4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Canada20 · 11-20-2002, 11:53 AM

Hey all. Just curious if they ever offered a column shift for the manual 4-speeds? Probably pretty clunky to use if they did.

Greg

Woody · 11-20-2002, 12:13 PM

True! No such thing as a stupid question. Now on to the question. As far as I know all 4 speeds were floor shifters and the columns didn't have any thing on them. 3 speeds trucks were all Column shift.

Bowed · 11-21-2002, 12:40 AM

Drove a german car one time with a 4 speed column shift , cant remember the make but it was sold here in the early 60's .

**'68OrangeSunshine** · 08-01-2018, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowed

Drove a german car one time with a 4 speed column shift , cant remember the make but it was sold here in the early 60's .

I had a '61 Mercedes 190B with the 4 speed on the column. ''Mauser bolt action 4-speed*'', I used to call it. It was a regular H-pattern: up 1 -down 2 -cross and up 3, -pull down 4. [*But not nearly as smooth.]
I drove somebody's Renault or Citroen, it also had a 4 speed on the column, but the pattern was screwy.
American vehicles with a 4-on-the-tree? I don't think I ever saw one.

midniteblues · 08-01-2018, 10:52 AM

Surely i havent been forgotten about already.

I made my 67 stepper a tree shifted saginaw 4spd.
I used a shortened pto cable mounted to the buddy seat frame for reverse.

As for linkages just used the oe ones but i did use one g van 3 spd shift ear on the trans just for clearances.

chiefcrewdog · 10-24-2018, 07:08 PM

Starting in 1969, wikipedia says Chevy offered a 4 on the tree with a T10 in their forward control vans. (scoobyvan) This YouTube https://youtu.be/-X_PIMY8cr0 clearly shows it's true. Note the shift handle is imprinted with the pattern. There is also another video of a Ford car with a 4 on the tree.

71GMC_3/4T · 11-21-2002, 12:43 AM

I rode in a 5 on-the-tree Nissan Taxicab in HongKong last week. RH drive also. Friken wierd shifter, left side of wheel.

mikep · 11-21-2002, 01:00 AM

Ever driven a Citroen CV2 with the 3 speed dash shifter? That takes a little getting used to.

too many · 11-21-2002, 01:10 AM

Ive never seen one , but did some of "our" trucks come with 3 speed overdrive? Was that actually a "4th" gear , or just a "higher" geared 3rd? How did they shift?

junkyardjohn · 11-21-2002, 01:22 AM

I DROVE A PEOGOT, IN THE EARLY 70s THAT HAD A 4 SPEED MANUAL COLLUM SHIFT. I RODE TO A BAR ONE SAT. NIGHT WITH A BUDDY, HE LEFT WITH SOME YOUNG LADY, & GAVE ME HIS KEYS TO DRIVE HIS CAR HOME. SEEMED PRETTY WEIRD AT 2:30 AM

TERRYP · 11-21-2002, 05:29 AM

Had a Borgward in the 60's. In college, 5 of us drove from Boulder, Colorado to L.A. for spring break. Had to back over Loveland pass, not enough guts in 1st. Had a column 4 speed.

Blazer1970 · 11-21-2002, 09:13 AM

There was an add-on overdrive available for the column shift 3 speeds in trucks and cars of this era. The overdrive gear was shifted by a solenoid.

Canada20 · 11-21-2002, 11:26 AM

I was talking to a buddy here who's played around various trucks off and on. He seems to think that the column shift only works on transmissions where the shift linkages are on the outside of the case and since the Sm420 and 465 are internally shifted, there's no way to hook a column shift up to it. Sounds reasonable to me...

I wish we had some more of the variety of European cars that have been made over the last 50 years; some pretty wacky ideas out there, even compared to AMC

I was checking out my owners manual last night and there was indeed a 3-speed with overdrive. Sounded to me that OD was a kind of mini-automatic that you could only use from 3rd gear? or am I way off on that?

