I worked out the levers for my 4 spd on the column in my '49 Ford with a Super T-10. Now I need a small shifter/lever for reverse on the floor. From talking to a couple of people, Hurst used to make a mini floor shifter for this? I've never seen one. Are these still available? What have other people used for reverse only? I was thinking adapting an industrial lever, but if something is available that would make it easier I'd like to know. Thanks.
The Reverse Loc-Out,,may be what folks are talking about ,,but it is just what it says Look for an old inline 4 speed and pirate the parts form that as they had a seperate shifter for revese
I'd think that you could use just about any old shifter and modify it to do what you want. Maybe even a factory shifter for an automatic that used a lever and rod instead of a cable and has a push button of some kind to keep it locked in a neutral position. There may be a cable setup for a later model car that you could use the cable out of and run it up under the dash for a push/pull setup like the old overdrives were. Maybe even an overdrive cable setup for an early 50's car. Otherwise, if you want a short floor lever. Find an old four speed shifter. line up all of the levers so they are perfectly in line and weld the 1-2 & 3-4 levers solid so that they won't move around and make a stubby stick for reverse and just run the reverse rod. It should be spring loaded so you have to move it over and against the spring to get it to go into reverse.
"how about a big push/pull cable in the dash like an old overdrive or PTO control?" Thanks guys. I thought about using the OD cable. I'm sure it could pull the revers lever, but I'm not sure it has enought strenght to push it.
step 1. find a boneyard 4x4 and pirate the transfercase shift lever. step 2. bend/fab a bracket to bolt to tailshaft. cut floor and install. done deal! simple, clean, cheap and effective.
I did a 4sp on the column in my 60's Econoline back in high school. Used a throttle cable and handle from a boat for reverse, worked great.
I have heard Mercedes or some such actually had a 4 speed on the column factory? Seems a little tricky though...
I've used Hurst 3 speed shifters on 4 speeds twice. First time I had a small linkage rod coming up through the floor with a water faucet T-handle on it. YOu pulled straight up to engage reverse. Next time I simply welded another Hurst handle directly to the reverse lever..pulled back to engage..no linkage involved at all. Either way is OK with me.
The '60s Mercedes and Peugeot both had 4-speed column shifters. They had what would be a normal 3+R pattern and fourth was forward and up again, next to second. Darn good thing the Peugeot was a non-interference head, as more than once, I had it maxed in third, speed-whooped it forward and up toward fourth and got second. jack vines
I'm assuming that you do not have a regular floor shifter for astethic reasons? In the past I did as Rocky above did only I welded a piece of 3/8" rod to the shifter arm bolted to the trans. A small slit in the rug was all that showed as the rod was only about 1" above the floor. I do remember a few times that I had it in fwd and rev at the same time and the rig would not move. I believe that if you try the cable route that you could add some lever length to the trans for mechanical advantage. Also you could make a sliding tube arrangement so that the tubes slide inside one another and not have to worry about the cable bending on the push. lg no neat sig line
i'm curious about the possibility of creating a column shift setup for a "regular" car with a four speed.... mainly because i like oddball things. don't let this thread die.... "regular" to me, means a '60's sedan. usually a Falcon....
The Jalopy Journal
