i dont think hes buiding a dragster heath... no need to get upset. i know a floor shift is a little quicker from a to b to c but for most intents and purposes, on a regular street car i dont see any real advantage.
My 1st truck had a 3 on the tree, I loved it. In high school, when I filled the truck up with my buddies, I didnt have to rest my hand on the knee of the dude next to me, but could still easily hold my girlfriend close between shifts if it was us instead of the buddies on the way to football practice or a party.
this was on a used trany I picked up. trany went into a friends truck and I still have the shifter. "sparkomatic" never heard of it. I love my column shift myself.
I love the column shift on my 59 truck. Unlike any other truck I have ever owned... no one ever asks to borrow it for moving becuase most people can't drive it.
Got my last Spark O Matic at Warshawski Bros..in Chi about 1964. Three speed 55 Chevy 265. Cheap..hung up alot. I think it was about $19.95. Hurst shifters were double..or more IF I remember.. Most of us were looking to cut times on the street..those floor shifters were quicker than trees...easier to power shift. You'd get about 1/2 a car maybe more..each shift..and be able to keep revs up better. Floor shift was the "hot setup" for street racing..for us regular (poor) guys.. There were of course guys that could manhandle a tree..but those were thew "old guys"
Keep the colum shifter it has a different feel when your shifting it feels like a real classic ride not a muscle car where your shifting on th floor ,dont get me wrong floor shifters are the best but if your keeping it original or not haulin a** you should keep the three on the tree
i can remember teaching my kid to use "3 on the tree" in a 62' chevy truck and listening to him tell all his buddies about it. talk about excited! that was only 3 years ago. keep it on the column unless your gonna swap it for a 4-5 spd.
I have a 3 on the tree in the 55 Plymouth my wife and I own. No way would I change it even with the planned engine swap.
I have one of each and both are excellant for different reasons.The 3 on the tree is cool because it is original and not allot of people can jump in it and drive away.I have the 3 on the tree in my 54 chevy truck but I upgraded the trans to a later model full synchro trans which is a really cheap and good upgrade.It eliminates the going through all the gears you can go from first to third or third to first with a full synchro trans.If you want to go fast floor shift is the ticket.Bottom line it is personnal preferance just like paint or what ever it is your car do what you want.
Sparkomatic... that's a blast from the past. I believe if you look it up in the hotrod dictionary it will say that it is a synonym for cheap foreign made crap. (it was Japan and Taiwan back then, China was not a player) Isn't that where Gallagher came up with the "Vege-o-matic"? Around here the term "Sparkomatic" became a joke applied to anything that was cheap and shoddy. That has to be a collectors item. Very few could have lasted this long. There was a big demand for cheap floor shifters and they filled that need. I'd bead blast it, paint it up and hang it on the wall as a piece of hot rodding history. Hurst was the top of the line. Sparkomatic....was the bargain basement. I do think it's cool just for the above reasons.
thanks for the info tommy. I had heard of sparkomatic radios, is this the same co? I think I had SOM speakers in my 1st car, LOL! did I mention I love my column shift!
Yes, Sparkomatic was a trademark name owned by Ed Almquist, and it applied to shifters, 8 track stereos, and everything else of his own manufacture. What makes that shifter unique is that it was the first "universal" floor shift conversion that supposedly would fit any three speed transmission with two shift arms.
They should make all new vehicles 3 on the tree, it would cut way back on the texting/cell phone related crashin', folks would be too busy freakin' driving! I dig mine on the column, but I ain't racing my econoline...just getting where I'm going.
It really depends on what you want to do with the car. In my wife's '55 pickup we didn't even CONSIDER getting rid of the stock 3-on-the-tree. But my current project with a T-85 will get a Hurst shifter--I am actually trying to go fast with this one. If you really aren't concerned about how quick the car is, keep the stock shifter--they might not be the end-all in quick, positive shifts, but they are VERY easy to get used to. Once you've driven a few weeks with one you really understand why these started out as "luxury" times on very high-end cars . . .
some old timer was tellin me what they used to do dont kno if its possible . but he said he did it to shift better was to put first where reverse is 2nd where first normally is and third over and up and reverse over and down . this was on a early 40s chev 3 speed. any one have any info on that set up or was he just a little to old and thought it made sense in his brain.
It must be nice to surf the HAMB while your at work. I was standing behind you in the office buying some coker classics when you posted the pic above.. cute kid BTW I think I would keep the column shift too.. don't see them to often anymore..unless your going to race it
It's funny you mention that Skankin. The column shift is cool, but can be a pain with certain cars, 49-51 Merc being one of them. The shift tube inside is weak steel, and where the pivot for the shift lever enters the collar and into the tube has a tendency to break. I went through 2 of them in my 50 when it had a flatty/3 spd, and a friend in the next town over broke his on his 49 coupe shortly there after.
I say stay with the "three on the tree". It's obsolete, which is kool in itself and you can fit three on the front seat or your chick next to you with comfort. Unless, of course, your gonna update to a four speed for performance reasons.
Actually, now that you mention it, my buddy's '49 broke it off too... But the one in my '60 is nice solid metal, not hollow.
the column shift is classic,rare,cool,original. its also loose and proun to miss shifts. i hate looking to see were i am, netrual or in gear. shift handle hits my steering wheel too. i myself am going floor shifter. it feels safer. it a more familiar position. only thing about floor shift is the shifter is 150 and the needed installation kit is 150, at summit. that 300 bucks. hope my tranny holds up for a few years to make it worth it. in my case, engine and trans are rebuilt, so i'm good. then i gear the rear end to my liking.
Absolutely!!! Probably 99% of the time, a new set of shifter bushings takes care of that slop that SOME column shifters have. The floor conversions look exactly like that - a conversion - and usually look, and shift, like shit.
I can see that most of you guys posting here are kinda youngsters... In my day.(the fifties)we would pull the pin down on the column under the hood,flip the lever over to the left of steering wheel and repin.Install a "neckers knob" on the steering wheel and never have to remove your right arm from where ever it was on your "Honey"I had a '40 Sedan and yes it does reverse the shift pattern,but you soon learn to shift real good.Total left arm driving...Those were the days.
fix it and leave it. if you decide to change it, let me know. I have a nib ansen floor shifter for your car
My 64C10 shifts OK till it gets cold than it's pretty stiff.I learned to drive on a coloum shift but a lot of kids never seen one before.
back in the 70's the first thing I'd do is put a Hurst floor shift in, I hated anything with a 3 on the tree, couldn't shift fast enough. Now days I dig the novilty of the column shift in my Ranchero and I don't worry about beating the car at the light next to me as much. Makes me feel kinda old thou with how many folks have never seen a column shift. I had to teach my wife how to drive the Ranchero, she quickly learned how to jam it up. Won't teach the kids, keeps them from wanting to borrow Dad's truck!
The Jalopy Journal