Greg

ChevLoRay · 11-21-2002, 12:25 PM

Haven't seen a comment yet, but I believe that Ford had a 4-speed column shift on the early-bodied Econolines. If it wasn't Ford, then it was Dodge. Surely, GM didn't do that with the early G-series vans, did they? Could be, tho.

Reason Ford comes to mind is the Dagenham 4-speeds that were available in the early Falcon and Comet bodies, AND recognizing that those transmissions were imported from Europe.

Anyone else know?

Question: WHY would you want a 4-speed on the column, short of a "cool" factor? That would require waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much in the way of linkage.

Overdrives? Affixed to the tailshaft of the 3-speed transmission housings and usually operated by electric solenoids.

Citroens and Peugeots.....ain't it enough just to spell the names, much less operate those dash-mounted shifters? They were weird, for sure...even though Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz had theirs on the column.

Canada20 · 11-21-2002, 12:49 PM

Interested mostly for interest's sake and a little of the "cool" factor. Come to think of it, there might be a bit of theft-protection in it too; if they can't figure out how to shift it, they won't get very far.

Are the overdrives any good? At a guess I'd say probably not, otherwise there'd be more talk of people finding ways of installing them on their 4-speeds.

Greg

71gmcburb · 11-04-2012, 04:39 PM

yes Ford did have a 4 spd column shift trans till 1965 and it appers the GM did too

**LockDoc** · 11-04-2012, 05:35 PM

-
I put a Muncie M-21 in my first '67 and used the column shifter. I installed a choke cable in the dash for reverse. You just had to remember to put the shifter in neutral before you pulled the choke knob out. My boy had a little trouble the first couple of times he drove it but he caught on pretty quick when it killed the engine when he tried to take off in it...

.. I still have the choke cable and bracket I made around here somewhere and that was in the late '80's.

LockDoc

JLC64 · 12-01-2017, 10:02 PM

Chevy made a 4spd manual column shift in chevy/gmc vans from 1964-1970. I am in the process of swapping my 67 K10 over to one.

Jim

Hutch · 12-01-2017, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Drove a german car one time with a 4 speed column shift , cant remember the make but it was sold here in the early 60's .

I drove a German made car back in the 70’s with a 4 speed column shift
It was a 1960’s Ford Taunus
It was a trick to get the hang of and then hard to readjust to a 3 speed column shift

**Steeveedee** · 12-01-2017, 11:55 PM

THREAD FROM THE DEAD! Corvairs also had a 4 speed that shifted on the column.

RichardJ · 12-02-2017, 12:34 PM

Corvair never had a column shifter, car, van or pickup. 3sp and 4sp had floor mounted shifter. 2sp Powerglide had dash mounted lever/cable shifter.

As JLC64 said, the G Series Van had a 4sp column shifter with T10 4 sp. I think it was only in 2nd Gen, G Series '67 - '70. In '71 they moved the engine forward under the short hood for the 3rd Gen.

**Steeveedee** · 12-03-2017, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardJ

Corvair never had a column shifter, car, van or pickup. 3sp and 4sp had floor mounted shifter. 2sp Powerglide had dash mounted lever/cable shifter.

As JLC64 said, the G Series Van had a 4sp column shifter with T10 4 sp. I think it was only in 2nd Gen, G Series '67 - '70. In '71 they moved the engine forward under the short hood for the 3rd Gen.

Yeah, my bad. Rusty memory on that one.

outfield · 12-03-2017, 10:55 PM

My grandparents 1965 Mercedes 220S is a 4 speed on the column. Interesting to drive.

In The Ten Ring · 12-02-2017, 01:26 PM

Saw a video on youtube about a 4 speed column shifting Ford.

