resque me from 3 on the tree
 

hey guys i just bought me a SWB 1977 c10 this weekend from NC. drives great except for me. i never driven a column shift manuel before. i had such troubles pulling away from the seller that i could see the pain on his face for selling it to me. he even called me the next day to see if i made it home safely. i live in WV. so needless to say i had to store the car at a relatives until i'm able to come back to NC to pick up. i plan to upgrade the transmission to a automatic or 'normal' shifting manual. what are my options?




1977 c10 cheyenne, inline6, 3 on tree, front disc (but manual).

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Have you driven many manual transmission vehicles before? The 3 on the tree is just like a standard on the floor just put sideways. Look at it from the passenger side to get a good visual of how the shifter should move. If you can drive a standard floor shifted manual trans than the 3 on the tree should not be a problem. It will most likely just take some getting used to.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

I love 3 on the trees...they are so much fun to drive, and you gets lots of strange looks when doing so by passer-by's who don't know what one is. :D

Learn to drive it, you might like it.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

I learned to drive in a 66ish Mercury 1/2 ton with a three on the tree. Once you're used to it, you might like it.

Thanks for reminding me of that old truck.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

You can convert it to a floor shifter, which is what I would do. Either way, I would keep it manual transmission.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

I'm with Jeff, Those Ole trees are a blast from the past. :thumbs:

We use to shorten the lever, One could bang that tree as quick as a floor shifter !

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

I too learned to drive in a 3 on the tree, a 57 chevy 1\2 ton. Remember unless you are stopped shift with your palm out, you only need palm in(pulling back on the shifter) reverse or low if you are stopped. Jay

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

First car I ever drove was my Dad's '63 Ford Falcon with a 170 Special inline 6 and a 3-speed manual column shift. Just learn how to drive it. I'd much rather have 3 on the tree than a slushbox.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

i can drive a floor shifter with ease. how would i go about converting this tree to a floor shifter? something else thats bugging me a liitle is... when i step on the brakes she plunges over to the right of the road pretty hard. the seller told me it was pretty common on '3 on the tree' trucks. did i get sold a bill of goods? because my initial thought was that one of the brake calipers were working and causing it to pull that direction.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

I have been around old cars/trucks all my life so I don't know how I missed this one. I mean I know there are a lot of marques that I have never heard of but most of those are one off, out of business companies that built 12 cars in the 1920s.:lol: Not really, I know there is a ton of history that I don't know but a Mercury??? I had no idea they ever made trucks. Always cool to learn something new.
I agree with others...stick with the three on the tree. It's a hoot once you get the hang of it.
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Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Sounds like the drivers side caliper is not functioning properly!

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Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. Could be the drivers side is not grabbing enough or the passenger side grabbing too much. I have a '76 doing the same thing. First it was darting right because the LF hose was collapsed inside. After I replaced the hose, it was darting left because the LF caliper was sticking. Now, since I have replaced the caliper, it is darting right again but only a little if I really stab the brakes hard. Don't know what that is yet...haven't investigated and prolly won't until I drive it some and see if it settles in. The truck has not been driven much in quite a few years.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Man, I miss my 3 on the tree. I loved it!
My first 73-87 (and fullsize truck), a 1973 GMC C150 307 V8 3 spd.
I don't know why you're having problems, I always thought they were easy to drive. I would leave it a column-shift.
I want another 3 on the tree again someday...

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

i want to convert it to floor shift or automatic. can anyone help me? here are some pics. i love my truck

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

R 2


1 3

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

http://www.jegs.com/i/Hurst/530/501-0016/10002/-1

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HUU-5010016/

http://performanceparts.com/part.php?partID=13324

Or start hittin' up garage sales, swap meets check the classifieds here

Floor shift conversion is straight forward remove column shifter, remove linkage, cut hole in floor, mount shifter on tranny, attach boot and knob, go drivin'.

