I recently got my grubby paws on a near stock '51 Chevy 3100. It's got a 235 out of a '55 with a 4 on the floor with a granny low. As I was driving her home, I noticed a lot of "slop" in the shifter. Damn thing is all over the place in every gear. I've never worked on those old transmissions, and wondered if anyone could give me a little direction on where to start looking so I can try and get rid of all that play. It drives fairly well, and when you can actually hit the gears through all the play is pretty nice. Any help would be appreciated. Here's a picture of the old girl also.
Knock out the riveted in pins on the sides of the tower & find a pair of the bolt in replacements. Weld up the grooves in the lever ball & file them back to original width. It'll be tighter than new. (The grooves are slightly concave.)
The spring under my shifter has collapsed a little from over the years. I am curious where to find a new spring
I find that the top plate sliders get sloppy after many years of use and abuse. Pop it off and see what it looks like. I used to get parts through a local GMC dealer to freshen them up. No idea who carries them now. A whole newer transmission may bolt right up, thinking of a SM420 or 465, I know they are direct replacement on 1957 and up trucks, not sure how far back they fit into. Bob
Thanks for the replies. GasserSteve, I'm pretty sure that I saw the springs on the LMC website for a few bucks. That's one of the things I was looking at replacing in the shift tower.
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