Just had to hop out at a light today and "un-hang" the shift arms on my '51 Fleetline. Sitting in front of Placer High, watching some body's underdressed daughter walking down the walk and got distracted while pulling it down from 2nd to 1st. Dang! Had to laugh at myself tho... I remember doing the same thing in my '63 C10 at lunch time in highschool back in '85... some stuff don't change. And it is my daily driver....
For me, the best column shifters were Fords, Chev's the worst, except for that awful Nash deal. Just the other day I took my '53 Desoto in to a general repair garage for State inspection, several younger mech's commented about the shifter, one saying he probably couldn't drive it,, Speaking of such,,the Desoto/MOPAR mechanism is a Mickey Mouse deal that has to be shifted carefully.
As a side note, on dates they were far superior to a floor shift as well !! (When Parked) [/QUOTE] Yes and second gear was always the best position when parked he he!
I learned to drive in 3OTT 1960 Chevy Brookwood wagon. I've had them in a couple of 46-48 Plymouths. I still have one in one of my '58's. When I was a kid they weren't considered very cool among the hot rod crowd but now I love em and they're fun to drive. I've never had any problems with them at all...ever.
I had a three on the tree in my 63 short bed. I really liked it a lot. I also liked I could put my drink on the flat floor over the tunnel. I miss that truck.
This thread makes me feel old. Three speed column shifters were the standard thing for my generation. Now they're considered exotic. Damn.
I haven't been normar since birth, my first car I had in 52 , a 37 Chevy, I put in a shifter from a 39 Chevy, 3 on the tree.
Taught my 8 year old how to drive my fairlane with one today. Bet none of his friends will ever even see one, most of his friends ask him if we are poor when I drop him off with one of the old cars at school. He LOLs at them
When I bought my '57 150 a couple years ago I was bummed that it had a late model column so the tree shifter was gone and converted to the floor. In the 60's, the first thing you'd do with that hundred dollar '55 when you got it home was convert it to a three by the knee using a Foxcraft conversion linkage. We used to call them Foxcrap.
I have great memories of drivin' early 60's Dodge's and Plymouth's with a 3OTT...and find myself checking the classifieds now and then just to find something cool to drive for the summer that has one...
Funny story about this subject. The year is 1961. My grandfather drives a '57 Ford with a three on the tree. My dad,20 years old at the time, drives a '56 Ford station wagon with an automatic and a tri-carbed 292. They lived on a dirt road in Marietta, Ohio, and Grandpa would oil the road in front of his house during the dry months to keep the dust down. So grandpa and his next door neighbor borrow dad's station wagon and go down to the local service station and pick up a 55 gallon drum of used engine oil. They head home,with the drum blocked in place,but not strapped in. Grandpa winds it up,forgetting what he was driving,and stabs the brake pedal(which he forgot was not a clutch pedal) while simultaneously shoving the shifter into park as if he were making the 1 to 2 shift in his own car. He just wasn't thinking. The worst part is, the neighbor had his upper arm rested on the back of the seat, with his forearm dangling behind the seat. The 55 gallon drum rolls forward rapidly(over the blocks) and breaks his arm. It's funny now.
^^^ Ive had sevral old worn out ones, mostly 60s chevy pickups..... Back and down to get you started for 1st then take off, till time to change then up almost to reverse but not quite,let it back down a little then jiggle forward a little for the slot between 2nd and 3rd then push her on up to 2nd, wind her on out a little more then on down to 3rd. I had a old 65 shortbed GMC that I drove everyday like this and never had a problem but as soon as I let someone else drive, They would lock the gears every time It was a one man truck I would tell them
The first one I drove was a 74 GMC that my uncle used as a trash truck. I was dog-sitting while he was on vacation and looking for an excuse to drive that thing. Right away I got it hung up and couldn't get it out of 1st. It was still that way when he got back, and he made it pretty clear he wasn't happy with me. Nowadays I have a 74 IH pickup, and they use a GM column-same mechanism, I suppose. I "rebuilt" it with a stack of washers in lieu of buying the right bushings. It works okay and hasn't hung up on me. One day I had a cute young lady stop me at the gas station and ask to look at my truck, including under the hood. Seems she learned to drive in one just like it, and often had to climb under the hood to un-hang it. The 3OTT in my shoebox is on a different level-it has a very sure feel to it. I really enjoy it. It surprised me how quickly my wife picked up on it.
i seen a post here about a 833 my6 od trans with colum shift and reverse in dash with cable so 4 on the tree. put gear in 1st and pull the reverse and it is the theifs nigthmare do this with engine shut of.
They're a great anti theft device. Most of the people who would steal a car today wouldn't know how to drive one.
Learned to drive with one in drivers ed. in 66, a 4 door Biscayne only one in the fleet, the others were all Fords with autos, just lucky I guess. Also had a 68 Dodge van with one that would jam up every now and then, kept a bar and hammer under the seat to free it up through the grill. Have one now with good bushings have no problems!!
I learned in a 76 ford pick-up with the 300 straight 6 in it supper fun to drive. And I just picked up a 47 Chevy fleetliner all stock it's still fun to drive brings back old memoirs. Good times
Back in the late '60's a school buddy had a Rambler that didn't like to go into second gear. He would pound it pretty hard with his palm, over time the shift lever bent to the point that it was at three o'clock horizontal in first or third and twelve o'clock straight up when in reverse or second. I have two friends that run four on the column now. One is a '50 Ford club coupe with a flattie and a Ford toploader, four on the column and a separate lever under the seat for reverse. The other is a '49 Ford coupe with a 401 nailhead and a T10, four on the column and reverse engaged by the original overdrive cable.
Column shifts are a blast. Problems, when the occur, are often due to worn bushings which are available for many Fords and Chevys. If you haven't experienced driving a 3 on the tree, don't let that keep you from buying a car you otherwise like. Worst case you can easily move it to the floor.
The Jalopy Journal
