Got an old Chevy in the shop this week. It's been years since I've driven a 3 on the tree. I kinda dig it.
Curious as to who has not driven one.
Curious as to who has not driven one.
3 on the tree
- Thread starter Chris142
- Start date
- Status
I think Mercedes had a 4 on the tree and I think the early Toyota Landcruisers did too.
those the cars with manual transmissions shifter near the wheel instead of on the floor?
Originally Posted By: addyguy
I never have. Always wanted to, but they were LONG gone as DD's up here by the time I started driving.
Bummer. I aquired a 69 Chevelle in the early 90's that was a 2 door with a straight-6 and a 3 on the tree. I miss that car
Long story short. I put a 302 Chevy in it with a stock hydraulic cam and a 2bbl Rochester carb. With the 3 on the tree and 3.08 gears that thing ran 14.47 in the 1/4 mile and got 22mpg on the hwy.
I never have. Always wanted to, but they were LONG gone as DD's up here by the time I started driving.
Bummer. I aquired a 69 Chevelle in the early 90's that was a 2 door with a straight-6 and a 3 on the tree. I miss that car
Long story short. I put a 302 Chevy in it with a stock hydraulic cam and a 2bbl Rochester carb. With the 3 on the tree and 3.08 gears that thing ran 14.47 in the 1/4 mile and got 22mpg on the hwy.
Originally Posted By: defektes
those the cars with manual transmissions shifter near the wheel instead of on the floor?
Yep.
My Maverick was a 3 on the tree before I put the 302/C4 combo in it.
those the cars with manual transmissions shifter near the wheel instead of on the floor?
Yep.
My Maverick was a 3 on the tree before I put the 302/C4 combo in it.
OK, we got several candidates for 4 on a tree, mercedes, toyota...I bet some english cars should be added here also.
I owned a Fiat 1100, my neighbor owned a Pugeot 404, both 4 on a tree. On the Fiat 1st was where "reverse" is on a 3 speed, reverse was found by pushing straight in, then down. Park against a wall, leave the keys in it, nobody could steal it because they would never find reverse!
OK, my first car was a modern 41 Plymouth, with 3 on the tree. My buddies had 30's cars with floor shifters, they seemed terribly crude and outdated!
I owned a Fiat 1100, my neighbor owned a Pugeot 404, both 4 on a tree. On the Fiat 1st was where "reverse" is on a 3 speed, reverse was found by pushing straight in, then down. Park against a wall, leave the keys in it, nobody could steal it because they would never find reverse!
OK, my first car was a modern 41 Plymouth, with 3 on the tree. My buddies had 30's cars with floor shifters, they seemed terribly crude and outdated!
I've never driven one, but I've heard that they were fairly hard to drive. Or, at least, they were hard to get accustomed to.
hey chris, been awhile... good to see you still around the intraweb! three on a tree? havent driven one since a 60's something ford ranchero with a 170cu straight 6, and that was back in the early 80s late 70's?
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2002
- Messages
- 39,799
Wasn't some of the older Saab's 4 on the column? Probably not the Sonnet, but the more common (whatever it was) model??
Originally Posted By: Shannow
The clunky GM/Ford/Chrysler ones in Oz were rubbish (but so were their gated 4 speeds on the floor).
Early ones weren't too bad,but the HQ and XA were really bad when they came out.It was very common for them to hang up in 1st with the lever in neutral.I used to go on plenty of breakdowns for that - just open the bonnet and pull it out of gear manually.Holden's fix was to supply a rear wheel bearing retainer ring - this was jammed up under the linkage and held in place with a PK screw.This took most of the play out of the linkage and made it work sort of better.Their floor changes were just linkages on the floor...worse than a column change.
The best 3 on the tree to drive was the Ford Zephyr MkI and MkII,solid and finger tip shifting.The English 4 on the tree were sometimes good,spring loaded in the gate,so you just pushed the lever up into 3rd without going through the gate - sort of a straight line column shift.
The clunky GM/Ford/Chrysler ones in Oz were rubbish (but so were their gated 4 speeds on the floor).
Early ones weren't too bad,but the HQ and XA were really bad when they came out.It was very common for them to hang up in 1st with the lever in neutral.I used to go on plenty of breakdowns for that - just open the bonnet and pull it out of gear manually.Holden's fix was to supply a rear wheel bearing retainer ring - this was jammed up under the linkage and held in place with a PK screw.This took most of the play out of the linkage and made it work sort of better.Their floor changes were just linkages on the floor...worse than a column change.
The best 3 on the tree to drive was the Ford Zephyr MkI and MkII,solid and finger tip shifting.The English 4 on the tree were sometimes good,spring loaded in the gate,so you just pushed the lever up into 3rd without going through the gate - sort of a straight line column shift.
Never drove a pre-70 column shift, but neighbour had an FC ute, that looked (never ran) better than than the XB ute at work.
My LJ (4 speed), I used to put it in first, then bash the lever across to the 3rd position as an anti-theft feature.
My LJ (4 speed), I used to put it in first, then bash the lever across to the 3rd position as an anti-theft feature.
Originally Posted By: Shannow
My LJ (4 speed), I used to put it in first, then bash the lever across to the 3rd position as an anti-theft feature.
One shop where I worked we had a Holden One Tonner tow truck (manual winch).The gearshifts give so much trouble we turned it into a twin stick - with a separate reverse lever.So to get reverse you put the gearlever into neutral,then put the reverse lever into gear.All us workshop guys knew how to drive it - but if the office girl took it to do the banking,we were sure to get a call.She would put it into reverse with the main lever in gear,or leave it in reverse and select 1st...either way put it in two gears and locked the box.We would have to go out and jack up one wheel to unload the box to get it out of gear.
My LJ (4 speed), I used to put it in first, then bash the lever across to the 3rd position as an anti-theft feature.
One shop where I worked we had a Holden One Tonner tow truck (manual winch).The gearshifts give so much trouble we turned it into a twin stick - with a separate reverse lever.So to get reverse you put the gearlever into neutral,then put the reverse lever into gear.All us workshop guys knew how to drive it - but if the office girl took it to do the banking,we were sure to get a call.She would put it into reverse with the main lever in gear,or leave it in reverse and select 1st...either way put it in two gears and locked the box.We would have to go out and jack up one wheel to unload the box to get it out of gear.
I had an old Suburban with a 3 on the tree, and a Ford Granada with a 3 on the tree. The linkage got so sloppy on the Suburban that I had to cut a hole in the floor and install a Hurst shifter. Glad they had a kit for the conversion.
The 3 on the tree was pretty cool, talk about a long throw, oh boy. It was good for seating 3 people in the front of your car.
The 3 on the tree was pretty cool, talk about a long throw, oh boy. It was good for seating 3 people in the front of your car.
My grandfather, who didn't trust those "automatic things" special ordered a 70 Impala with a 350 and a three on a tree. Chevy called him to confirm the special order because it cost more than the standard a/t.
All my early Broncos were on the tree too, converted every one to the floor. They were easy to drive if, and maybe I should put IF in capitals, the linkage was right. It was a lot of monkey motion from the steering column to the transmission.
All my early Broncos were on the tree too, converted every one to the floor. They were easy to drive if, and maybe I should put IF in capitals, the linkage was right. It was a lot of monkey motion from the steering column to the transmission.
- Status