Personally I love my 3 speed on the column for a variety of reasons....I do wish my truck had more top end without sacrificing pulling power.....lots of hills around where I live. *I wouldn't want to have to pull a 2nd lever for reverse though like in the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjkRB1Ibjj0

I went to India in 1997 and the Ambassador car was everywhere. A friend there owned one and let me drive it on a backstreet. Right-hand drive takes some getting used to but wasn't that bad. It was a 4 speed in the floor (you shifted with your left hand but the 3 pedals were the same). When I got back to USA I had a strong urge to drive on the wrong side of the road.

https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qim...61c441347e7032

Greg58 · 12-02-2017, 01:42 PM

My Buddy in High School had a 1960 Mercedes 190D, it was really slow. 4cyl Diesel, 4 speed on the column.
The only thing slower at the time was my Dad's 1962 Scout, 4 cyl. that was half a V-8.

Greg

11-20-2002, 11:53 AM	#1
Canada20 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 802	4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? Hey all. Just curious if they ever offered a column shift for the manual 4-speeds? Probably pretty clunky to use if they did. Greg __________________ No such thing as a stupid question, right?

08-01-2018, 10:52 AM	#5
midniteblues Registered User Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: strausstown pa Posts: 3,394	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? Surely i havent been forgotten about already. I made my 67 stepper a tree shifted saginaw 4spd. I used a shortened pto cable mounted to the buddy seat frame for reverse. As for linkages just used the oe ones but i did use one g van 3 spd shift ear on the trans just for clearances. __________________ 81 camaro 355 4/spd 342 posi my first love. 67 swb step 454/4spd ott 373 posi 4/7 drop. 2000 s10 zr2 little blue truck that never gets stuck. '74 heald super bronc vt8. tecumseh powered moon rover.

10-24-2018, 07:08 PM	#6
chiefcrewdog Registered User Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: Vail Posts: 1	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? Starting in 1969, wikipedia says Chevy offered a 4 on the tree with a T10 in their forward control vans. (scoobyvan) This YouTube https://youtu.be/-X_PIMY8cr0 clearly shows it's true. Note the shift handle is imprinted with the pattern. There is also another video of a Ford car with a 4 on the tree.

11-21-2002, 12:43 AM	#7
71GMC_3/4T Weapons Of Construction Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 1,095	I rode in a 5 on-the-tree Nissan Taxicab in HongKong last week. RH drive also. Friken wierd shifter, left side of wheel. __________________ 1971 GMC 2500, 402/TH400 4.10 Daily Driver Lafayette, CO

11-21-2002, 01:00 AM	#8
mikep Used to have a truck Join Date: May 2002 Location: port orchard WA Posts: 1,552	Ever driven a Citroen CV2 with the 3 speed dash shifter? That takes a little getting used to. __________________ No truck :-(

11-20-2002, 12:13 PM	#2
Woody Registered User Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Georgetown, KY, USA Posts: 631	True! No such thing as a stupid question. Now on to the question. As far as I know all 4 speeds were floor shifters and the columns didn't have any thing on them. 3 speeds trucks were all Column shift.

11-21-2002, 12:40 AM	#3
Bowed Registered User Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: where it's hot Posts: 1,059	Drove a german car one time with a 4 speed column shift , cant remember the make but it was sold here in the early 60's .

11-21-2002, 01:10 AM	#9
too many Registered User Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: nw IL Posts: 211	WHAT ABOUT........? Ive never seen one , but did some of "our" trucks come with 3 speed overdrive? Was that actually a "4th" gear , or just a "higher" geared 3rd? How did they shift? __________________ "My wife says I cant have them all - I tell her I can try!"

