The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline How 2 converte form a floor shift A.D. to column?

I have a 53 3100 suburban with a 56 235 goint to 4 speed. im [/b][b][b][/b]gonna install a 55-57 sm319 overdrive tranny and cant find a shifter to clear solenoid so im considering converting it to 3 on the tree.

what vehicle can i get the linkage from? only ad trucks? tf trucks? passenger cars?

Drew, I'm not the expert here but if your retaining your original steering column its a matter of adding the "linkage" which should not be a problem. A lot of bolters, like me, have gone V8 or with T-5's. An ad in the swap meet should get you all you want and I think it'd be a fairly straight forward job if you have all the linkage.

Sorry I don't have my old pieces but good luck. Keep us posted.

You may be able to rig something other than the AD parts but it won't be easy. Your best bet is to get all the AD shifter parts from a parts truck, including the side cover of the tranny. The '55-57 cover won't work with the AD shifter. Don't forget the stud on the bell housing for the shifter bell crank.

I'm sure you know you'll need to change the rear end too.

This won't be an easy conversion but it is well worth the effort.

humm.. so use a.d. parts? did they make very many with 3 on the tree in 47/53?

can i use tf linkage with a 55/57 cover?

if not, i have to get all the linkage , plus find a side cover off a 3 speed from the a.d. years?

would those be a open or closed driveline? ( i think bigger bolts had a open right?

this is why i was shying away from the three on the tree. I had a 53 coronet with 3 on the tree w/ overdrive loved it on the column but i figured it might be a treasure hunt.

Can i go with the 2 bent rods welded to the arms? like a circle track shifter? mabey run it like that till i get all the cloumn parts together?

at Cletus: yes sir I have a 56 rear im gonna swap the 3rd, weld pivot points ,new clutch while the tranns out, install the 3 speed, measure for drive shaft and try to figure out what to do about that. ive rounded up a sm318 , 2 319s one w/solenoid, 56 rear. just gotta get some more funds for clutch and drive shaft and then Ill try to knock it out in a few days. how long do u think ill be down? is there anything i might wanna farm out? 3rd member swap, is it pretty straight forward or tricky?

thanks guys

All the 3 speeds in AD trucks from 48 up used a column shift.
If you are using a later (than 55) bellhousing it probably won't have the pivot on the bellhousing. The pivot uses a bellcrank for the 2-3 linkage. If this is the case, I would use shifter box and linkage from a 56 up TF truck. The levers on a 56-59 truck side cover both point down and slightly foreward. If it has the pivot just use the AD shifter box & linkage with the 48-55 truck side cover.
Fred

will this work with my 56 overdrive tranny , will it clear the solenoid? thanks guys

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