Right hand drive, column shift

49fordv8f4

49fordv8f4

Senior Member
There have been some really nice car photos posted here, and I find the right hand drive cars particularly interesting. I guess because it seems so odd to me when I see a photo of a car with the "drivers side door" open and the steering wheel is on the far side of the car.:D So, my question is, do the '40-'48 transmissions have the cases cast in reverse to ours with the access cover and shift levers on the right hand side or do they use linkage from the right hand side to the left side of the transmission?
Mark
 
My 1st car a 55 ford had a rod linkage setup that bolted under the trans for the column shift to hook up to. It used to jam up occasionally & I would have to crawl under & fix it .
I cant remember what the 40 to 48 fords had as I only owned a couple of them.Cheers
Tony
36 in my avatar is my second car after I totaled the 55 , I still have the Ford emblem off the 55 glovebox door tho.
 
I have a 3sp out of a Ford Pilot (RHD) and it's on the right side of the case only.

I'll look at the steering column tomorrow as well.
 
I had a rhd 46 coupe and the trans case had the cover with the linkage on the right hand side. I don't know if it was the same as a rhd pilot case, but there is no reason why it shouldn't have been. gear lever is on the left of the column. Lift and forward for reverse, lift and back for 1st. let it drop and forward for 2nd and pull back for top.

Mart.
 
When the Column Shift Gear Boxes were introduced in 1940, the Transmission Case for the RHD cars had the Cover Plate on the right, while the LHD models had the Cover Plate on the Left.
To convert one of these 1940 thru 1948 Fords from LHD to RHD, you would need a RHD Transmission Case & associated Gear Selection Mechanism in addition to a RHD Steering Box, Dash Panel, Brake & Clutch Pedal Assembly, Stub Axles etc.
While it sounds complicated, these parts all bolt up without drilling extra holes.
 
Good question!!! Are the pedals the same? Throttle on right, clutch on the left? Are your hand signals up for left, straight out for right and down for stop?
 
It may sound funny, but on a RHD car, the Mechanism is much simpler than on a LHD car.
On RHD cars, the Clutch Pedal is right next to the Transmission & is attached to a bracket that is attached to the cross shaft which protrudes slightly from the Transmission. There are no other Linkages etc required.
On the LHD cars, the Clutch Pedal is as far removed from the Transmission as it can possibly get, & that means that the Mechanism to link the Clutch Pedal to the Transmission means that a Rod has to travel inside the Brake Pedal Assembly all the way from the Clutch Pedal to the Transmission cross shaft.
On RHD cars, both the Brake & Clutch Pedals mount on the same solid shaft.
Also, on RHD cars, the Accelerator Pedal is very protected, as it is located right next to the Cowl, while on LHD cars, it is sitting out in the middle, where an irresponsible passenger could press down on it.
The only problem with RHD cars is that as these model Fords were originally designed for LHD, the Starter Motor is located on the Right Hand Side.
When the Steering Box is on the Right, if a Starter Motor has to be removed, it is not an easy task, as the Steering Column has to be lowered inside the car, plus the Engine has to be jacked up on the right hand side.
However, with the longer wheelbase Mercury, removing the Starter Motor is no problem.
 
When 49fordv8f4 asked that quetion it got me thinking about the other stuff that must be different on RHD vehicles.......thanks, Mark
 
flatford8 said:
Good question!!! Are the pedals the same? Throttle on right, clutch on the left? Are your hand signals up for left, straight out for right and down for stop?
Click to expand...

Pedals are the same.

It'd be a brave man who'd use hand signals these days, most would think you were making some sort of obscene gesture at them, or, you'd gone Ga-Ga.

Our signals were right arm and hand straight out for Right turn, right Forearm and hand up for Stop. If the driver wanted to signal a Left turn to those in front he would hold his arm (pointing left) near the windscreen, if he wanted to signal to those behind (or in front) he would raise his entire right arm upward and fold his forearm and hand over the roof to indicate a Left turn. Easy eh.
 
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Fe26 said:
Pedals are the same.

It'd be a brave man who'd use hand signals these days, most would think you were making some sort of obscene gesture at them, or, you'd gone Ga-Ga.

.
Click to expand...

That's right, there were just mounted on the right side of the X-member.

Hmnnn...maybe I should convert this '36 PU cab I have, stick on the Pilot Chassis and make folks wonder...:)
 
It was common practice on RHD cars to heat the bulge in the sump near the steering box and hammer it in slightly in which case the starter would slip out between the sump and steering box.Cheers
 
While driving a (modern) RHD car with a floor shift in London, I found the most difficult part of the whole experience, was shifting with my left hand. Pedals were normal, clutch on left brake in middle, gas on right. On this particular car, the gears were in the same position, but using my left hand was a real chore.
 
GEOFFNZ said:
It was common practice on RHD cars to heat the bulge in the sump near the steering box and hammer it in slightly in which case the starter would slip out between the sump and steering box.Cheers
Click to expand...

Wish I'd thought of that...
 
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