I have a Ford Toploader out of a 64 Galaxie I want to use in my 34 Ford truck. I'm using a Flathead 8ba engine. The transmission I have has the long tailshaft for for the Galaxie. This tailshaft is 3" longer than the one Ford used in the Mustangs. Will I be alright using what I got, or should I go to a shorter tailshaft?
Does the tailshaft have a notch in the side for the shifter to fit into, or is it basically smooth? If it has the notch, use that one. It will get the shifter closer to the center of the cab. Buy a Hurst shifter kit made for an early 70's PU. That should fit right in the notch. I have a toploader with the notch and long tail in my Model A PU. No problems with the length. And even with the shifter in the notch, I still had to bend the shift lever to the center to clear my legs.
Yeah, It has the notch in the side. I was going thinking about using a Jeep canversion from David Kee. It's a little pricey, but get's the shifter closer to the "stock" position. Glad it works!
You can do that conversion yourself. It requires a bit of scrounging to find the T-176 top cover and shifter, but after that it's pretty much just dis***emble the trans, grind a bit of clearance for the shifter arms, plug the side shift holes, and re***emble... I got a T-176 top cover for about $50 on eBay several years ago & then hunted forever for the shifter handle itself - finally found a NOS one for $50. FWIW - I have not actually done the conversion yet. I bought this stuff for a future project.
Yep my dad did it, worked great, had to grind a knotch in the case for a shifter arm, pretty self explanitory, and it bolted right up,
The prices have jumped a bunch. If you have the 3 spd toploader from the same time period you can use the Jeep T-150 to do the same center shift conversion.
You can also instal the Jeep YJ shifter into you 4 speed top loader, as we just completed one approximately 3 years ago for a 34 P/U, also running a flathead. Your other option, use a 3 speed shifter from an old 30's ****** and then manufacture a nice little/straight shifter lever just for reverse. However; make sure the shifter is in neutral before shifting into reverse with the deciated reverse shifter. Either method would place the shifter close to the original location.
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