11-21-2002, 01:22 AM	#10
junkyardjohn Registered User Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SOMERSET KY. Posts: 6,427	I DROVE A PEOGOT, IN THE EARLY 70s THAT HAD A 4 SPEED MANUAL COLLUM SHIFT. I RODE TO A BAR ONE SAT. NIGHT WITH A BUDDY, HE LEFT WITH SOME YOUNG LADY, & GAVE ME HIS KEYS TO DRIVE HIS CAR HOME. SEEMED PRETTY WEIRD AT 2:30 AM __________________ junkyardjohn 69 1 TON TOW TRUCK // 84 4WD CUCV BLAZER// 85 1 TON 4WD STAKE TRUCK// 86 M1031 5/4 TON 4WD CUCV// ALOT OF OLD TRUCKS FOR ONE OLD MAN TO DRIVE. THERES ROOM FOR ALL OF GODS CREATURES RIGHT NEXT TO MY MASHED POTATOES// LIFE MEMBER OF P.E.T.A (PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS) DON'T RENT U-HAUL ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH IT WILL AMAZE PART OF THE PEOPLE & ASTONISH THE REST

11-21-2002, 05:29 AM	#11
TERRYP GYRO GEARLOOSE Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Nevada City, CAEverett, WA Posts: 361	Had a Borgward in the 60's. In college, 5 of us drove from Boulder, Colorado to L.A. for spring break. Had to back over Loveland pass, not enough guts in 1st. Had a column 4 speed. __________________ Nevada City, CA Everett, Washington 57 3/4 rat, 235, 3spd 66 C-10 Panel, SWB. 350 from '68, 200R4 tranny, 3.07 rear ratio, restoring 68 C10 LWB 350 4spd, 4.56 rear dump runner 82 Camaro, 305, THM-200-R4 84 Monte Carlo 305 TH350, land tuna 85 Tercel SW, snow runner DISGRACED OUTLAW MEMBER OF THE DRUM BRAKE CLUB

11-21-2002, 09:13 AM	#12
Blazer1970 Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Old Mission, MI, USA Posts: 2,510	There was an add-on overdrive available for the column shift 3 speeds in trucks and cars of this era. The overdrive gear was shifted by a solenoid. __________________ Tim

11-21-2002, 11:26 AM	#13
Canada20 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 802	I was talking to a buddy here who's played around various trucks off and on. He seems to think that the column shift only works on transmissions where the shift linkages are on the outside of the case and since the Sm420 and 465 are internally shifted, there's no way to hook a column shift up to it. Sounds reasonable to me... I wish we had some more of the variety of European cars that have been made over the last 50 years; some pretty wacky ideas out there, even compared to AMC I was checking out my owners manual last night and there was indeed a 3-speed with overdrive. Sounded to me that OD was a kind of mini-automatic that you could only use from 3rd gear? or am I way off on that? Greg __________________ No such thing as a stupid question, right?

11-21-2002, 12:25 PM	#14
ChevLoRay Old Skool Club Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Benton, AR "The Heart of Arkansas" Posts: 10,880	Haven't seen a comment yet, but I believe that Ford had a 4-speed column shift on the early-bodied Econolines. If it wasn't Ford, then it was Dodge. Surely, GM didn't do that with the early G-series vans, did they? Could be, tho. Reason Ford comes to mind is the Dagenham 4-speeds that were available in the early Falcon and Comet bodies, AND recognizing that those transmissions were imported from Europe. Anyone else know? Question: WHY would you want a 4-speed on the column, short of a "cool" factor? That would require waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much in the way of linkage. Overdrives? Affixed to the tailshaft of the 3-speed transmission housings and usually operated by electric solenoids. Citroens and Peugeots.....ain't it enough just to spell the names, much less operate those dash-mounted shifters? They were weird, for sure...even though Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz had theirs on the column. __________________ Member Nr. 2770 '96 GMC Sportside; 4.3/SLT - Daily driven....constantly needs washed. '69 C-10 SWB; 350/TH400 - in limbo The older I get, the better I was.

11-21-2002, 12:49 PM	#15
Canada20 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 802	Interested mostly for interest's sake and a little of the "cool" factor. Come to think of it, there might be a bit of theft-protection in it too; if they can't figure out how to shift it, they won't get very far. Are the overdrives any good? At a guess I'd say probably not, otherwise there'd be more talk of people finding ways of installing them on their 4-speeds. Greg __________________ No such thing as a stupid question, right?

