flipped column?
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From: Boise,ID
flipped column?
i was wondering about flipping my 3 speed column...my hot rodder uncle happened to mention it a while back and it seems like a good idea so that i, too can practice safe snuggling. its really annoying to hear "i was so comfy" every time i have to stop and shift. as i understand it all that is required is loosening the various braketry and the two linkages to the tranny. the shift pattern would be opposite but thats not a big deal. i guess i might need to disconnect the ps box also?
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From: United States
flipped column?
Might be easier to just wait a couple years. By then you won't want her sitting next to you anyway.
I think the shift linkage issue will be more difficult than you think.
Larry
I think the shift linkage issue will be more difficult than you think.
Larry
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From: Boise,ID
flipped column?
well, the way i see it is that we've been married for almost two years and she still sits in the middle, and by the time she wants to sit on the far right our daughter will be old enough to sit in the middle and flying elbows might be a problem. also i like to add "character" to my truck and who do you know with an opposite side shifter on a t-85?
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
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From: Atlanta GA
flipped column?
Your brain is wired a certain way. Now you are going to try the shifting and the clutch both on the same side at the same time.
You turn the wheel with your left while you shift with your right. Now your right arm will see much more movement while you ~ TRY ~ to shift with the left arm at the same time as you clutch with your left foot. You will find this very distracting.
Accident waiting to happen with all that multi-tasking.
As for comfit, being relaxed and not thinking about what you are doing is the lead cause of accidents. Most of the severe accidents happen in ideal "perfect" weather under ideal road conditions. FWIW.
You turn the wheel with your left while you shift with your right. Now your right arm will see much more movement while you ~ TRY ~ to shift with the left arm at the same time as you clutch with your left foot. You will find this very distracting.
Accident waiting to happen with all that multi-tasking.
As for comfit, being relaxed and not thinking about what you are doing is the lead cause of accidents. Most of the severe accidents happen in ideal "perfect" weather under ideal road conditions. FWIW.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 869
Likes: 1
From: Apple Valley CA USA
flipped column?
flipping a shifter was an old hot rodders trick made long obsolete by steering columns with the shifter incorporated in them. the column you have has the shift tube running inside around teh steeing tube and the only way to flip it is too remove the outer tubes, cut them in half and spin it all around and weld back together. flipping shifters was only done on vehicles with external shift tubes that run down the top or bottom of the steering column (i think econoline vans were the last to be built like that!). on those vehicles it was only necessary to remove the shaft flip it over and reinstall. and yes, my 38 ford with a baby hemi, zephyr trans, auburn clutch, flamethrower, drag star, 6 stroms, and juice brakes had a flipped shifter. if you understood what i said you are too damn old! LOL hawkrod
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From: Wesley Chapel, FLA
flipped column?
I've had my truck more than twenty years. More than 10 years ago I put in a floorshift 4 speed. Every now and then, less as time goes on, I may still reach towards the column to shift gears.
Some of the Australians might get a kick out of this. I went to the Cook Islands some years ago and while there rented an MG-TD replicar. Right hand drive. Anyone who has tried this knows exactly what I'm talking about. With the low cut doors of that model car several times I reached right out the door to shift gears, knowing full well the shifter was to to my left. Thank God the clutch/brake/gas are the same. Just leaving a parking lot and getting on the road is a mind-bending adventure. Backward car and backward lanes, leaving the driveway from the wrong side. Nothing is right.
I don't even want to think about having a backwards 3 speed. Maybe if you were young and didn't have many years of experience/habit you could adjust more easily.
Some of the Australians might get a kick out of this. I went to the Cook Islands some years ago and while there rented an MG-TD replicar. Right hand drive. Anyone who has tried this knows exactly what I'm talking about. With the low cut doors of that model car several times I reached right out the door to shift gears, knowing full well the shifter was to to my left. Thank God the clutch/brake/gas are the same. Just leaving a parking lot and getting on the road is a mind-bending adventure. Backward car and backward lanes, leaving the driveway from the wrong side. Nothing is right.
