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Hi, I just bought a 1946 1/2 ton and a 3/4 ton chevy truck. The 3/4 has a small rod next,(parallel) to the gearlever. Does anybody has a clue what this is ?

Cheers

Jan

It sounds to me like your 3/4 ton is a 4 speed. The rod should have a lever on the top. It is a reverse lock-out lever. If your 1/2 ton does not have one, it is a 3 speed.

I had the same question when I bought my 46. My 41 had a 3 speed...46 had a 4.

Piper, I see 46 in Progress just snuck in before me... However, since I've already written it, I guess I'll leave it.

I'm going to make some assumptions here. First, I assume you're talking about a 4-speed transmission, and secondly, I assume you're talking about the small rod that runs down the right side of the gearlever shaft.

It those two assumptions are correct, please continue...

The rod should have a little finger lever at the top. You would pull this lever up, to place the transmission in reverse, (like a reverse lock-out).

Reasoning for this, it is a granny-gear first gear, and you would typically start out in second gear. Second gear is in the same location as reverse. Only difference is, you pull the lever/shaft up to place the transmission in reverse.

I have an interior shot of my 46 in the link below. However, I'm not sure how well, or if you can see the lever and rod in the picture.

Hope that helps.

Thanks, I have the 2 gearboxes, 1 with the rod , 1 without, what what would you put in your truck ?

All the Best

Jan

I'm partial to the 4-speed. You'll probably never need 1st. gear, but you can pull a house, if you ever want to.

My '46 two ton truck with a 235 has enough torque to change the rotation of the earth in 1st gear.

When we brought the '52 Dodge home, it was on a trailer and we decided we'd just pull it off with the '46.. so I wrapped a chain around the Dodge front shackle, then around the back of the '46, put it in second and gave it a tug.. the Dodge didn't move.

So the people standing around had a nice chuckle.. i'd been telling them how much torque that '46 had and now it couldnt even pull a car off a trailer!

So in to first gear I went, eased off the clutch and moved forward about 10 feet.. humm.. guess the chain must have come off! I didn't feel anything.

I get out to look.. and here there was still a chain holding the Dodge on the trailer. I had just drug the Dodge, the trailer, and the father in laws '89 Chevy 2500 4WD (that was in gear) 10 feet across the lawn.

That first gear is absolutely worthless for driving unless you've got an unholy amount of weight on the back and you're going uphill.. but it sure is nice to have when you need it!

.. I almost forgot to mention.. I had the same question about that strange lever on the gear shift when I first got my '46, too!

My '46 still has a 216, and it can do the same thing...

Idling in first, I can pull just about anything.

I didn't have to ask about the reverse safety lever. Grandpa told me about it right after I told him I'd buy it.

Piper, Sounds like the opinion is the 4-speed.

One thing I forgot to mention, and you probably already know, but... Neither are synchro'd.

That's okay-REAL truckers don't need syncro's...;=D
Speed

The 41-46 3 speed has syncro's in second and third. It's also about 1/2 the weight of the 4 speed.

The 4 speed in my '46 2 ton seemed quite a bit heavier than the 3 speed in the '50 1/2 ton, too.

Also remember that the 3 and 4 speeds have differant brake pedal and master cylinder linkage setups. You will need to carry over the correct setup. That may not work from 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton. Check under the floor boards and see. On one setup the master cylinder sits in a bracket that hangs from the bell housing. On the other the MC is mounted to the frame and is actuated by some rods and a bell crank that mounts behind the master cylinder.

Good luck with the truck.

Bill Schickling

The 4 speed was an option on the 1/2 tons. The brackets will bolt up but you'll need the 3/4 ton u-joint. Barry Weeks set me up with one when I swapped my 3 spd for a 4 speed in the '45. (You only need half of the u-joint. I swapped the trans for a couple of reasons, but one of them was that first(2nd) in the 4 speed was lower than first in the 3 speed. I put 3.55's out back and still wanted to have easy starting out in first. It's a lot of fun to drive.

Thanks to you all,

About the "Neither are synchro'd." good advice, but in the end you end up with an Miata.


Cheers

Jan from Antwerp Belgium

No thanks. Think I'd rather "double-clutch"!

Syncro trannys are only good when you let other people drive your truck.. the ones who look at you with the "deer caught in the headlights" look when you use the phrase "double clutch".