Auto conversion a little more involed. You will need; transmission, flex plate, flex plate bolts, torque converter, torque converter bolts, cooler lines, cooler, dip stick tube, TV/kick down cable depending on tranny you pick. may have to change or modify transmission crossmember. May have to lengthen / shorten drive shaft.

Is this the info your lookin for?

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

If you go with a manual floor shifter spend the money for a quality shifter. You'll be glad you did.

My 1st vehicle, 1953 Ford F-100, flathead V-8, 3 on the tree. Man that was a kool truck!

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

3 on the tree and manual floor shft are the same as far as foot/clutch operation...I don't understand why you are having problems if you say you can drive a floor shift no problem?

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Hurst makes a cheap floor shift conversion (Indy IIRC). But if you can drive a floor shift the column is no problem. As old as the truck is it probably will 1-2 with very little effort. my 67 Biscayne you cluld just slap the shifter and it would go 1-2. 2-3 was a little more effort.

if it seems to be hard to shift the column linkage might be jamming or badly worn. Not so common an issue on these trucks as in the earlier ones. Columns can be rebushed or swapped.

Or swap in a 5 speed, manyt threads on it.

Brake pull has nothing to do with th trans, calipers and hoses are cheap. Do it now beofre it gets worse (they never heal themselves....)

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

I learned to drive in a 54 chevy with a 3 on the tree. It's no different than a floor shift. Just a simple H pattern.

Personally, I never heard of braking problems being related to a column shifter. It's just a shaft and some linkage to the transmission.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

absolutely!!! thanks guys for the info. i had never driven this style of shifter before, this is why it was so diffecult for me. like i said, i had an 8 hour drive ahead of me back to WV in this blizzard weather. this was no time for a learning curve on how to adjust to this 'H' style shift pattern. actual, when the seller was trying to teach me, i never realized it was a 'H' pattern. just up and down. so i striped gears constantly. i drove it for about 10 miles before i made the decision to turn around and store it at a realitives. when i come home next i'll give it another try. but if all fails, i now know i can convert it to a floor shifter pretty in the garage.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Stay with the 3 on a tree setup, driveing it is a breeze. A friend of mine has an old Benz with 4 on the tree. I have to kind of laugh when I hear people comment about haveing trouble shifting. Try to shift a qudraplex in a Mack truck. Thats what I learned on when I was a kid and drove semi for years after that until I lost my license for "high speed driving awards". jim

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Aren't all manuals an "H" pattern, regardless of column vs floor? :D

Give it time grasshopper before you convert. :)

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Keep it stock. Just practice and u will be fine.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

we just did one at my garage here a couple of months ago... Bolted in a TH350 with a Genie shifter. Got the driveshaft from the wrecking yard , ran a seperate tranny cooler because the radiator we had was a single core... it was a gravey swap. :)

Also, we did have to get new small block motor mounts the the motor mounts on the truck had to be moved to the forward holes. :)

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Hey S10 Fan, My dad use to have that same kind of truck!!!! with a 3 on the tree too man he loved that thing and drove it everywhere, man the good ole days....... p.s. it was a ford but i still loved that thing too and thought the 3 on the tree was the coolest thing since sliced bread!!

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Bigblock, oddly enough all manuals aren't an "H" patern. All light weight and most heavy trucks are an "H" patern, BUT, some A&*hole engineer at Fuller decided he would muck up the works with a "Box" patern 8 speed. It's been so long I can't remember how it goes. I think it was 1 & 2 on top then 3 & 4 on the bottom then 5 & 6 on top and 7 & 8 on the bottom. I drove one in an old Ford 12 wheel dump truck. Real hard to get used to after getting spoiled on 10 speed roadrangers and quad Macks. jim

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haha reminds me of growing up in the 77 C-6500 with the 13 roadranger

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

guys, i only have 3 gears to work out. but i thank everyone for their responses helping

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

I 'd totally stick with the tree... You don't seem them that often, at least not around here :metal:

