36 Ford truck on Ranger

[MercuryMac]

I got at it, in the shop today, for a while. As I said, a good looking gearshift was next on the agenda. [pic 1] is the complete old T-5 gearshift. The handle was too short and too new looking, so off with it's head. I liked the length of throw on a T-5 so to get that same throw with a third longer handle I had to raise the pivot 1" thereby lengthening the bottom part of the lever by about 1/3. [pic 2] is the lever base with it's pivot hole up 1". [pic 3] is the base with an Imperial 1/2" fine thread bolt welded on the end instead of some sort-of fine thread semi-size metric male threaded piece. When I raised the pivot up, I also had to raise the socket hold-down base, up 1" with some shims of high density molecular plastic [the white squarish thing]. I have been saving this old gearshift for a while now and it's time has come. While I was testing all of the bottom stuff on the transmission and in the cab I also tried two different boots that passed the test.

[Snake Farm]

That should make for a neat 'gennie' looking shifter!

[MercuryMac]

Thanks Snake. I really like working with levers and fulcrums so I relished this job.. I want the truck to look authentic to those who might not know what it should really look like.

[MercuryMac]

Between a way more snow to plow, and visiting, [holiday season, eh], I got a little bit more done. Here is the 'swan neck' gearshift in primer. It has been shortened, bored out and tapped, measured, tried on, bent some more, tried again, eye-balled and finally given the thumbs up. Dang-it, guys, I may never make a RatRodder, I think my gearshift might be almost too long. It peeks above the steering wheel in second gear.

[MercuryMac]

Progress report. The gearshift is painted and the old knob is fitted on [not as easily done as said]. The new gearshift has a 5/16 fine thread male end and the old knob, that I liked, has a 3/8" fine thread female, so they weren't as compatible as I would have liked. I have seen gearshift knob adapters in hot rod shops but the closest one to me is now 300 miles away. I took a chance that 5/16" helicoil would have a 3/8" O.D., and by golly, it does, so I'm set.
Anyhow, I also put in the transmission hump sound barrier, and the tin hump. The old center part of the floor mat was getting beat up, [not from a lot of driving but a lot of un-humping and transmission fiascos] so I went and bought another rubberized door mat at Home Depot and using the old section as a template, cut a new one. The rubber on these is not very strong, but the fuzzy stuff is. It looks finished now. Notice in the first picture that the gearshift is above the steering wheel. Awwllright.

[MercuryMac]

A job that I wasn't looking forward to, is now done. The top end of the old Ford speedometer cable was unhooked and pulled out, so the new Chevy cable could go into the speedometer housing drive nipple. Sounds easy, right? Well, the new cable is of a different brand and 50 years newer so I had to massage the upper end of the cable a bit. Tomorrow I'm going to test drive the speedometer and transmission switch-a-roo, while the truck's still up on jackstands.
This may sound like bragging but I forgot to crow----I mean tell you that my gearshift has a 'first to second' throw of seven inches, which is really nice. The sideways movement is 6".

[dowoplover]

Back in the early seventies (when I was just a child). A buddy and I bought a Harley trike that had been "chopperized". It came complete with "mouse trap linkage", and "jockey shift". We did not like the way the shifter came up beside the tank............three hours later, we had another one. Hand bent. We laid them in the floor for comparison. (can you guess where I am going?) They were identical!!

[MercuryMac]

Hello plover, I hope this early inventing has given you a lifetime love of levers, linkages and building; even if you ended up again at 'start'.
Since I was a kid, and rode on an old Harley, I've always liked those jockey shifters. They may not be the safest or handiest things but they are cool.
Keep on tinkering.

[earthman]

........................

[MercuryMac]

Thanks for looking in, Earthman.
Yesterday I test drove the truck, up on jackstands, and found a gasoline leak where I hadn't been working. That was easily fixed.
The gearshift felt very nice through all of the gears.
The speedometer seemed very slow so I'm thinking up a small transmission to double the speedo reading.
Oh, and I poured into the oil, a zinc additive and now have mixed it in the motor. Have any of you got some facts on adding zinc to the new zincless stuff, for use in old motors?