Manual Valve Body

[astroracer]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what is being asked, but with a gated shifter would it be possible to go from (for example) 1st directly to 3rd or 4th? Similarly for downshifting, would it be possible to go from 4th down to first?

It seems like you would be putting the transmission in neutral each time you changed gears. Would that be excessively hard on the transmission?

A gated automatic shifter will run through the gears without going to neutral. Neutral should be locked out until you physically unlock the gate with the shifter lever.
Look at any column or console shifter, you will see the N is between reverse and drive and cannot be reached through any other gear selection.
I ran a couple of TH350's with manual valve bodies a long time ago and got tired of rowing very quickly. I put the auto valve bodies back in within a couple of weeks... It's easy enough to "run thru the gears" when you pull the shifter back into Low.
Also, there is valving inside the transmission to protect it from a 4>3, 4>2, or 4>1 downshift with the console shifter. The trans will not downshift into the next gear until the RPM's and line pressures reach a certain point.
Mark



PS: Installing a "ratchet" style shifter like B&M's Mega unit or Hurst's V-Matic (same shifter as the B&M) will allow you to pull the shifter all the way down into 1 when you first start rolling. As the car speeds up you can just "slap" the shifter forward to the next gear. I just put the Hurst shifter in my '56 wagon with 200R4 and it works very well.