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Older fellow around here drives a Mack B flatbed with a twin stick as a farm truck. He only has one arm and it is real busy in the cab.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

:agree: i soooo miss my 3 on the tree i learned to drive a manual trans. with one and i loved it when i got the hang of it:chevy:

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

Ever get the 3 on the tree shifting smoothed out? I'm going to look at a '80 C10 with a 3 on the tree in the next couple of days...I miss having a maual transmission vehicle, and the 3 on the tree is just added cool factor. :smoke:

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Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

The only gear that would try to "grind" while you're shifting should be reverse, at least with my Saginaw (I suppose a Muncie 3-spd would grind for first if you try it while moving). But that goes with what you were saying about not knowing it's an H-pattern--the other gate (which the shifter will fall into by default when you find the neutral gate) has the gears you want to cruise in.

I haven't even gone through my column as throughly as I should, but heck, PALMS?!? I use two fingers to shift, and probably would only use one if I'd regreased it and put fresh bearings in. Easier than paddle shifters.

BEFORE considering a floor shifter for it, make sure the trans is working properly. The cheapest way to do this is backwards (process of elimination on the shifter first). Go through the shift linkage (see Greenmachine's thread in the FAQ section) and make sure everything is where it should be, no bent linkage, the tongue for the shifter linkage is engaging the blocks that the column controls (they can be chipped or out of adjustment) the $1 bushings are in place and the nuts holding onto the steering column are all tight :D Then make sure the bolts holding the shifter arms to the shift shafts at the tranny haven't loosened up. When you are sure everything's where it should be, you can try it again yourself or even call one of us for another demo or amateur opinion...where in NC is it at right now? My truck's biggest problem when I picked it up was the die-cast shifter arm on the column actually broke at the tip inside the column--$20 fix (your's should be tool steel in 77 so that's not a likely concern)

The reason for all this is twofold. 1) If you have a problem that's in your tranny (synchros, bent fork, throwout bearing, etc) then changing to a floor shifter costs you over $100 plus installation and doesn't solve anything. 2) if you still decide to change, you can sell your column/shifter setup as a guaranteed working unit for more than you could if the buyer hears you say "I didn't check that..." or something similar.

I'm wishing they made 5-speed shifters on the column, because I'm gonna have to change to some sort of overdrive unit sooner or later. If you end up changing trannies after all, the ones I'm considering are T-5 or NVG 3550 5-speeds from S-10's and other sources (rated up to 300 ft-lbs each) 700R4 or 200-4R (each just as strong as the other) but obviously that means I don't really plan to tow or do anything heavy with my truck (will be a shop truck when I get a shop). what would your plans be?

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

i just have it on hold for now. been trying to get my leaf springs in order so the 77 hasn't been on the road for some time now. i was able to pick up a spare 3speed with hurst shifter though. my uncle told me he pulled it out of a 68camaro. so if the one in the truck needs replacing i have another back up now.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

we had a 76 3 on the tree, we just drove out the roll pin on the shifter, bought an indy universal 3 speed shifter setup for like $100 bucks nowadays, and converted it to floor shift. It was easy and cheap. Our linkage was messed up or something though it kept coming out of gear. I'd love to have another 73-80 swb truck. I like yours man just like my old one, love to have one like it.

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

ya man that was a cool pickup ive been watching your videos to bad you recked it and the newer wheels were cool

Re: resque me from 3 on the tree
 

hey if i can't get the leaf springs worked out like i want it might be up for sell soon. i'm tired of it sitting in the garage taking space. the wife is constantly telling me to just buy new springs from the catalog but thats like $500 after tax and shipping. i want some nice inexpensive used springs to put on it. cost effective. up here in the hills the rust has destroyed any kind of parts trucks in the junkyards, so a good set is hard to find.

i found a place to repair my old leaf springs. now i have to tackle the pulling to the right when braking