I don't even want to think about having a backwards 3 speed. Maybe if you were young and didn't have many years of experience/habit you could adjust more easily.
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From: Boise,ID
flipped column?
thanks for the info hawkrod...as an after disclaimer i would just like to mention that i can always be alert and cautious regardless of what is happening next to me. clearly driving is the priority. my turn signals dont work so i am used to multi-tasking. signaling with your arm with the window open in the snow tends to keep me active. also, rebocardo, can you look up some stats on serious accidents happening in ideal "perfect" weather under ideal road conditions commited by a person driving that has acctually done some work on their vehicle? in my experience i have found that most crashes (by my peers) happen when the driver is driving a car (usually a honda) that mom and dad paid for. thus the person driving the auto doesnt give a crap about what happens to said auto. i, on the other hand, take care of my truck. i wouldn't dare put it(or me, or my familiy) in danger by not paying attention.
sorry if i sound frustrated i had 2(two) jap cars honking at me today when what i think was my starter failed.
sorry if i sound frustrated i had 2(two) jap cars honking at me today when what i think was my starter failed.
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Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Texas Hill Country
flipped column?
I had a '63 Plymouth Grand Fury in H.S. that had a pushbutton transmission... man, that takes me back!!
Originally posted by rebocardo
Please excuse the spelling on my 12:10 am post
Slightly off-topic - remember the Falcons with the push button transmission!
Please excuse the spelling on my 12:10 am post
Slightly off-topic - remember the Falcons with the push button transmission!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 13,873
Likes: 3
From: Atlanta GA
flipped column?
Hey, it could have been a Plymouth or a AMC Rambler. I just remember the buttons and it had a curved like chrome/aluminum dash and I thought it was a Falcon. In 1963 I was 3!
As for accident data:
I came across the study in a trade magazine
a while ago, I think the original study was
by Commerce Insurance that clearly spelled everything
out. Any who ....
Try this link for some interesting facts
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd...nn/TSF2001.pdf
Chapter 2 Table 25:
2001 Fatal crashes:
Conditions:
Normal = 33,311
rain = 2,826
Snow = 690
Other 677
Unknown 291
As for accident data:
I came across the study in a trade magazine
a while ago, I think the original study was
by Commerce Insurance that clearly spelled everything
out. Any who ....
Try this link for some interesting facts
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd...nn/TSF2001.pdf
Chapter 2 Table 25:
2001 Fatal crashes:
Conditions:
Normal = 33,311
rain = 2,826
Snow = 690
Other 677
Unknown 291
Last edited by rebocardo; Jul 22, 2003 at 01:18 AM.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,209
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From: Black Hills of SD
flipped column?
Hey maybe you could get a column from a british Ford, or you could just teach wifey to do the shifting. I used to do all the shifting for my Dad when I was a wee mite of a gearhead. He said it was amost like having an automatic transmission.
Red Skelton once was joking about necking while driving with one hand, he said " I use both hands--- and drive with my feet."
BTW I'm glad to hear she still likes to sit by you. That is a tradition that the auto industry has almost made extinct. I can still remember when your girlfriend would even set on the console to set next to you.
I got into an impromptu race with a buddy one night in my 4 speed 66 442. I kind of forgot that the girlfriend was on the console and almost knocked her boob off with my elbow when I full-powered second gear.
Red Skelton once was joking about necking while driving with one hand, he said " I use both hands--- and drive with my feet."
BTW I'm glad to hear she still likes to sit by you. That is a tradition that the auto industry has almost made extinct. I can still remember when your girlfriend would even set on the console to set next to you.
I got into an impromptu race with a buddy one night in my 4 speed 66 442. I kind of forgot that the girlfriend was on the console and almost knocked her boob off with my elbow when I full-powered second gear.
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