1932-1939 Ford gear shift handle I.D.

Mark Slight

Mark Slight

Senior Member
Would anyone out in Ford Barn Land know of an article or photo I could use to identify 7 Ford gear shift handles I have. I've had them for some time and they were not tagged when I got them.

I tried the Early V-8 Ford Club of America but couldn't find any information. Some place I've seen a photo with all the handles side by side with a year tag pointing to the gear shift lever of that year.

My thanks in advance, Mark (California)
 
For starters, measure distance from the flat top of the pivot ball on stick to the very lower end; about 4 1/8" will fit 1932 through 1935 transmissions, 4 7/8" fits 1936 on up.
 
From our website. The early levers came in 3 versions also.....the 1932-34 levers were each the same except the finish. The 32 had a painted surface. The 33-34 had the "butler" finish (like a dull chrome). The 35 lever also had the butler finish.

The 1932 thru 34 levers had a single bend down above the pivot hub, and were then straight out to the knob. The 1935 levers were similar to the 38-39 with a double bend.

Remember that the 32-35 levers all had the short stub and will only work in the 1932-35 slanted shifter towers. You can NOT use any of these in the 1936 and later towers. Likewise, you can NOT use the 1936 and later levers in the early slanted towers.

Flathead_Trans_shifterlevers.jpg
 
Mac VP said:
From our website. The early levers came in 3 versions also.....the 1932-34 levers were each the same except the finish. The 32 had a painted surface. The 33-34 had the "butler" finish (like a dull chrome). The 35 lever also had the butler finish.

Mac, are you sure all 32 shifters are painted, the shifter in my wagon has the butler finish.

Keep V-8ing and 4-banging!
Click to expand...
 
In responce to Jerseyboy, I defer to the EFV8 Club's recent 1932 Ford Book (Vol.1) which is pretty specific on the 1932 levers. Although there was a brief variation in shape (single bend near the pivot vs gentle bend further out), they state that the finish was the butler finish throughout the 1932 model year.

For some reason, I had a reference somewhere that suggested that the 32 levers were painted. In fact, I have had some early levers that had old coats of paint that appeared original, but it seems these may have been painted over the old butler finish at some previous time. So, I will stand corrected on the 32 finish until I have proof otherwise.

The 1935 lever was different from 1934 and 1936. It had the double bend (ie "swan neck") but a different curvature from the swan neck we know from the 1938-39 levers. Also, the 35 lever was intended for the slanted tower and had the short stub.

It seems the changes in shape were part of a constant effort by Ford to compensate for the problems associated with the driver's hand hitting the dashboard, or the lever bumping into the seat cushion. As the car interiors grew in size (and the change in the shifter tower that occurred in 1936), adjustments had to be made in the design of the levers.
 
The 39 Mercury shift lever is longer than the 38-39 Ford shift lever, about 2 inches if I remember correctly. It has been a couple years since I put mine next to each other.
 
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