Perhaps you could develop the habit of lifting the shifter when being "sporting" to prevent accidentally finding reverse.

My DD is a '69 911. The (fully rebuilt) shifter actually feels a lot like a bug. It has a throw that has to be at least a foot. :)

It's part of the charm of old cars. That and the gasoline fumes...

Strongly recommend one of the sweet short-shift kits. I had this one on my '71 bug and it was awesome! Favorite part about it, aside from Miata like shifting, is that it adds a reverse lock. There's a little handle you have to pull up if you want reverse.

Also, like most type I stuff, it is pretty cheap. Gotta love…

I know some creative carpenter, or perhaps my kid with some cardboard can make something that will be AWESOME!

Is it the Kia that you make a gate shifter for? I'm sure an enterprising Jalop can make that happen! ;)

My '69 911 has a mag crankcase and transmission case. It would be a bad day if it caught on fire. :)

I was also scared to work on it... it all looked so complicated! Following this car I'm back to doing all my own work. life lesson learned.

I survived all that pain... but the thousand dollar alternator was the last straw. I traded the car for a 2010 Jetta sportwagen TDI. Haven't regretted that decision. So far the Jetta has had 0 problems in 45K miles.

I was a dumb ass and took it to a dealer. :(
Bad me.

BTW, super glad you got the experience! It is really awesome to step into the carrier world for a while.

DV ops were a bit disruptive to our routine, but it still was awesome to share what we do with people who wouldn't normally get to have an experience like that. It was actually kind of cool to do escort duty for the DV's because it's easy to start taking what we do for granted; when you see the amazement and wonder…

Not exactly what the common sailor experiences... ;)

Finished 9 months on NIMITZ back in December 2013. What's cool for a day or two is mind numbing after a month or two.

We had the "good" fortune of being in the right place at the wrong time during the last international crisis, Syria. That bundle of joy got us 79 days straight underway in the Red Sea and an…

Take this!

I formed such a strong opinion because I actually saw one just hours before this article was published. It was disabled access modified, and I'm sure it is great at that job, but I just am repelled by cargo and mini-vans that graft on truck noses in a misguided attempt to "look tougher" or "less like a mini-van". My…

I have owned a bunch of air cooled VWs and I daily drive a '69 Porsche 911... I guess I'm past fearing dropping engines. :)

You're right BTW, in a fleet vehicle ease of maintenance is a big deal, and I'm sure this design helps.

I like it and would drive it... but a warning:

I don't care how capable it is: it's still the ugliest thing to insult the eyeballs of the world since the chevy Uplander.

What in almighty hell did I just watch?

The hold up? Diesels in Europe, which still generally cost less and can be just as efficient..