Re: 1940 Manual shift

Posted by fred kanter On 2010/11/26 22:06:13

Looseness is inevitable as the miles get higher. I've had this problem with cars from the early to late 40's but that was many years ago. The shift linkage is adjustable via threaded links/turnbuckles. I recall that the 48-50 service manual has a procedure which is quite simple. If the linkage/forks are not excessively worn, it almost always remedied the situation. Once I had to replace a worn shifter lever at the bottom of the steering column.

Start by degreasing the levers etc at the bottom of the column. Each lever has a hole drilled in it, 1/8" I recall.
You disconnect the linkage, put a 1/8" drill through it to align them, then adjust the linkage. At rest you can practice shifting and adjust the linkage so that the 2 gears do not engage simultanously or the lnkage hang up. High mileage cars, trans cover internal parts may be excessively worn, happens but rarely.

Good luck.
Fred Kanter