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Three on the tree?????

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by MOCO559, Jun 11, 2008.

  1. oilslinger53
    Joined: Apr 17, 2007
    Posts: 2,500

    oilslinger53
    Member
    from covina CA

    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.
     
  2. Dirk35
    Joined: Mar 8, 2001
    Posts: 2,067

    Dirk35
    Member

    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.
     
  3. happy hoppy
    Joined: Apr 23, 2001
    Posts: 2,327

    happy hoppy
    Member

    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.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  4. Goozgaz
    Joined: Jan 11, 2005
    Posts: 2,555

    Goozgaz
    Member

    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.
     
  5. Parts48
    Joined: Mar 28, 2008
    Posts: 1,588

    Parts48
    Member
    from Tucson, Az
    1. Hot Rod Veterans

    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" :)
     
  6. ChucoTownHotRods
    Joined: Jun 4, 2008
    Posts: 117

    ChucoTownHotRods
    BANNED

    :DKeep 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:D
     
  7. 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.
     
  8. Alfster
    Joined: Jan 15, 2002
    Posts: 1,174

    Alfster
    Member

    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.
     
  9. harpboys4
    Joined: Jun 7, 2008
    Posts: 608

    harpboys4
    Member
    from So Cal

    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.
     
  10. tommy
    Joined: Mar 3, 2001
    Posts: 14,757

    tommy
    Member Emeritus

    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"?:D

    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.
     
  11. Sparkomatic was still making cheap crap in the 80s, stereos and whatnot.
     
  12. happy hoppy
    Joined: Apr 23, 2001
    Posts: 2,327

    happy hoppy
    Member

    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!
     
  13. HEATHEN
    Joined: Nov 22, 2005
    Posts: 8,906

    HEATHEN
    Member
    from SIDNEY, NY

    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.
     
  14. MOCO559
    Joined: Jun 22, 2007
    Posts: 99

    MOCO559
    Member

    Here it is....looking at this I think I will keep it.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 1, 2014
  15. crook
    Joined: Oct 10, 2007
    Posts: 375

    crook
    Member
    from Winder,Ga

    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.
     
  16. Allan Songer
    Joined: Apr 25, 2008
    Posts: 141

    Allan Songer
    Member

    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 . . .
     
  17. Flop
    Joined: Jun 8, 2006
    Posts: 3,886

    Flop
    Member

    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.
     
  18. Bazooka
    Joined: Jun 20, 2006
    Posts: 686

    Bazooka
    Member

    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.. :D 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

     
  19. UnIOnViLLEHauNT
    Joined: Jun 22, 2004
    Posts: 4,826

    UnIOnViLLEHauNT
    Member

    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.
     
  20. autobilly
    Joined: May 23, 2007
    Posts: 3,403

    autobilly
    Member

    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.
     
  21. Skankin' Rat Fink
    Joined: Jun 18, 2006
    Posts: 1,513

    Skankin' Rat Fink
    Member
    from NYC

    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. :)
     
  22. fogtownzfinest
    Joined: Sep 1, 2008
    Posts: 4

    fogtownzfinest
    Member
    from california

    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:D, so i'm good. then i gear the rear end to my liking.
     
  23. 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.
     
  24. 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.
     
  25. bobwop
    Joined: Jan 13, 2008
    Posts: 6,134

    bobwop
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Arley, AL

    fix it and leave it.

    if you decide to change it, let me know. I have a nib ansen floor shifter for your car
     
  26. rusty48
    Joined: Jan 8, 2007
    Posts: 467

    rusty48
    Member

    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.
     
  27. metalman
    Joined: Dec 30, 2006
    Posts: 3,297

    metalman
    Member

    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!
     

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