When Three was on the Tree…

In 1940, Ford made a few significant changes to their cars including new steel wheels with smaller bolt pattern, a completely updated exterior & interior, and lastly a column-mounted shifter, moving the lever up from the floor. Since the late 1930s, all the car companies had begun relocating the shift lever to the column or dash, so Ford was catching up. The idea was simple: Open up floor space so the front seat can better accommodate three passengers across. As the number female drivers was increasing, it meant a more sophisticated means of gear selection as well. And so began the birth of ‘Three on the Tree’ as it was affectionately known, a shifter placement that would be with us for the great automotive period of the 40s, 50s and 60s. A few weeks ago, I was with a group visiting the car collection of Ray Evernham and he showed us a 1940 Ford that was believed to be an original moonshiners car. Ray graciously told me to take it out for a spin, and who was I to argue? My buddy Brian had never driven an old car in his life, but really wanted to try it, so I offered to show him how to work a column shifter. Sitting on the passenger side and watching someone try to work the ‘H’ pattern for the first time took me back to being a young man and driving my custom ’49 Lincoln again. To see Brian think carefully about each shift (and make a few mis-shifts), learn about non-synchronized first gear, it was all putting a smile on my face. Some say ‘Three on the Tree’ is just a driving novelty, but I think column shifting transports us back to a simpler time and place, forcing the driver to slow down and think about each gear change just a tiny bit more. That’s not such a bad thing…