What is the 'S' gear for?

[Jim Oaks]

​

I know, you came in here to tell me the 'S' stands for 'Sport Mode'. But what about a 1978 Ford LTD? That's a long time before 'Sport Mode'.

 

[Curious Hound]

Superfast?
Stuck?
Sh***y?
Smile?
Sideways?

BTW, what about that sticker referring to hand throttle? Was this car converted for handicapped use?

 

[RonD]

Snow

Trans never shifts to 1st in S, so you start off in 2nd so less chance of spinning the wheels

Many vehicles still have a Snow button or similar, disables 1st gear when starting out
Give it a try

But most likely it just means Second
All the other letters are for names so S instead of 2, very hoity-toity

 

[Curious Hound]

Snow

Trans never shifts to 1st in S, so you start off in 2nd so less chance of spinning the wheels

Many vehicles still have a Snow button or similar, disables 1st gear when starting out
Give it a try

That’s not fair. You know everything!

 

[Jim Oaks]

​

I can't find a photo online big enough to read the hole sticker. There's a handle in the dash under the sticker. These were on 1978 Ford LTD police cars.

 

[Jim Oaks]

This brochure says:

"Ford's versatile automatic transmission provides smooth, even, quiet shifting. The transmission includes a first-gear lock-out feature which is designed to eliminate the possibility of holding the transmission in first gear, as is possible with the regular Cruise-O-Matic transmission. The transmission may be held manually in second gear. When placed in the "Drive" position, the transmission provides fully automatic three speed operation.

 

[Jim Oaks]

Hell, now I want to know why there's a hand throttle...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Hell, now I want to know why there's a hand throttle...

Kick up the idle for charging/cooling?

Either that or a really sketchy cruise control...

 

[racsan]

my ‘72 olds cutlass went “ PRNDSL”. Id guess the “S” is for “second” im not sure if it started & stayed in 2nd like some automatics will or if it just limited the upshift to second but would still start in 1st. Never seen that in a ford.

 

[Dirtman]

Hand throttle for idle to boost alternator power...

 

[19Walt93]

The S is second gear, that's a police cruiser speedo- notice it goes beyond 120 and says certified? For some reason they didn't want the cops hammering them into low gear. If the car had an FMX transmission the second and reverse servos mounted on the center support so rocking back and forth between second and reverse could snap the cast iron center support out of the case so they were warned about trying to get unstuck by rocking the car.

 

[19Walt93]

We ordered a77 LTD cruiser for a local taxi operator but his old car died before it arrived and he had to buy something else. It was a blue 4 door with dog dish hub caps, vinyl seats, vinyl fool mats, and no a/c. After it sat on the lot for months we put carpets in it, full wheel covers, and a vinyl roof. A used car wholesaler came in with a gizmo and cut shallow grooves around the sidewalls and dyed them white, instant white wall tires. One of our customers bought it and drove it for years without noticing the 140 mph certified speedometer or that "low" was missing from his shift indicator. He also never mentioned the stiff ride from the cop suspension.

 

[Will]

Yeah, that's a police car. I'll bet that needle still waved at you as you accelerated. Certified happy wave.

 

[sgtsandman]

My vote is for second as well. I remember some vehicles having it instead of 2.

 

[19Walt93]

(1) if the needle wavers you need to lube the speedo cable
(2) no need to vote, the "S" is for second. I was there.