[rescue] OT: jobops in austin and dallas

[rescue at sunhelp.org]

~ note on the cluthless shifting.  i'm sure it's much harder on 
~ mine since
~ it is a racing clutch... i was so surprised when i drove my brother's
~ accord around at how the clutch was like butter.  very forgiving and
~ smooth.  i seem to have a binary cluth

clutchless shifting depends on the nature of the synchronizers in the
transmission. Big trucks with unsyncronized trannies are rarely shifted with
a clutch after 1st gear (thats why jake brakes are so popular). For a
syncronized trannie, when they get nicely worn and sloppy its a breeze. I
had a 77 F250 that I only used the clutch for 1st gear. After that I could
match RPM and slide in/out of any gear I wanted to. Of course, it would have
helped if I had a tachometer in the truck. I got real good at judging engine
RPM by ear. My wife punches my leg when I do it to her Chevy Tracker (brand
new truck, but has a tach so its real easy). I remember one day in that 77
Ford when the clutch rod broke. Whenever I came to a stop I was in neutral.
When I wanted to move again I stopped the engine, placed it in 1st, started
the engine and hopped forward. I drove it that way for 2 weeks until a
friend offered to weld the rod.