49 Merc Shifter Linkage
- Thread starter Ehlien
- Start date
51 MERC-CT
Well-known member
Stock '49 Merc. never had a floor shifter.
So I am assuming you have one that has been converted using an aftermarket kit such as Hurst.
This is an instruction sheet for a current model Hurst.
So I am assuming you have one that has been converted using an aftermarket kit such as Hurst.
This is an instruction sheet for a current model Hurst.
tubman
Well-known member
If a '51 Mercury overdrive transmission is anything like a shoebox Ford (and I think it is), the so-called "Universal" kits won't fit without a lot of work. I have purchased 3 shifters for the '50 Ford 8BA/OD transmission set up I want to put in my glass "T" tub, and none of them come close to fitting because of interference with the OD solenoid. I currently have a Hurst and a Fenton I picked up on eBay. I also have one of the generic ones available from places like J.C. Whitney. While all look like they would work on a non-OD transmission, the OD solenoid is exactly where the shift rods want to go. To make any of them work with the OD transmission, it seems I have two choices. I can either run the shift levers on the transmission upside down while raising the mechanism itself (resulting in a "backwards" shift pattern), or make some crazy reinforced offset rods and make a new mount to set the shifter mechanism back further. My third alternative is to use a non-OD transmission; luckily I have several.
If you ever get under the car for any reason take a good look at the OD solenoid; you will see that it is in exactly the wrong place. I am going to attack this when I get back to Minnesota this spring, so I will post any brainstorms I might have.
I do remember a commercially available floor shift conversion back in the day taet bolted directly to the side cover of the transmission and kind of looked like the cover of a '39 transmission. The shift lever engaged 2 slides the had slots in them that slipped over pins in the transmission shift levers. As I recall, nobody used them because they didn't work very well. Maybe if you find one at a swap meet and have a lot of skill and patience, it may work.
51 MERC-CT
Well-known member
Good info, know someone who had the same issues.
Fortunately or unfortunately I have a Merc-O-matic and am considering converting to floor shift to allow installation of electric power steering.
rotorwrench
Well-known member
Floor shifters made for the old electric overdrive transmissions all had to be mounted high enough that the shift rods can go straight to the shift arms. This made for some odd ball brackets. The Hurst type four position shifters were all pretty much the same but the mounting brackets were are pretty much different between different transmissions. I remember seeing plans in the car magazines for fabricating your own floor shifter. Until Hurst & Fenton came along, a lot of them were home made.
I built a shifter for my Merc overdrive trans, I used an old Hurst mystery shifter.
Made my own bracket to mount the shifter, which sits on top of the trans main body, in the middle. The shifter come through the original shifter hole in the 42 pick up floor.
The shifter arms that come out of the main body of the shifter, now bend 90 degrees to the drivers side of the trans, then turn another 90 to point down. They end up between the shift arms on the trans side cover. Made some short trans shifter arms that now point up. Made some short shift rods to connect them to the shifters arms.
The shifter stick itself is stock 42 pickup length. The shifter throw is about the same as if it had the stock 42 trans and shifter fitted.
Now this creation ain't a thing of beauty, I sorta made it up out of things and stuff, to see if it would work. It does, I'm very happy with the way it works. At the point I started to think I'll make it out of better/neater stuff, to finish it properly, I seen on this here barn, a shifter for the Merc overdrive made out of an early four speed top shift assembly, much better and neater and even looks correct poking through the floor. I thought "sod this, that's what I'll put the effort into making", made mine look like a shifter made out of things and stuff!
I can't post pics due to a broken computer, so have to use this phone to do stuff. When I can, I will.
If you do a search for Merc overdrive shifters or some such, you'll find the picks of the beautiful shifter Les made. I could tell you his user name, but will have to come back with the info, can only do one thing at a time on this phone.
Good luck,
Martin.
Made my own bracket to mount the shifter, which sits on top of the trans main body, in the middle. The shifter come through the original shifter hole in the 42 pick up floor.
The shifter arms that come out of the main body of the shifter, now bend 90 degrees to the drivers side of the trans, then turn another 90 to point down. They end up between the shift arms on the trans side cover. Made some short trans shifter arms that now point up. Made some short shift rods to connect them to the shifters arms.
The shifter stick itself is stock 42 pickup length. The shifter throw is about the same as if it had the stock 42 trans and shifter fitted.
Now this creation ain't a thing of beauty, I sorta made it up out of things and stuff, to see if it would work. It does, I'm very happy with the way it works. At the point I started to think I'll make it out of better/neater stuff, to finish it properly, I seen on this here barn, a shifter for the Merc overdrive made out of an early four speed top shift assembly, much better and neater and even looks correct poking through the floor. I thought "sod this, that's what I'll put the effort into making", made mine look like a shifter made out of things and stuff!
I can't post pics due to a broken computer, so have to use this phone to do stuff. When I can, I will.
If you do a search for Merc overdrive shifters or some such, you'll find the picks of the beautiful shifter Les made. I could tell you his user name, but will have to come back with the info, can only do one thing at a time on this phone.
Good luck,
Martin.