What was cool back in the day? For an AV8

[MattStrube]

Ok, I'm trying to find out if column shift trannys were the "IN" thing back in the late 40's and early 50's. My brother says that all the Hot Rodders were lookin to put them in their AV8's because they were the hot new setup. What are your thoughts on this one? Did a lot of guys just use the floor shift tranny's because they were cheap? I got a line on a column shift type tranny and am wondering if I should go for it. Thanks for the Help. Matt

[MattStrube]

By the way, I'm building an AV8 roadster with a Merc Flathead

[Psychobilly Boi]

hey mate,

i've always heard that the floor shit was the prefernce. the only time id think a column shit woudl be better is when you have a date http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

danny

[SamIyam]

I think your brother is full of shit, and is talking out his ass...

oh wait, I'm your brother... nevermind.

Sam.

[AV8Paul]

A good friend of mine built a channeled '32 roadster in the late 50's. It had a flathead with a 40 ford column shift. He's still driving it today. (only it has an early sbc now. installed around 1962) I think a column shift in an AV8 would be a little tight. There isn't a heck of a lot of room in that narrow frame.

[NealinCA]

I agree with your shit talkin' brother.

Look in the Don Montgomery books, there are plenty of column shift roadsters in there. Go for it.

Neal

[MattStrube]

Yea my brother not only talks out his ass, but he is an ass. Hey SamIYam, keep to the topic at hand...:)

[old beet]

I know they didn't have floor shift kits, in the mid 50s. We made um by cuttin down column shift linkage. I remember a few guys with left hand column setups. Think most guys used 39 boxes!......OLDBEET

[MattStrube]

Neal, What about the room factor in the A frame?

[choprods]

Hi-UKMS's-why not ROTATE the shift levers around where they face the outside of car-then re do the linkage to fit?might reverse the shift pattern but wasnt that cool too?Im going that way on this 31 Roadster Im starting. it will use a 47 Lincoln-steering wheel/column and auto shifter.....I wanna be cool too! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[MattStrube]

Chop, you're talking about puting the shifter on the left side of the column? Also, is the later tranny a better shifting tranny? Is that why guys put the 48 gears in a 39 box?

[Kevin Lee]

I think collumn shift would be a pretty cool - but I had to fight for every bit of space in that area just to fit my pedals, column, steering box, and exhaust. Remember I'm cramming all of this into a stock length A frame with a pretty substantial X member encroaching into that space too. You've probably got the advantage of being patient enough to wait until you've collected all of your parts before starting the build though...I didn't give myself that luxury.

If you can get the column shift box cheap enough it would be good to have because yes, it should shift better...and all of those parts will swap over to a toploader case if you decide to do that.

[laverda]

I have read that the 'cool' mod was a column shift rotated to the left side so the right arm was free to hold the sweet heart http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif That was one of the key points to owning the hot car ... get the girl!

Later,
papa al

[Bruce Lancaster]

Remember that modernization of old cars was a big drive back then, just as with streetrodders now, and column shift in an A or even a '32 was a tinkerer's tour de force.* Putting this into a deuce actually requires narrowing the pedal box to getitallinthere, and an A would be challenging for John Buttera. The Ford column linkage can be move to top or bottom of column and with shifter pointing either way. The original Ford linkage with good bushings and adjusted is quite nice to drive--it lacks the general stiffness and clunkiness of GM column shifts.
All column shift boxes have some version of the good synchro setup, but that doesn't matter much since the gears will go into any V8 Ford box.

* Be thankful it didn't become traditional to put '47 Lincoln hydraulic windows into rods!

[alchemy]

I'm working on a stock pedaled 32 with a 39 trans and I don't even have room to fit the stock chatter rods in there. I have NO IDEA how you're ever gonna fit an extra set of linkage in the A frame beings its even narrower than the 32 frame.

It may have been done before, but that doesn't make it the best way. Good luck if you try it. And take pics to show us how it works.


alchemy

[Bruce Lancaster]

I've got a pic (in the olde HRM "How to build a Hot Rod book from about 1962) of a '32 crossmember area with column shift. I think this car used the method from California Bill's book:face about an inch from the contact point of the two pedals and narrow the box the same amount. The area is a jungle of stuff with tight but workable clearances. And I sure don't see the anti chatter rod down there--probably used the old Hurst substitute things up front.

[Ajax]

Performance wise, I have seen articles from the pre-Hurst days advising the use of a column-shift for faster shifting.