11-04-2012, 04:39 PM	#16
71gmcburb Registered User Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: everett washington Posts: 382	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? yes Ford did have a 4 spd column shift trans till 1965 and it appers the GM did too __________________ a wise man once said "There are only two real rules to life... 1 - Don't sweat the small stuff 2 - Everything is small stuff



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11-04-2012, 05:35 PM	#17
LockDoc The Older Generation Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Montezuma, Iowa Posts: 25,416	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? - I put a Muncie M-21 in my first '67 and used the column shifter. I installed a choke cable in the dash for reverse. You just had to remember to put the shifter in neutral before you pulled the choke knob out. My boy had a little trouble the first couple of times he drove it but he caught on pretty quick when it killed the engine when he tried to take off in it..... I still have the choke cable and bracket I made around here somewhere and that was in the late '80's. LockDoc __________________ Leon Locksmith, Specializing In Antique Trucks, Automobiles, & Motorcycles (My Dually Pickup Project Thread) http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=829820 -

12-01-2017, 10:02 PM	#18
JLC64 Registered User Join Date: May 2017 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 8	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? Chevy made a 4spd manual column shift in chevy/gmc vans from 1964-1970. I am in the process of swapping my 67 K10 over to one. Jim

12-01-2017, 11:55 PM	#20
Steeveedee Who Changed This? Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Simi Valley, CA Posts: 10,337	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? THREAD FROM THE DEAD! Corvairs also had a 4 speed that shifted on the column. __________________ ~Steven '70 Chevy 3/4T Longhorn CST 402/400/3.56 Custom Camper Simi Valley, CA

12-02-2017, 12:34 PM	#21
RichardJ Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: So Cal Posts: 1,423	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? Corvair never had a column shifter, car, van or pickup. 3sp and 4sp had floor mounted shifter. 2sp Powerglide had dash mounted lever/cable shifter. As JLC64 said, the G Series Van had a 4sp column shifter with T10 4 sp. I think it was only in 2nd Gen, G Series '67 - '70. In '71 they moved the engine forward under the short hood for the 3rd Gen. __________________ '67 GMC 2500, 292, 4spd, AC

12-03-2017, 10:55 PM	#23
outfield Registered User Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Portland, Or Posts: 387	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? My grandparents 1965 Mercedes 220S is a 4 speed on the column. Interesting to drive.

12-02-2017, 01:26 PM	#24
In The Ten Ring Registered User Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: West Virginia Posts: 6,421	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? Saw a video on youtube about a 4 speed column shifting Ford. Personally I love my 3 speed on the column for a variety of reasons....I do wish my truck had more top end without sacrificing pulling power.....lots of hills around where I live. *I wouldn't want to have to pull a 2nd lever for reverse though like in the link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjkRB1Ibjj0 I went to India in 1997 and the Ambassador car was everywhere. A friend there owned one and let me drive it on a backstreet. Right-hand drive takes some getting used to but wasn't that bad. It was a 4 speed in the floor (you shifted with your left hand but the 3 pedals were the same). When I got back to USA I had a strong urge to drive on the wrong side of the road. https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qim...61c441347e7032

12-02-2017, 01:42 PM	#25
Greg58 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Valley, NE. Posts: 1,005	Re: 4-speed manual column shift; any such thing? My Buddy in High School had a 1960 Mercedes 190D, it was really slow. 4cyl Diesel, 4 speed on the column. The only thing slower at the time was my Dad's 1962 Scout, 4 cyl. that was half a V-8. Greg __________________ ________________ 1970 GMC Sierra Grande, 2500 133" wb, 402, 4spd. 2007 GMC 3500 SRW 4x4, Crew cab, Duramax/Allison. (Sold} 1987 Chevy Suburban 2500, Silverado, 2wd, 454, t-400 2023 Chevy Silverado LT 3500, crew cab, longbox, 4x4 Z-71 Duramax.

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