TJ:
Here's how I did the 3 speed adjustment on my '49.
1. Put the shift levers on the tranny in the neutral position. If you can't find that position, look at my photos on webshots (link below) in the tranny rebuild album. There are pics of all the relative arm positions to the gears selected.
2. Take off the cover of your column shifter box. If you didn't loosen the box from the column, the box itself should not need adjustment relative to the column. Loosen the two shift rods from the arms on the box so that the rods will slide up and down the arm lock down bolts smoothly.
3. Look inside the column box. You may need to remove some grease to see clearly. The two slots looking up at you and the tab from the shift lever itself form the "Neutral Gate". Put your column shift lever inside the cab into the neutral position. Move the arms attached to your steering column box so that the tab inside the box moves smoothly up and down into the slots inside the box which are a part of the box shift arms. This is the neutral position in the box.
4. Now the tranny arms are in neutral, the tab in the shift box is in neutral and your shift lever in the cab is in neutral.
5. Insert the shift rods (into the correct shift box lever arms) gently, making sure that the neutral gate doesn't move inside the shift box and that the tab and slots are still aligned.
6. Tighten down on each shift rod hold down bolt until they are fairly snug and won't move on the rod making sure that the tab and slots remain lined up.
7. Get someone to watch the tab movement in and out of the slots in the shift box as you try to shift between gears inside the cab with your shifter. Clutch pedal fully depressed!
8. If the shift lever allows you to go through all gears smoothly, you're done! If it hangs up anywhere, go out and check the neutral gate in the box and readjust the rod and clamp down bolts a tad to get it right.
9. Once everything seems good, get under the truck while someone goes through all the gears making sure that each shift arm position on the side of the tranny is correct and positioned fully into its detent. If they are hanging up anywhere or not going fully in, you will have to readjust the shift rods at the steering column again (still making sure the neutral gate is aligned).
Biggest thing, start everything from the neutral position, everything else adjusts to that.
