The way I grew up, I've always associated column shifts with elderly non-car people who drive very slowly wearing hats. More recently I've come to reject the doctrine that newer is necessarily better on philosophical grounds. For these reasons I could never really feel that presumably brief phase in the development of the hot rod when adapting the latest OEM column shift to a hot rod was the happening thing. At the same time I have a growing appreciation for all the various antecedents of the conventional automatic transmission; the Cotals and the Wilsons and all the others or their broad ilk, with all kinds of little gear levers growing out of the most unlikely places. I'm reaching the point where my ideal gearbox isn't so much a full-manual automatic as a manual built out of automatic parts. Add to this visions of Erik Carlsson vigorously stirring the column shifter of a two-stroke Saab rally car, and I cannot but concede that there are some builds which really want a column shift. Here's the question. Has anyone tried their hand at a truly performance-oriented column shift, be it for manual or automatic? I can actually see one of those old side-by-side automatic shifters, with a conventional linear gate on one side and a ratchet gate on the other, being adapted to column use to good effect. Anyone?
As much of a Ford guy as I am, I believe GM cornered the market on a precise column shift in cars everybody could afford. So much so that Chrysler ended up buying them from GM for the few late seventies cars they put manual column shift in.... Mercedes is the only builder I can think of right off the bat who had a 4 speed column shift. The real trick is to have nice tight bushings and no slop in the linkage, and have no looseness in the engine mounts. Any slop anywhere adds up incrementally and makes quick shifts a worrisome process.
Given the lack of suitable donor units to build off of, I don't see it as likely. Before automatics became nearly standard equipment, the manufacturers put some effort into manual column shifts, with most 40s/50s shifters being pretty decent units as long as they weren't worn badly. Go back and look at 'vintage' pictures and finding column shifters swapped into '30s cars wasn't uncommon (and the girlfriend liked it a lot... LOL). Personally, I always liked the '50s era Ford shifters as you could speed-shift those pretty well and they rarely 'hung up' like the same-era GM shifters did. But by the '60s, manual transmissions were no longer common and rather than the auto shifter being a adaptation from a manual, the manual became derived from the automatic shifter with degraded performance. The die-cast shift collars Ford used in the '60s/70s were a disgrace IMO. Column four speed shifters were common on European cars in the '50s/early '60s. Besides the ones mentioned, Jaguar, Hillman, Austin and Citroen all used them at one time or another, I'm sure there were others.
I like the way you think! I am humbly asking for permission to use this phrase in my signature line: "I've always associated column shifts with elderly non-car people who drive very slowly wearing hats."
I had a 55 chevy convertible that was originally a 3 spd column shift, I looked into using it as a 4spd shifter with a cable operated reverse, but I wimped out and went with a floor shifter. i now have a 56 chevy that i thought about adding a column shift to, but I went with a 5spd instead.
How about recycling a different tech for its shifting ability? In the early '60's, standard shifts were failing faster than they could be replaced in many drag classes. The old T10 had become useless for big engines, Ford and Muncies came along for a while, then the huge Chrysler...it was strong but drew criticism because the huge gears resisted rapid speed changes or overwhelmed the synchros on slam shifts. Chrysler went into Torqueflites due to lack of a 4 speed first, then after they got one found that many racers preferred the AT that had first been a default. The Chryslers could keep running while the four-speeds were being hosed off of the track. Bands and clutch packs shifted with far less violence than synchros bringing gears in and out of engagement. What got me thinking back then was the Clutchflyte. No need for any fluid losses or the huge flywheel effect of an oil filled converter, coupled with fairly non-violent instant shifting. How about a basically automatic type trans with valves and restrictions rejiggered specifically for near instant shifts, a clutch only needed when stopped, AND--a big gap in AT's--a real shift pattern so you could confidently go up and down with no missteps??
If the issue is floor space, perhaps the shifter could be mounted through the dash. Many current cars are. Some old ones too, maybe early Dodge vans? I know those are automatics, but levers/rods/cables could be used. Although that doesn't seem "precise". Maybe electronics, solenoids or linear actuators?
I'll have to disagree about the 'non-violent' shifting part. One reason these went out of favor was because with the cushioning effect of the torque convertor gone, internal trans breakage became an issue. I knew a guy who installed one of these in his street-driven car and it would 'bark' the tires on every shift, regardless of throttle opening. He finally removed it as he got tired of trying to explain to the cops that it was 'normal'....
Most automatics are shifted with solenoids these days. Theoretically they can be "manualized" by ditching the computer and manually switching the solenoids in sequence from a (usually) 5V source. It's actually that which got me onto this line of idle speculation today.
My '55 Ford would hang up if you even thought about shifting it quickly. You had to hold your tongue just right, move the lever just right and whisper a prayer with each shift. But I loved driving that old Ford. The guy I sold it to immediately yanked the 3 spd/OD out of it. (wimp) I suppose one could apply the various elements of a good competition floor shifter; improved geometry, stronger rods, metal bushings and careful adjustment along with firm motor mounts and come up with a column shift that you could beat up on. At least for a while.
'40-48 shifters work pretty well if all the bushings are good to get rid of slop. For more violence, the parts as simple enough to replace with heavier steel bits. My '48 got hard nylon replacement bushings (over the counter at Joblot loooong ago!) that were alone a major improvement over the moribund stock rubber ones.
Okay, so boiling the thread title down to its pure essence, the question is...... "Is there a shifter with Hurst charisma for column shifts?" The answer is...... "Yea, sort of." There's nothing to prevent you from putting a snarky, hot rod style knob on your column shifter. How about an 8-ball, a skull, a Mooneyes? Hell! How about a Hurst knob with the shift pattern etched right in it? My point is, you can have just as much funk factor with a column shift as you can with a rootie tootie floor shift. I've never not been able to chirp the old bias plys with a column shift whenever the mood struck me. A cool shift knob is the cherry on the cupcake to show the world I've got the attitude and maybe I've got a couple of good moves, too.
South Africa are RHD ye? Always a pain to get a RHD column shift column. IDIDIT have a collapsible tilt column about to be released. handles 3 or 4 speed.
I built this Z gate column shift for the automatic in the old truck. I needed help to keep me from skipping 2nd gear when I made a pass at the dragstrip. I just slap it, and it goes into 2nd, then slap it again and it goes into 3rd. A sorry photo but I guess you get the idea. The pin on the shift lever goes into the Z when you pull it down into low gear. In the photo the shift lever is in the park position. John
The Jalopy Journal
