Hi there- My 40 Ford de luxe project came from US with a 327 and a powerglide. To make the car run I used a Lokar trans mounted shifter, but I’d rather use the column mounted shifter for the three on the tree, I aquired later. (As the car was born with) Will the ‘dents’ or index points on the trans be enough to keep it in the gears, are there normally also dents on the column shifter that match the automatic trans? In this case a early Chevelle. The ‘40 shift rod has a spring that kinda locks it in place, I can see, can that hold the shifter arm from pressing on the shifter lever when in the chosen gear? I might shift transmission later, but question applys to all automatics. Hope someone has tried and knows, or know about automatic columns. Thanks- Cheers, from Denmark.
I have ran several cars that had stick shift columns and shifter and hooked them to automatic transmission. Worked fine except my '61 Falcon with a 312/auto. Those shift collars were junk and one day my angry girlfriend pulled the shifter out while I was driving and threw it out the window! '40 to '59 column shifters were some of the best made IMHO. Dave
I ran a C-4 trans with a '51 Ford column (originally 3 on the tree) shifter for years with no troubles. I just hooked it up with no mods to shifter. More important than anything is to include a neutral safety switch.
Having gates in the shifter, so you have to pull the lever towards you to move it into reverse or park, is a really nice safety feature.... I had a home made (by someone else) floor shifter on my truck when I first put the TH400 in it, and hitting a bump caused it to shift into reverse while I was driving about 35 mph, scared the shit out of me but I was able to put it back in D quickly enough that I didn't wreck. I bought a real shifter soon after that incident and have been pretty careful about that for the past 44 years...
Trans will stay in gear without the need for shifter detents. You may have issues matching the early column change to the trans positions. Im sure it can be done but you may need to fabricate parts. Modern hotrod column changes use a cable.
You really should have shift detents. If you search the HAMB, you will find Old Scrounger's method of modifying the the '40 shifter to make this happen.
Using only the detents in the transmission will work, but it’s not a great idea. It will be real easy to bump the lever and knock it into another gear, hopefully not reverse if you’re moving. My car was set up that way when I got it, we were at a cruise in parked one Saturday evening, my then 5 year old grandson got in the car and as kids will do, acted as if he was driving. Yep, you guessed it, he yanked it out of park. If I hadn’t been standing there, it would have rolled into another car. Another time I knocked it from drive into low going down the road. Nothing hurt, but could have been bad had I knocked it up into reverse. If you are going to do it, I’d highly recommend setting up a gate on the shifter so it won’t move unless you want it to move.
It looks as if I must think of some clever way of making detents, and with the right space between. . Since the shifter stick has the spring loaded pull movement action, this could help. Thanks everybody for your quick answers, advices and experiences. I made a PM to Olscrounger, I’ll see if he respons, he might have a solution I understand. Cheers, Uffe
I used a 59? Pontiac automatic column (although the lower half of the mast is 59 Studebaker for a smaller shift arm) and there was no detent in the column. I welded a short quarter inch stud on the inner tube that is actuated by the shift arm and fabricated a bracket that fastened to the mast with a recess to match the stud....that forced you to pull back on the lever to either engage or disengage "park". Sorry..no pictures You should be able to fabricate something similar to give you a park detent. Edit...Squirrel used better terminology.. I should have said "gate"
It's not really the detents you need, it's a gate that you need. So you have to pull the lever to get it to move to Reverse from Neutral, and also out of Park. A detent is just a spring loaded notch, basically. A gate is a positive restraint that keeps the lever from moving unless you move it in a different direction first.
I've done it with a C4. There are pictures in my sloper build thread...I think. It was a while ago. I made a gate based on a late 60's Ford column. I had to reverse it due to the way the shift arm operates on the 40 vs. the late one.
Thank you all!!! I’m getting to understand how this can be done, and the Limeworks kit can really be the best. I now realize the the whole rod is shifting against you when pulling the stick, so a gate at the bottom, and the indicator as on Pontnak123’s nice pictures on top is perfect. They even make for a four speed trans. I can make the other needed parts myself. Thank you guys!!!
I just did this to an early Chevy 3 speed, using part of the original spring-loaded shift arm. I made a plate fixed to the column (a quadrant) with holes or slots in it, with a pin which moves up and down with the shift arm and fits into the holes. It is shifting a T700R, and the detents in the trans feel like they won't jump out of gear easily.
Exactly what I now have come to with this help. Only have to figure the spacing between the gear positions, but can do that at the trans gear lever with a degree level. Or mark in place, and drill then. ‘Easy’ Thanks for your input!
On topic, not for the OP, some are aware here too but for those who ain't... BEWARE OF OEM FORD COLUMN AUTO SHIFTERS OF THE EARLY/MID 60s. Yes, I yelled it in red purposely. Those old bastards had some die-cast parts within the detent function. Mileage aside, over time they'll deteriorate and especially the park to reverse function will become simply dangerous. That fucker will jump from park to reverse if you sneeze at it! The other issue is that without warning it'll simply be in reverse vs park even though the lever is in the proper place. Anyone clicking this topic for column shifts needs to know this. T birds were notorious, as were pickups even through 67 or 68 maybe, but all of them need a look-see if you're going to use it. Yeah, yeah, I know the OP is using 40 stuff. This is for the rest looking in. There are repair parts through several vendors. Get em in there. I've done 2 where R&R was the job. Kinda sux but safety 1st. Sorry I don’t have pics and anyone who does I think this is a good place to post em and to bring this up again. All the best...
Not to highjack this thread. It's a good question but I'd be interested in pictures of this conversion. I am going to mate a stock 50 Ford three on the tree to an AOD Tranny.
The Ford shifter problem kind of stems from the short distance between P and R....compare the pattern to a GM, who put in an extra long blank spot, apparently to make damn sure it stayed in Park. And it is kind of on topic, since any shifter design for a Ford automatic transmission needs a really good secure gate to keep it in Park. The Ford problem extended well into the 70s...not just 60s stuff. And there was a recall, they put a sticker on the dash warning you to set the parking brake.
I had a '40 DeLuxe sedan and used a 327 and a 350 transmission, shifted with the original '40 column and 3 speed shiftier, worked like a champ, this was in the early 70's so I don't have any photos, but I found a piece of clear plastic and had it engraved P,R,N,D and located it on the steering shaft and glued a red plasting pointer in the shifter shaft. Even in the '70's I was into the traditional look. HRP
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