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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 41 pickup column shift

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Posted By Discussion Topic: 41 pickup column shift     truckman44 02-21-2014 @ 8:29 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Mar 2012 I have an unrestored 1941 1/2 ton pickup with a 3-speed column shift. When did Ford first offer a column shift in pickups, and for how long? They seem to be rare. Also, when did Ford first offer 4-speed transmissions in 1/2 ton pickups? wmsteed 02-23-2014 @ 11:18 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 The subject regarding a column mounted gear shift in a '41 Ford pickup has come up before, to the best of my knowledge, the column shift did not appear until '51 in the F1 series of pickups. possibly the easy way to tell if the column mounted gear shift is original to a '41, etc., truck, would be in the steering wheel. The steering column and wheel would have to be year specific. I doubt if a truck steering wheel would fit a passenger car column, therefore something else would have to be adapted to the column. There is one option wherein the stock steering wheel can be adapted to fit a column shift, by using a '49-50 Ford car column, modified to fit the '36 column drop and early shift components. The upper part of this column does not meet the steering wheel.. I did this on a '36 Ford once. According to the books I have, the 4 spd trans was first listed as an option in 1937. Of course there is a very good chance that the option was available much earlier. If the 4 spd was available in the heavier trucks, which it was, it stands to reason that Ford would have offered in the 1/2 tons. With the passage of time many vehicles appear to be dead stock original, when in fact they were "refurbished" many many years ago, which has given them the patina of being original.. My brother has a car that fits that category.. It's a '37 sedan which he has owned for over forty years. It has '39-41 hydraulic brakes, original wheels and hub caps. He claims that the hydraulic brakes were a special factory option in '37.. Hello, I don't think so, but that's fight'n words to him.. Bill 36 5 win delx cpe trjford8 02-24-2014 @ 6:55 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4233 Joined: Oct 2009 The 40-41 pickup used the '40 Standard steering wheel.I suspect that someone installed the column from a 40 or later passenger car. The '40 wheel will fit that column as they had the keyed shaft up through 1948. truckman44 02-26-2014 @ 10:50 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Mar 2012 My 41 PU appears to have the correct steering wheel and column except for the column drop which was obviously home-built. It may be from a passenger car, which required homemade spacers to lower the column allowing room for the shifter rod between the column and dash. I checked the serial numbers stamped on the frame and transmission - transmission is from a later 41, could be either passenger car or commercial. The numbers on the frame show a mid-year 1941 production. On the subject of 4-speed transmissions: I know they were available in 1/2 ton pickups in 1947. We had one one the farm, purchased new by my father. If anyone has more info on the column shift or 4-speed options, please share it. Thanks kubes40 02-26-2014 @ 11:44 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3424 Joined: Oct 2009 This is actually a fairly easy modification to do. And, if done with a bit of finesse, it will appear "bone stock". wmsteed 02-27-2014 @ 8:11 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 613 Joined: Oct 2009 My first attempt to install a column shift in my '36 was rather crude. I cut the upper portion of a '49 column off of the '49 tube, cut the '36 in the same place and welded the two pieces together. Can't remember what the lower portion was, probably a '41 because that's the car I parted out to get the trans and brakes from.. I was able to use the '36 column drop and stock '36 banjo wheel because the gear shift top attachment did not make contact with the steering wheel. A couple years later I used the column from a '40, which I had harvested the steering gears out of. The column drop is also a '40, which only required a slight bending of the lower portion of the dash, using a large Cresant wrench. The whole setup looks like a factory installation.. In the early '60's I put a column shift in a '37 Ford pickup that I had. I used a column out of a '57-58 Ford F-100 which I shorted to fit the '37 shaft length. I then utilized the turn signal feature that was built into the column.. Wa-la, factory turn lights and a column shift... The truck was painted coach bright maroon with black fenders. I even put a '47-48 Columbia under it.. Neat truck, sold it for enough to buy a new '65 Chevy C-20 Bill 36 5 win delx cpe This message was edited by wmsteed on 2-27-14 @ 8:21 AM rotorwrench 02-27-2014 @ 4:11 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 59 Joined: Jul 2012 I have seen pictures of several 41 commercials (1/2 ton pickups) that had an "optional" remote control shift. From what I understand, 1941 was the only year before the war that it was offered. This may have been due to the open drive system that followed in 1942 for the commercial models with a lot of changes in design over the 40 & 41 commercial models plus the ramp up for the war effort in early 42.

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