How does a column shifter work?

Just wondering where one might find parts for a late 60s GM column.

My '68 GMC is worn badly, and often hangs up.
Looks like the main issues are at the bottom of the column, but I've had no luck finding parts for a repair.

 

I had to pry mine apart on the way to my great uncle's funeral. Got my hands all greasy with a suit on.

 

Used to have a girlfriend that went into terrified mode when the vacuum wipers in the Falcon stopped... So I ALWAYS spent WAY too much time on the gas in the rain! Screams and squeals were my reward... Well, not exactly, the reward was her gratefullness at still being alive when we got where we were going... AND, she was a VERY,VERY gratefull girl!!!

 

I have 3 on the tree and OD in my A. You will enjoy driving your setup. Frequently I take old and young hot rodders out and let them learn or relearn the 3 speed column shift overdrive experience. It always brings a smile from all participants. I have my overdrive set up in the stock (wiring) configuration. Operation is fun and smoothe, and the install was actually fairly trouble free. The next 2 projects are slated for powerglides so they are wife and daughter friendly, but I've already collected extra OD setups for the grandkids to help build and learn on.

overspray (in overdrive)

 

Column shift is great for snuggling your girl friend as you drive, not so great for fast shifting.

It was invented in the late 30s as cars were getting wider, to allow 3 people to sit comfortably in the front seat.

There were 4 speed column shift cars. I had several Mercedes from the fifties and sixties with this feature.

When automatics came in it meant those who only wanted transportation did not have to mess around with gear shifting anymore.

Then manual trans 4 speeds made a comeback, with floor shift for better control.

Now everyone has gone back to floor shift because cars have got so narrow, driveshaft and transmission housings so big, and our asses so fat, you can only fit 2 in the front seats again.

 

yeah vacuum wipers suck. Of course they did. It's when they didn't suck you had problems ! A column shifter and a floor shifter is in no way the same. The floor shifter went directly into fingers inside the tranny. It's all those levers and fingers on a column shifter that eventually made them sloppy. Still if kept in good shape they worked fine. Even those vacuum shift ones. Speedshops made cool looking four speeds just so we'd spend money on stuff we didn't need. Just like today's speedshop crap that only helps over 8000 RPM.
As for why kids in modern low cars making fun when you are shifting your column shifter....it looks to them like you are masturbating. Are you?

 

"Little Wing ", ..............
Fords, in tha' '40's ...............we used to move selecter to the Left side of the Coluum,
Talk about snagging second gear !!!!!!!!!
(Talk about, Tearing sum Trannies Uo, Hell Yeah ! )

Quote: Dare to be Different,
Not Strange, DIFFERENT ! (Smiley Face Here _____________)

smokeey also




{ 651 }

 

Been there, done that on the getting out and flopping the lever back to center so the thing will shift. What I want to know is why it always happened when I had a good shirt on.

 

Simple answer is "it doesn't"... well, not every time anyway. Things with age are prone to wear, and wear causes occasional failure. I find them (column shifters) to be a rather pain in the ass. Got lucky and found a brand new Mr. Gasket universal 3-speed shifter, still in the box and in plastic bags, in the back seat of a 1969 LTD w/ a 3-speed toploader, shifter on the column (apparently someone was going to convert it but never got around to it), and threw in my '53 Chevy in about an hour and a half. MUUUUUUUUCH better in my opinion, and cost me around $12. But that is only my opinion. Some prefer the column shifter.

 

On a Ford...each lever on trans has three positions, gear-neautral-gear, and each of the 2 levers on column moves on lever through those positions. Pulling up along axis of column moves shift action from the 1-n-R lever to the 2-n-3 lever, and unless all is totally worn out you can only change rows in neutral. There is also an interlock spring loaded device between the 2 shifters on trans that at least til it all wears out prevents you from selecting 2 gears simultaneously. The column stuff is very easy to figgerout in person, staring at the mechanism. Quality in my experience runs Ford (smooth and accurate) to MoPar (accurate and stiff) to GM (sloppy and loose). All require good bushings, especially where the up-and-down rods connect to the arms at each end.

 

Used to drive an old Benz that had a 4 speed column shift.
As I recall the purpose of flipping the shifter to the left hand side of the column was so you didn't have to remove your right arm from around your girl to shift when you were out cruising.

 

Really? I think it's WAY cooler than a slush-box.

 

I'll stick with my Hurst equipped four on the floor, shifting a three on the tree makes you look like you're having a seizure.

 

I got a 1968 gmc c15 today going to work something happened inside the column. Shifter flops up and down (3 on the tree) only can use 2-3 cannot access 1 and reverse. Kinda wondering what’s up with it. Gotta tear it apart and see what hatched in there

 

This is not a 68 gmc. It’s way older.

 

I got to drive a couple of three-on-the-tree pickup trucks years ago; it definitely took a bit of patience to get the feel for it. Then there was the four-on-the-tree 1960's Saab we had in highschool auto shop. Friend of mine got it up and running, and said it was a good time shifting that one.

 

They are a good time to run

 

Me and my Plymouth / my Plymouth and I have an "understanding". It's fought me from day #1. Three on the tree and a flat 6. It will get you there; just don't be in a hurry. I think it knows I'm not a mopar guy.

 

I would buy a car or pickup strictly to have another three on the tree. I loved it when my Valiant had one.

 

Oh, yeah, fun. I taught myself to drive a manual in a borrowed pickup with worn linkage. It would regularly jam up the linkage shifting from 2 to 3, requiring stopping and crawling underneath to “flop” it back in to shape.

 

Hey I got a 48 3100, just landed a rear drum for the heavy axles. Thanks again !!

 

I remember my dad had a piece of rope tied to one of the levers in his '59 Rambler so that when it got stuck, usually at a stop light, he reached under the dash, pulled the rope and off we went.

 

Those old column shifters worked fine when they were new, the 63 Fairlane with an all syncro three speed and column shift worked pretty good, at least until the shift collar pin broke out at about 60K miles, then I upgraded to a Sparkamatic and it was OK until I scattered the box doing a speed shift from first to second I wouldn't mind having another but probably won't.

 

I only have one right now, the 57 Sedan Delivery- sold the 66 Fairlane wagon. Neither one was very bad, not sloppy. If you really want to try a mystery shifter, get in one of those old Ford C-series cabovers (the Budd cab). The shifter has to kinda follow the cab when it is tilted forward, and then it crosses over and down the frame and back up to the trans, with a large number of U-joints to allow it to function. At first it's a little rough at first, but once you get the ghost pattern down, you can shift it pretty well.
Some of my gramps old REO trucks had not only the foot starter and vacuum wipers, but a vacuum shifter on the dash to shift the 2-speed rearend. Every time you'd shift a gear, the wipers would get in about 3 strokes before you got back on the throttle- but they had a helper handle so you could reach up and help them along on the hills

 

Had a buddy with a 70ish Plymouth Satelite convertible with a slant 6 and 3 speed in it. When he blew the 3 speed
up (being stupid), we swapped in a 4 speed from a Duster, but the linkage on the shifter would not clear the floorpan.
Solution mount it going down instead of up. This reverses the shift pattern so 1 and 3 were down, 2 and 4 were up.
Took some getting used to, but he drove that thing for years that way.