% of the time the issue was heat related. Once I put the 15 quart Westin Diesel aluminum tranny pan with fins for heat dissipation (and a matching diff cover) and the larger oil cooler in it, I never had a problem with the temp going above 200 deg. It also had a larger turbo up-pipe, down pipe, and manifold back to muffler. Sounded sweet and made about 325/600.

Dodge is still stock but is way faster than the Ford even with the performance improvements. Once the warranty is up, I'll reprogram the ECU and put an exhaust and cold air box on it... Maybe new turbo plumbing depending on cost. Should be able to get 400/700 out of it easily.

[FFFORD 27]

My F-350 had the 7.3... One of the best diesels ever made.... The tranny was it's weakest link... Towing 16000+ is what made me research remedies to the issues the trannies had... 99% of the time the issue was heat related. Once I put the 15 quart Westin Diesel aluminum tranny pan with fins for heat dissipation (and a matching diff cover) and the larger oil cooler in it, I never had a problem with the temp going above 200 deg. It also had a larger turbo up-pipe, down pipe, and manifold back to muffler. Sounded sweet and made about 325/600.

Dodge is still stock but is way faster than the Ford even with the performance improvements. Once the warranty is up, I'll reprogram the ECU and put an exhaust and cold air box on it... Maybe new turbo plumbing depending on cost. Should be able to get 400/700 out of it easily.

yeah dont mess with those things while under warranty. I know a guy who tricked out his brand new 6.4 F350. Motor blew and ford refused to cover it (rightfully so I guess) because it was highly modified. 11 grand later he has a new 6.4 twin turbo but his set up now will not fail.

the 7.3 is a DOG stock. TONS of low end power but its a dog to get going. especially with my manual. So far I have an intake, 3.5" turbo back to 6" aussie stacks, and a 6 position custom tuner with Tony Wildman tunes. 1- stock, 2- daily driver, 3- tow, 4- street, 5- extreeme, 6- smoke:D. tuner made a world of difference. the truck moves now. I also have gauges on the A pillar. Future mods with some more money, but looking to do a mild lift and wheels/tires next before more performance. plenty fast for me now. I gotta figure out how to post pics up here.

after your warranty is up I suggest a EGR delete along with ur other planned goodies. the new emissions kills the power they can make, but that 6.7 is a monster. I prefer the 5.9 CTD, but have nothing bad to say about cummins at all.