This how the story is told to me by Cyclone Kevin and Adriene here on the HAMB. I want to help them out but have no expirence with this. Here is the deal.............41 Chevy with vacuum shift that's been out doors for 3 years on open soil. The car shifted fine before being set out to sit. Know it is difficult to shift from R-1 to 2-3. Will shift fine reverse to 1st and 1st to reverse. Once it will get to 2-3 it will shift 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 2nd fine. So I think it's not vacuum related. Any suggestions as to why the cross over is so difficult. Is adjustment? dirty? needs lubing?
gear lube or inside tranny, if the vacume thingy is removed or not working it is real difficult to shift decent
Had similar trouble with my 41,the fix was replacing the vaccuum advance module,with the hood up and engine running easy to see if it is working or not by accelerating the engine and watch to see if it is fully advancing.a leak in the vaccuum system is first noticed when they quit shifting easily.a vaccuum test is the place to start
Ok, will do vac. check. Still confused as to why the problem is only on the cross over from 1st to 2nd or 2nd to 1st only. Does anyone have factory diagrams of the linkage and adjustments and a trouble shooting chart. The manuals I have nothing in depth on this.
Johnie Gee. Spent the morning @ Oz-a-Motive working with Oscar on the 41, ran real fine,started good and looked at the shifter mechanism. I don't think all is right with the mechanical side of the column mechanism. I don't hear a vac leak. Oscar shifted the it in the R-1st range, then attempted to get into 2nd-3rd, I did not see a movement of the the other shift rod, so I now have the Johnie's Jeepster,which I'm going to have Oscar shift it in all gears so I can see what is not happening with 41. I did bring the 41's shop manual home so that I can read up, but I see that it goes more in the vac chamber for info. Now i know why I really like top shift transmissions! = . Thx for doing the post. If anybody else knows what the heck to do with one of these, feel free to stop by Oz-a-Motive in Alhambra. PM me for the addy.
1957 My first car was a 41 coupe, my biggest complaint was the vacuum shift worked perfect. A pleasure to drive but impossible to speed shift. It had new paint , interior, tires, cost a whole fifty bucks, but hated trying to force that shifter
Years ago when driving my Dad's '41 (about 1954) I discovered that if I had my co-pilot pull the choke out just as I started my 1-2 shift I could get off a fairly rapid shift. I wasn't like shifting a Ford or Plymouth but it was pretty good.
Since it's the crossover from one side of the shifter to the other, it's probably gummed up where the shaft goes thru one of the bushings, or something is misaligned.
Now you tell me!! I used to pull the choke out cruising thru the hamburger joints so it would sound like it had a cam.
Got my 1955 JC Whitney catalog here...it shows 2 kits for the wretched Chevy shifters. One supposedly adds a bit of directional motivation to the miserable shift jamming device on the lower steering column, the other is an eliminator kit for the vac part of shifter, available in 1939 and '40-48 flavors. The '41 vac eliminator seems to be just a very simple lever, though I have no clue as to what said lever is replacing. Even the simple rod coming down from the jamming device to the trans seems to be a Salvador Dali nightmare on these cars! Oh...there is ANOTHER Chevy shifter solution on the next page I see now...'40-48 Chevy conversion heavy duty trans with floor shift, apparently an earlier Chevy trans.
Bruce and all, Thank you for the info. Working on it right now. Bruce, is there anyway that you could scan the picture of the Vac Eliminator Rod thingy. Would like to see it.
I could only xerox and mail...ask around here first, there must be thousands of people on here with old JCW catalogs, and some of them may know how to work electricity... Any Whitney catalog from the day after these cars were introduced into the 1960's will have the kit. Hold the presses! Look here: http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail/21425/GEAR_SHIFT_CONVERSION_KIT_CONVERTS_VACUUM_ASSIST.html That pretty well matches what I see in the JCW catalog; the arm is shown by Whitney pointing down and forward at about 45 degrees. $2.75 then...$150.00 now, looks like they are making about 148.50 in clear profit!! I think stock arm clamps on like that...all you need would be a strip of flat metal and a piece of rod that's been run over by something heavy. You can probably build an exact duplicate right in the fastener aisle at Home Depot!
Thanks Everyone, Wow, I figured it all out and it was kind of a brain squeezer!, It all works great now. What a pain though! This is for Adriene's dad,so that he can enjoy a ride in what is he drove as a 1st car back when he was a kid=He's 84 now, Trying to keep him around! We're doing this as a surprise so he doesn't even know that we have his car- Nope this isn't overhauling, just a daughter and her friend just tyring keep em rolling
I put a NOS vacuum can in my 48 daily driver when I restored it 5 years ago and it works great ever since. It's a neat simple idea that makes shifting really easy and effortless, keeping the shifter arm short and the hand on the steering wheel. Here is a rarely seen bumper jack using the vacuum canister and extension hose in a 1940 GM media archive photo. So easy, you can even hold your hat with your free hand....
As posted on this thread reply #14 Kevin got it fixed. Had breakfast this morning with him and he told me the good news. After breakfast I followed him to see the 41 for the first time myself. Very nice 41. Just to detail a lil more as to what Kevin found and fixed (you can't even call it a repair really). The linkage had come off that becames engaged when you pull back to get reverse and first. Only the larger main rod was working and not the smaller one. Thanks for all the replies. Squirrel, you are always as sharp as a tack when it comes to details. You understood that it was on the crossover only.
Thanks for all the helpful input everyone. K, you & Oscar (aka Ozzie!) are the best! Thank you sincerely for making an important wish come true for me and my Dad.
^^^^^That was a fun night Adriene. Lots of Photos that night taken by an up and coming photographer Ana J earlier that eve. Kevin even let me drive the 41 to get it grouped in with our cars. Had a big smile on my face doing it.
Cool , I was posting for some of the same info, I wanted to get rid of the vac assist . And the good thing is that the transmission that I had picked up for $50 had the arm on it, now just have to modifie an extra gear shift rod to make it work.
That's great Johnny, heard you all had fun! Wish I coulda been there. Seeing the '41 in his driveway all ready to go sure surprised my Dad today! Sending you guys a pic along with our appreciation.
^^^^^ That is what make's the HAMB great Adriene, here's to Dad and you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIRuri1AB0I&feature=relmfu
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