I have a 64 impala that i want to put an automatic column in. It was originally a 3 speed manual on the column but someone put in a b&m floor shifter and a th350 .Im going to run that th350 but i do not want cut or screw/bolt into the floor. So i was wondering what other gm automatic columns may work. Also what bench seats can work in it, bought it with buckets.
^^^ this you can use a powerglide colum and but a different detent plate for it. several companies So can I assume that it is not a sport coupe? Why on earth would you want to put a bench in a sport coupe if it is?
this i what im trying to do but need to know what else fits so i can broaden my search. i dont know what you mean by 3 spd conversion. i bought it with a th350 and i plan on keeping it but the car was a manual car and i dont want to put a floor shiftier back in it i didnt know i could swap a detent plate. im going to go do some more investigating. as far as the seat, it was a mutt, so im going to go back with a bench.
I'm going back with a bench in my F100. (extremely foxy young wife looks good sitting next to me, guess it's a '50s thing!)
Ok then the bench out of a Bel Aire or a biscaine from 61 to 64 will be a bolt in. I am not totally sure but I'll bet that the column out of a car ranging from '59-64 will be a bolt in. If you decide to stay with buckets ( I know you already have your sites set on a bench) then a console from an olds Pontiac or Chevy will work from that era and I just happen to have the shifter from a '64 Cutlas that will work fine with a glide, T 350 or T 400. Anyway if you lad a power glide column yes they make detent plate conversions for your T 350 as well as the 700R4.
what else besides bel-airs, biscaynes and impalas? any other gm's? olds, pontiacs, buicks ? it was a 3 speed manual column car
On that it may be the tale of the tape measure. That and how they connect to the steering shaft on the firewall side. If you aren't looking for a tilt a stock Chevy column shouldn't be that hard to find or that expensive.
Too bad you're on the opposite end of the country. I have a 63 Biscayne, 4 door sedan, front seat that's in PERFECT condition (car had 53K original miles on it). It's the red, sort of "hounds-tooth" pattern, but has the solid back, no split bench. It would be free too! Any X frame car should work for a column, 58-64, and possibly as late as 68. It would depend on where the rag joint is located. Aftermarket column? I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Not being a split seat and a four door car, it wouldn't tilt would it ? I have a two door (didn't even think about that in the beginning). If it tilts, that would be great. But if it doesn't I still need to get in the back seat.
Im in the middle of converting my 283, 3 on the tree 64 Bel Air 2 door to a TH350 column shift car as we speak cause I as well like a bench seat so i can fit 6 people in the car and roll... I went and found a power glide column out of wrecked 63 Impala and purchased from Ecklers Chevy in Florida an adapter rod kit that allows you to use a power glide column with a th350... its a bolt in. If you want (but not needed) they also sell the column indicator for the 3 different gears versus just the original 2 speed glide. That kit cost about $50 or so. worth the money. I have the entire automatic center shaft to a 64 with the "casing" or outer column from the dash to the wheel just not in a tube... And not sure how tricky it is to swap center shafts....
That's what I've been reading and trying to go with. But parts cars have dried up around here. I wouldn't mind. But the wife would want to cruise and she doesn't like driving a stick car, she can just doesn't want to. I will be just a cruiser.
I'm a dumbass, I get it now. Shifter leverage linkage. I've also seen cable shift linkage, lokar for example, if I can find the parts
I have a Chevy parts interchange book and it lists the automatic column as 63-64 Chevy full size, on a column shift manual it lists 59-64 full size Chevy so it may be possible the 59-62 Full-size Chevy column shift automatic may work but may be slightly different. On the Seats they list by the bare seat frame, (backrest and then bottom). On the backrest it lists 63-64 full-size Chevy, Pontiac & Oldsmobile two door, on the benchseat bottom it lists 63-64 full size Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile or Buick, they also list 62-65 Chevy II. That's what the book shows.
I have seen an Impala with an Olds column before. I didn't bolt it in so I don't know if any holes need to me finagled but the column should work just fine. We used to put glides in 3 speed cars because that is what we had and just hooked the stock column up to the transmission but it isn't like it is made for it. It worked and that was all we cared about.
I'm working on a '64 SS and I don't know how much help I'll be but I'll throw a few bits of info in here. The turn signal switch of a '64 apparently interchanges with 65-66 and the plastic piece that bolts to the back of the steering wheel to cancel the signals is different on the earlier models, which may be why the columns don't have the same part number. I think it'd be easy enough to put an earlier column in the car but you might not be able to use a stock '64 wheel with it and have the turn signals work. If it's custom, that might not be a big deal. I also remember that the Buick LeSabre shared a bench seat with the Impala, although I think the side trim panels were different. I'd bet Olds 88 would also work. The big cars like Electra, Olds 98 and Bonneville would most likely be too wide for a seat swap. And the Buick and Olds had a different shift pattern which would most likely make the columns different as well (reverse at the bottom, different detent pattern and linkages). I know you were looking for a bench seat, but also keep in mind that the early Corvair had the same size bucket seats as the '64 Impala, only without the chrome band over the top. Even the 4 door Monza models had buckets in them and they all folded forward. If you're just trying to eliminate some ugly late model bucket seats swapped in, that's not a bad way to go.
Those bucket seats are great for cruisin around, but there ain't nothing like a big bench seat for parking. JC
Pokie, go to eBay, search Impala seat. There is a 61-64 front seat for $249 Buy It Now. There is also a Nova
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