School me good please! What are the ins and outs of using a side shift trans in place of the "old faithful". Are there any tried and true cool ways of using these transmissions with floor shifters instead of the column?
Shine: Your talking about 48 and earlier and I'd bet TW is thinking 49---53. You'd need to change bell housings etc. if I'm right in my thinkin' Tim
I guess the reason I bring this up is I'm assuming the side shift is less desirable thus less expensive, no? I didn't know if it's ever been anywhere near common practice to use these and adapt a floor shift setup. And no I don't mean turning it into a top shift via changing the cases around. Thanks Timmy, Wyatt.
Shine: If I remember correctly, the 46-48 car trans had a better set of gears, but would fit in the '39 back trans case. Bruce or Charlie could tell you. Hopefully they'll see this thread in a day or two. Tim
I am mostly interested in its ability to be shifted through the floor. I'm in the dark on this one. Did anyone make an aftermarket floor shift for these, could I adapt or make my own?
Is yours open drive or torque tube? What vehicle is it going in? I wanted to do this on my F-1 3 speed, but the cross member interfered with the shifter/linkage and the shift arms on the trans were 180 degrees off. Not much to attach the shifter to either. Decided to go T5 instead....
Yeah id like to run a t-5 one is laying right there, zero dollars, very tempting. But I wanted to run a torque tube and the late 40's police would never let me live it down. So I feel forced to explore other frugal options besides the standard "39 w/Zephyr...".
Nothing wrong with using what you have, do you think every 50's Joe Hot Rodder ran a '39 box, dual carbs, finned heads? They generally all started with a stock setup out of some mom and pop car. 1941-1948 is a wide margin of parts donors back in the 50's...
Runnin If you want to use a side shift transmission (40-48 Ford), there were floor shift kits made. I have no idea what, if anything, is available now. I'm sure you could make or modify something to do this. As far as them being cheaper, I'd say yes, as it's the "78" floor shift case and shifter that's so desireable to many. Now, if you're talking about the later 49 & up transmissions, those were readily available with overdrives, but no torque tube. Some early Lincolns had an overdrive with a torque tube drive. I have no idea of years. Bruce Lancaster would be the person to ask. What is it you're trying to accomplish? Jim
Half of the '49-'53 flathead Fords seem to come with O.D. They saved LOTS of fuel back when it was cheap. They were all column shift, of course. I want to use such a trans in my '40 Ford behind a 327 Chevy, and I am not expecting to do burnouts or powershifting. They were easy to convert to floorshift with many companies offering kits. The T-5 won't allow me to retain my columnshift, so it's out. Good luck in your endeavor.
Yes again I'll say I want to stick with the torque tube. Gotta try hard to keep this thing pre 50s. It's mostly about saving money whenever possible. So just doing some investigation. I'm also lured by this being a little unique if I can can up with a believable "old" looking way of making it floor shift. This does not include slapping a chrome "Hurst, Mr.Gasket, or B+M" newer type contraption on there. I'll even make a shifter maybe out of some "newer" pieces if those stay below the floor and if I get some backup on this being a possible traditional thing to do. I guess I also was wondering if anybody ditched the column shift in there 1940 Ford(or other CS bodied) back in the 40s not just a rodder building something from junkyard salvaged parts.
I have a 3 sp overdrive in our 49 sedan. Nice original style set up. The OD is handy. We put a T5 in our 32 (see video below) and it's great. Basically the same flat motor in both cars (49). My choice between the two? T5 is, by far, the better deal in my opinion! Easier to shift - no throwing your arm up to grab second gear. Syncronized easy shifting. That gear spread really makes that engine come to life. Both are fun but the T5 is more fun and easier...
Some of the early small mags do have home-made floor conversion articles, done in several different ways... OD with tube is available, '40-48 Lincoln trans...but the price will shock you! There were multiple '60's kits of the type you (and I ) dislike. For early cars, I think all will shove the shifter too far to the left for anyone's taste. Awkward piles of junk made out of old Erector sets. Radical thought, and most traditional in my opinion...scare up a '40-48 steering column and adapt column shift... this involves crowded space on an early car, but is accomplished with only simple tinkering. With good bushings and proper adjustment, these early Ford column shifts work very well, this is not the sloppy mess the Chevy and Chrysler used! This is very traditional...rodders started doing it as soon as the first '40 Ford hit the junkyard. Good column shifts (there were some very bad ones on many non Fords) were not considered undesirable stuff until the super stock and musclecar fads...
Thanks so much Bruce I thought I should have had the courage to ask you directly. This works into my belief of using many parts pulled from a post 1939 body or chassis. I thought of just using CS as it would seem like a feasible 40s install. I too would not like the shifter mechanism slid in to my throttle leg. I have the 40 column mast and steering wheel. Plus I was going to use a 40 box and many other 40 parts like Zephyr wheels and Deluxe caps. I think the Column shift could be nifty. I am scared a little about good setup and fitting it amongst 34 x-member, pedals and under car exhaust. I first learned how to drive with a 3 on the ol'tree so it might be sentimentally soothing? I suppose they'd never let you in at TROG with a T5 even if rapped in a wool blanket. Overdrive is hard to beat in modern real world driving though.
Basic drill on the CS is to have your pedals and engine in place, try on the shifter part with the levers and rods up and down the column and across, under, etc. until you find a path from A to B...it has been done in A's and '32s, which are even tighter. '32 pedals are VERY similar to '32 setup, and a way that was sometimes chosen with them was to narrow by slicing out essentially the part that bolts flat to crossmember, grinding away the pivot bosses on pedals to move them closer, and so create an inch of space for shifter arms. There have been some done by thorough rearrangement of shifter function...pivot box UNDER column, for instance, with levers flopped 180 degrees, that sort of thing. All simple hacksaw and drill kind of stuff. Once it all fits, new bushings in the rods and adjust lengths carefully. On overdrive...Lincoln stuff is expensive and does not like Ford crossmembers. Columbia is expensive and a little scary if you are planning to beat on it. Most sane is entirely non-trad but at least lives out of sight, the Mitchell rig.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...0-70’s-standard-3-speed-transmissions.926212/ and, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=7107
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