****** shift lever

D

drezin

Member
I have a 35 coupe with a 37 ****** and top tower. Will a 35 shift lever work on this or are they different? Maybe I could just bend the 37 lever to match the 35 bend?
Dave
 
according to MacVP's book, the shift levers changed in '36, so probably not.....check 'em side by side to see the diffs in the end going into the transmission.....Mike
 
I think and I'm sorta sure that the real differences between the floor shift levers has to do with the "style" of the top casting. '32 through '34 has the shorter "leaning back" type of tower and the '35 through '39 (and later pickups) has the "straight up" type of tower. There's a small difference in the length that sticks down into the trans. The earlier type is shorter than the later. (Bruce Lancaster carries the two dimensions in his pocket note book. Maybe he'll reply.)
It shouldn't be too hard to pull the one out your trans and compare it to the other.
 
Pretty sure the lean back was '32 thru '35. In '36 the tower went straight and the
length of the stick from the swivel ball down to the selector tip got longer. So a '36
up stick won't interchange with a '35 on back, IMHO.
Charlie ny
 
Charlie ny said:
Pretty sure the lean back was '32 thru '35. In '36 the tower went straight and the
length of the stick from the swivel ball down to the selector tip got longer. So a '36
up stick won't interchange with a '35 on back, IMHO.
Charlie ny
Click to expand...

I agree with Charlie on the years for slant back towers being '32-'35, and '36 being the beginning of straight up towers.
I believe if drezin wanted to use a '35 shift lever on his '37 transmission he could do this if he also changed to a '35 or earlier slant back tower housing.
 
This diagram just has the later years.
 

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Rough measurement to distinguish between early and late levers at the flea market:
1932-1935 about 4 1/8" from the flat on top of pivot ball to the very bottom end.
1936--end is about 4 7/8"
This corresponds to the leaned back versus straight up towers.
And, of course, many transmissiond by now are mixtures of different year parts...
 
I went with a '39 ****** in my '35, similar issue. Used a conduit bender and c-clamps to bend cold. Worked OK.
 
B-O-B said:
has anyone bent a shifter lever cold,that is without heating it?
Click to expand...

A fellow V8er in our RG bent a '36-'37 passenger car, or possibly a straight commerical style shift lever to the same configuration as a '35. Not sure if he did this cold or heated, but could contact him and find out if you would like to know. It did look very good when finished.
 
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Hi John;
I'm back in Az now & on to the 34 roadster. I have no idea as to what transmission it has but it works great & stays in 2nd on letting up on the gas. The slightest problem is that the shift lever just touches the dash in 2nd. I am hoping to bend it like the later shift levers ala swan neck. It presently looks like your 36-37 picture of shift levers in your # 7 post. Still pretty weak so don't get too much done at a time. I usually try to get a hour or so done every day.
 

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May I ask why heat is a no no when bending shift sticks ? I do it all the time..........
not bright red to the near liquid state but a very dull glow, then a dunk and swirl in old
motor oil.
Charlie ny
 
Quenching in oil even if it's a "Just in case scenario"is a good idea. In case there's enough carbon in the steel to anneal or harden a bit. Heat treating 101. If it were a mild low carbon steel it wouldn't matter and would stay relatively soft / pliable regardless of any quench. Oil is a better choice than water as it is less severe and cools the steel slower avoiding embrittlement. I'm thinking the business end of the stick which is inside the ****** working the gears has to be heat treated to attain the toughness it needs to wear well over time and would think so goes the rest of the stick outside the ******. I personally found that although rigid and fairly tough I was able to bend / shape the '39 stick to fit and look good in my '35 succesfully using a conduit bender and clamps in a cold state.
 
B-O-B said:
Hi John;
I'm back in Az now & on to the 34 roadster. I have no idea as to what transmission it has but it works great & stays in 2nd on letting up on the gas. The slightest problem is that the shift lever just touches the dash in 2nd. I am hoping to bend it like the later shift levers ala swan neck. It presently looks like your 36-37 picture of shift levers in your # 7 post. Still pretty weak so don't get too much done at a time. I usually try to get a hour or so done every day.
Click to expand...

Bob, I loaded your picture into my tablet files and brightened it up a bit so I could see the shape of the full shift lever better, and from what I can tell, that's a '36-'37 lever. That should be a good candidate to reshape into a swan neck '35 shift lever configuation which I feel would clear your dash in reverse and second a lot better. If you have access to a stock '35 lever you could trace its configuration on a piece of cardboard and use that as a template to reshape your lever.
 
Thanks John. I shall look for one down this way, should not be too hard.
Charley Ny I was wondering if it would snap/break bending cold or discoloring the lever if you heat it.
Mine is shiny.
 
The shift levers I've had were not all that hard. I don't know what steel they used or if they were forged or not but Henry loved the Chrome Vanadium steels. I've bent several by applying heat with an acetylene torch and never had a problem. I just let them cool on there own. I cold bend them for small adjustments and that's no problem either.
 
I sure would not guarantee a shiny finish surviving a heat up and bend. An addendum
here..........from slightly above the swivel ball the stick is an electrically welded piece.
Charlie ny
 
Mine must have been plain Jane. None of them were shiny. If the early ones were plated, I can see the concern.

I seem to recall that someone was turning the shafts from corrosion resistant steel then bending them to the different shapes. After bending they only required polishing to make them shiny. I have no idea who was making them though or whether the CRES material was holding up or not.
 
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