The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Saginaw shifter in my '53 3100

Guys. Help me out here. What do I do about the location of my shifter now that I have the saginaw four speed tranny in my truck? The shifter comes up underneath my seat.

I really want to keep the stock look of my bench seat. I've thought about "looping" the shifter around the front of the seat and then curve it back up so the knob is directly above the shifter insertion point. That way I should still be able to push the shifer down to put it in reverse... right?

I'm desperate. I can either drive it tomorrow, or tear out the tranny and look for a T-5 and start over. PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME START OVER! Driving it tomorrow seems like a much better idea.

Thanks.

Mainjet

P.S. I've already modified the base of the seat frame so there is nothing in front of the shifter. I've got room to make a custom shifter to go foreward, up then back over the seat cusion as long as this will allow me to push it down for using reverse.

Anyway... I await your comments.

Thanks agian,

Mainjet

Back in the day when I was young factory cars with 4 speeds and bench seats came with the shifter curved to miss the seat so just modify it to your needs,,I have done it in the past with round rod and covered it with black wire loom covering the plastic with a slit...doc

Check the vendors page for a listing for Patricks Antique Cars or somethign like that. He sells a shifter designed for a Saginaw 4-speed in a truck. It should solve your problem.

When I ran the Saginaw 4 speed in my old truck, I had to shorten up the shift rods and also make a new bracket. This moved the shifter foreward and it worked fine.

I made this bracket by cutting out 3X3 angle iron and drilling some holes to shorten the throw. The up-over-up portion places the shifter in the middle of the floor in an AD cab. You can see here how I bent shifter arms and shortened shifter dogs (I made my own) to decrease the overall shifter throw.

No, this isn't a Saginaw like what you have but it is an example of making a shifter fit to where you want it.

Cosmo, Thanks for the pictures.

I took the easy way out. I bent a big 'U' into my shifter. It actually looks like the old "arrow through the head" that Steve Martin used to wear.

The seat fits where your head would go and shift knob is where your girl should be sitting (booo!), but it works and I didn't have to screw up my seat. I was worried about being able to push down for reverse, but it works fine. I wish I knew how to put the links into a message and I'd show you my 20 minute solution to what I thought was going to be a major problem. Been driving her ever since... Well until we got the sleet and snow today (darn this weather).

Thanks guys.

Hello all, Grant here. I have the original 235 in my 59. I have a 3:42 10 bolt out of a 90's Caprice, with a Saginaw 4 speed, late 70's vintage, that I plan on installing behind the 6. I have the needed driveshaft yokes from late 80's S-10 Chevy. My question is... is the bell housing plane of the engine at the same location if it's a 6 cyl or a V-8? When I had the trans out last summer, I did some preliminary measuring, and found too that the Hurst trans shifter will not fit the floor insert. I have bucket seats, so it is not as important of location with bench, but the truck is so clean that I want to cut as little as possible. My long term plans are for a stock v-8, with the 4 speed. If the bell housing planes are the same, I will only need to cut the floor once. Otherwise I'll wait for the 4 speed and the V-8. What do you guys think? Grant.

Grant,
The V-8 bellhousing mounts in the same location as the 6 cyl on TF trucks and doesn't change the relationship between the transmission, driveshaft, shift linkage or clutch linkage.
Fred

rfs56trk, thanks, that was the info I was hoping to hear, it will speed up my installation schedules greatly. Grant.