This will tell your age at the same time bring back memories

[GOPAPA]

An old friend of mine and myself were discussing the 3 on the tree shifting .....he brought up when he was dating his wife (and another girl before her) he was driving cars with 3 on the tree and bench seats. In those days, before seat belts, it was common for her to sit in the center of the seat, and he would have his arm around her while he drove. He would step on the clutch and she would do all the shifting. Worked really well.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

it was common for her to sit in the center of the seat, and he would have his arm around her while he drove. He would step on the clutch and she would do all the shifting. Worked really well.

Ha!

This one was a three on the tree, until I converted it to four on the floor.

1980 model.


K

[truckster]

Those old vinyl bench seats worked really well for what we called "come closer corners"...

[Boog]

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

Ha!

This one was a three on the tree, until I converted it to four on the floor.

1980 model.


K

Ha. I did the same thing with my 78 stepside Chevy. 3 OTT tranny broke and I had a Muncie 4 spd swapped in in an hour and a half. Love these Chevys.

[Shifty One]

Chromed, and highly-polished glove box doors in my 55 Belair....

[Stocker]

What I liked most about 3OTT was when (not if) you got stuck, it was soooo easy to rock it between first & reverse repeatedly until you got unstuck.

Not that it ever happened to me.....

[1970 CST Short Wide]

Yep, been there done that. I liked Shifting my 4 Speed into 2nd and 4th with Her setting Next to Me. LOL. Those were the Days

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by 1970 CST Short Wide

Yep, been there done that. I liked Shifting my 4 Speed into 2nd and 4th with Her setting Next to Me. LOL. Those were the Days

Was waiting for someone to share those gears to me.. If you did look at her face ,,what did she wear on it ? Smile maybe?

[Tom]

Before my time, and I'm no spring chicken.

[CG]

I started driving later '75, still tons of three on the trees out there. My first 57 Chev started out as three on the tree till I converted to floor shift with a Hurst Mystery shifter.

[Sheepdip]

Originally Posted by Stocker

What I liked most about 3OTT was when (not if) you got stuck, it was soooo easy to rock it between first & reverse repeatedly until you got unstuck.

Not that it ever happened to me.....

My sister drove a 54 Bel-Air in high school and we did that many times!

[tutone]

3 ott were fine until the column linkage got stuck between 1st and 2nd. Always in the rain or cold. I would be guilty of swapping to a floor shifter when that would happen often enough.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by tutone

3 ott were fine until the column linkage got stuck between 1st and 2nd. Always in the rain or cold. I would be guilty of swapping to a floor shifter when that would happen often enough.

Or in the middle of an intersection. I was very young, think preschool, so would have been in the early Fifties. I think my dad was driving an old Plymouth, probably 3OTT. All I remember was hearing that it got stuck in two different gears, and the car would not move, and blocked an intersection in Portland Oregon. There we sat until a mechanic could come and set things right again. Other drivers were not too happy with us. Dad may have sold the Plymouth not long after that -- I don't recall. Not even sure what he bought next, but it might have been our '54 Studebaker.

[Rich84]

My Dad had a Falcon station wagon with 3 ott..Then he got another. He loved his Fords.
When he got a 72 pinto with a floor shift he used to let me shift. I thoght I was the cat's ass.
My first truck was a 70 c10 converted to the floor with cheap hurst shifter. It was not the best.

[72c20customcamper]

My 60 Tbird has three on the tree with overdrive . Very rare combo in a high line car . No bench so the girl would be straddling the center consol . Only pic I have on my phone

[Micmac]

I could be wrong but I believe the last 3 on the tree came off the assembly line in 1984, on the GMC assembly line. Hold your breath, that was 40 years ago.

[toms68cst]

I bought a 69 C10 with a three-on-the-tree transmission back in the early 80's. Luckily the guy I bought it from went ahead and showed me how to get it unstuck when it hung up. I don't know how many times I had to jump out, open the hood and move that little lever on the column over the two years I owned that truck. Loved the shifting and truck otherwise.

[LT7A]

Originally Posted by truckster

Those old vinyl bench seats worked really well for what we called "come closer corners"...

My high school physics teacher taught us about centripetal force using those turns as an example. He called them SOB turns - slide over baby.