Dimmer Switch on Floor & Three On The Tree

[Wheel-N-It 2,968]

OK so theres no denying it, we like old machinery. We all have old Wheel Horses, some of us have old boats, old chainsaws, old motorcycles, old hit and miss engines, and old cars and trucks. So how many of you have an old car or truck with the headlight dimmer switch on the floor and a "Three on the Tree" shifter for your transmission ? For those who do, please post some pics of course. I would really like to see them.

Here's the dimming and shifting setup on my 1965 Ford F100  

[Daddy Don 905]

Love it. I drove one like it when I was younger 

75 year old now and wish I still had it.

Nice

[Pullstart 62,834]

Good post!  My C10 has a 3OTT and a floor dimmer.  Good ole quality stuff there!  I’ve never jammed the shifter/trans in 2 gears, but a buddy has.

 

 

[8ntruck 6,998]

I''ve got a '72 C-10 with a column shift Turbo Hydromatic and a floor dimmer.  Technically, it is a form of a three on the tree.

Edited July 3, 2023 by 8ntruck

[oliver2-44 9,732]

Well I had 4 on the floor along with the dimmer switch. My high school truck, 1966 F250 with a Cleveland 351 I got from the scrap yard. I was working for a flooring company the summer the headline fell out so we put shag carpet on the ceiling, along with speakers for the 8 track. Hauled a lot of hay blaring tunes. 

[ebinmaine 67,422]

I've got half. 

The dimmer switch on the floor.  

The transuhmashun is a 4 on the floor. 

Comes with an extra shifter too. 4WD. 

 

My 1986 Ford F250 HD.  

300 six cylinder. 4:10 gears. 

Here's the thread:

 

 

 

My intention at purchase two years ago was to make it a spare vehicle but when it got home we discovered that someone had been a little lenient while doing the state inspection. 

It's been setting since and we'll be getting back on it slowly over the next year. 

When done it'll have a completely rebuilt rear axle,

Many performance parts in/on the engine,

New oak 7 x 9 bed,

Lots of refreshing including much of the frame paint,

4 new springs with a little lift,

On and on and on.... 

 

 

[squonk 41,067]

No pics but my first car was a 61 Ford Falcon. 170 6 banger with the 3 on the tree, floor dimmer and for really old school, vacuum wipers ( that stopped when you floored it and wiped like crazy when you coasted) and the washer fluid bag and the floor mounted rubber plunger to pump the fluid.  Carried a broom handle to knock snow out of the shift linkage and put it back in gear.

 

Had to rebuild a shift tube coloum once. Glad it was the only time.

[ri702bill 8,316]

Nastalgia at it's best?? I too drove several Column shift cars with the foot dimmer switch. The early 50's Dodge truck I mentioned recently had the other foot switch for the starter - or was it the 56 International half ton I learned to drive on?? Does'nt matter, they are long gone. Even my 1970 Jeep Wagoneer with the factory Dauntless 350 (Buick) was the same...

Drove 2 different work vans, both 6 cylinder 3 speeds. The 1967 Ford was easy and comfortable to drive , but way underpowered. It had the larger 200 cu in 6 cylinder - the sister to the Falcon 170.

The 1969 Chevy was another story. The last year of the flat faced, straight axle "Scooby-Doo" trucks. Hot in the summer, cold in the winter. It had the 230 inch engine between the seats. Worst part was the drivers seat was directly over the front wheel and both the clutch and brake pedals were not mounted to under the dash - they came up thru the floor in an arc. You had to lift your entire left leg up onto the pedal that had about 6 inches of travel - got really annoying when stuck in stop-and-go traffic.. No "heel and toe" fancy footwork there...

Edited July 3, 2023 by ri702bill

[Pullstart 62,834]

1 hour ago, ri702bill said:

Worst part was the drivers seat was directly over the front wheel and both the clutch and brake pedals were not mounted to under the dash - they came up thru the floor in an arc. You had to lift your entire left leg up onto the pedal that had about 6 inches of travel - got really annoying when stuck in stop-and-go traffic.. No "heel and toe" fancy footwork there...

The pedal arrangement on Norman is much comfier, but with a South Bend Performance clutch supposedly capable of 750 HP launches, it gets quite aggravating in traffic as well.  Adding a few thousand pounds to the pin and some extra length, it gets plenty fun!

 

 

[squonk 41,067]

Substitute a White steering wheel and a walnut shifter knob and you'll have my Falcon set up. Car also had dual horns and coil over shocks all around! ..

 

[ebinmaine 67,422]

7 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

The pedal arrangement on Norman is much comfier, but with a South Bend Performance clutch supposedly capable of 750 HP launches, it gets quite aggravating in traffic as well.  Adding a few thousand pounds to the pin and some extra length, it gets plenty fun

 

I know you only move that thing around a few times a year but you can get into the habit that a lot of truckers do...

Drop down into low gear about 200 ft or a little bit more from the line of traffic and just idle along. Much easier than stop and go stop and go stop and go.  

[Pullstart 62,834]

23 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

 

I know you only move that thing around a few times a year but you can get into the habit that a lot of truckers do...

Drop down into low gear about 200 ft or a little bit more from the line of traffic and just idle along. Much easier than stop and go stop and go stop and go.  

Like the Karate Kid, I’m working on it sensai 

[Wheel-N-It 2,968]

9 hours ago, Pullstart said:

Good post!  My C10 has a 3OTT and a floor dimmer.  Good ole quality stuff there!  I’ve never jammed the shifter/trans in 2 gears, but a buddy has.

 

 

Seeing that tire off the rim gave me a good chuckle this morning. Thank you Kevin. I've never jammed the old ford between two gears but my Son did once when he was 16 LOL

[Pullstart 62,834]

4 minutes ago, Wheel-N-It said:

 

Seeing that tire off the rim gave me a good chuckle this morning. Thank you Kevin. I've never jammed the old ford between two gears but my Son did once when he was 16 LOL

that was a while ago… I rock some Blazer 4x4 wheels on it.  It really spins people out 

[ri702bill 8,316]

2 hours ago, Wheel-N-It said:

I've never jammed the old ford between two gears but my Son did once when he was 16

I forgot one    my 1968 blue El Camino was a 307 and 3 speed on the column. Good thing it had a fine working parking brake - it came with a rusty ratty flat blade screwdriver to un stick the shift linkage when you tried to cross thru the gate from first to second too fast. Got sick of that dance - 3 speed shifter on the floor solved it...

[ebinmaine 67,422]

I had a cousin that got his license just a few months earlier than me in 1987.

His dad kind of handed him down a well-worn but maintained 1975 Chevy two-wheel drive half ton.

I'm fairly sure that was a 250, straight 6. Definitely a three on the tree.

I never knew why but that truck was well known for not wanting to stay in first gear.

You had to hold the shifter. Even then sometimes it would pop right out and it made such a bang it would startle everybody within a fair radius.

[wh500special 2,170]

Column shifters make so much sense for not hogging room that could otherwise be used for passengers.  Especially with automatics this trend toward putting the shifter in the floor console seems like a compromise that needn't have been made.  Although I do appreciate the simplicity of linkages that results.

 

My uncle's 1970-somthing Ford truck had a three speed on the column.  Only one I've ever driven and I really liked it.

 

Dad's '83 F-150 had the floor dimmer switch next to the clutch.  It seemed like such a smart way to do it until you encountered an oncoming car and had your brights on but needed to shift.  That 1 second lag between recognizing the problem and being able to deal with it seemed like an eternity.  Fortunately those old cars had such anemic headlights you really weren't blinding anyone too badly.

 

There were also 4-speeds with column shifters, particularly in Europe.  I just saw a Renault or something a car show that had it.  I found reference to a Ford 4-speed column shifter online.  That would be especially neat.

 

Steve

[ebinmaine 67,422]

4 minutes ago, wh500special said:

you encountered an oncoming car and had your brights on but needed to shift

 

I also quite well enjoyed the reverse of that.

Driving along doing everything in the world correctly and you went to shift. Those of us with the, not small foot variety, could relate to the fact that I've hit the dimmer switch unintentionally while shifting more than once. 

[Rick3478 428]

Don't currently have any, but had several in the past and generally liked the layout.  Too bad most of the makers made the gate from cheap, soft pot metal that wore out quickly.  Had a Ford that I had to crawl under several times to get it back into neutral.  It got "upgraded" with a Spark-O-Matic floor shifter.

[Daddy Don 905]

19 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

Well I had 4 on the floor along with the dimmer switch. My high school truck, 1966 F250 with a Cleveland 351 I got from the scrap yard. I was working for a flooring company the summer the headline fell out so we put shag carpet on the ceiling, along with speakers for the 8 track. Hauled a lot of hay blaring tunes. 

I did a lot of the same thing you are talking about That was the good old day when we mowed lawns and made about 25 to 50 cents.    

[Daddy Don 905]

13 hours ago, squonk said:

No pics but my first car was a 61 Ford Falcon. 170 6 banger with the 3 on the tree, floor dimmer and for really old school, vacuum wipers ( that stopped when you floored it and wiped like crazy when you coasted) and the washer fluid bag and the floor mounted rubber plunger to pump the fluid.  Carried a broom handle to knock snow out of the shift linkage and put it back in gear.

 

Had to rebuild a shift tube coloum once. Glad it was the only time.

Nothing wrong with a Falcon that is when they were still making cars not junk/. I had a falcon also. Still miss it My first car was a 1956 Ford loved it. Got drafted and while I was gone my dad sold it for $50.00 Got home from Vietnam I was ticked. But he needed the money so I did not raise hell.   The car has a 312 Thunderbird engine. It was a killer car.  

Edited July 3, 2023 by Daddy Don
more information

[Wheel-N-It 2,968]

OK, here is a 1966 Chevelle you don't see everyday. For sale at last years Fall Rod Run in Pigeon Forge Tennessee.  It has a 283 cubic inch V8 and a three speed column shift. The car was in terrific shape and I wanted it so bad because of the column shift. Alas, I could not come to terms with the $49,500 price tag 

(and yes, the dimmer switch was on the floor. I checked)

[76c12091520h 3,615]

I'm  just  old enough to have experienced the uniqueness of a three on the tree. This was dad's first new " official " shop truck: a 1973 F100, 302  3spd on the tree. I can remember sitting on his lap steering and shifting while he worked the pedals.  I have driven others  ( legally ) as I got older but this was the best 

[wallfish 16,994]

My grandfather taught me and my older brothers how to drive on an old work van with 3 on the tree. I was only 14 but it's a memory I'll never forget.

Took us all to a parking lot and he spent hours with us until we got it. Only the oldest Paul was old enough to drive and recently got his license but he was all about efficiency!

 

[8ntruck 6,998]

Our first 2nd car (mom got the newer one, dad drove the 2nd to work) was a '63 Fairlane.  Straight 6, 3 in the tree, and the dimmer on the floor. 

 

My dad taught my oldest sister how to drive a stick in that car.  Was  in th we winter time.  He started her out on one of the side streets that was still snow covered.  When she got the hang of the clutch, he moved her to a dry, clear street.  I saw one of her early attempts at slipping the clutch on start up as she went by the house - the car made about three hops as it went down the block.

 

I just happened to remember - I've got a 3 speed Hurst shifter on the 4 speed in my 57 Chevy.  Have a second lever for reverse.  Does this count?

Edited July 4, 2023 by 8ntruck