"Three on the tree"

[BigBill]

First ever drive was a '52 Chrysler my dad let me drive in the gravel pits.

My first car was a '55 Chevy with a 265 V8 automatic.
When the tranny went I put a 3 on the floor.

Second car 55 Plymouth.
Third car 57 Chevy.
Forth car 63 S/S Impala Chevy.

First truck 54 Chevy 3800 3/4 ton.
Second truck '49 GMC DUALLY PANEL TRUCK.

When I worked for a dealer I repaired many three on the tree column shifts. Those bushings were finicky to adjust.

 

[carpriver]

My first drive was a Farmall tractor with 3 forward gears plus a road gear and reverse. I don't know the engine size but it would pull a 4 bottom plow and make the black smoke pour out of the smoke stack. I got my farmer license at 14 and drove old international pick-up truck that was rust colored and had a hole in the driver side floor and no glass in the back window. It hauled a lot of baling wire and field wire. My first car was a1956 Plymouth with a automatic transmission; got the car for $25 dollars from my dad. He thought if I bought a car I would take better care of it. I drove it for about six months and crashed it in between a tree and a phone pole due to snowy road. Next car was a 56 Plymouth with a 6 cylc and a 3 on the tree. Drove that until I finished high school and left for my senior trip to the vacation capital of the world, Viet Nam. Because I was no senators son.

 

[WuzzFuzz]

1951 Hillman Minx....4 on the tree... Just outof high school 1961... paid $500.00 for it.....
JIM.............

And lets not forget the Mercedes with the 4 speed on the column.


WuzzFuzz

 

[Squarebutt]

I first drove the family's '53 Chevy stick six around our field when I was 8 or 9, and down to the corner store with Mom as the copilot when I was 10. Dad wasn't too happy to hear about it. My first car was a '58 Ford sedan with three-speed and overdrive and a 292 or 312 engine. When I was 16 I got a summer job on a roofing crew and they made me drive the old Dodge dump truck with a four-speed and a two-speed axle. Quite a circus pulling away from a traffic light and heading uphill. But I got used to it after a week or so. I actually liked the setup for pulling heavy loads and wonder why they don't make them today. I had one in a big old F750, and it was unstoppable, especially plowing snow.

 

[427mach1]

My grandfather taught nearly all of us grandchildren to drive using his '53 Chevy pickup with 3 on the tree. He had 160 acres just south of Deer Park, Washington so there was plenty of room. I learned how to drive that truck at the ripe old age of 10. Brings back a lot of memories; sure miss that old guy.....

 

[gfy1960]

Went to work for the city after high school. got in the old Chevy pickup on the passenger side. The seasoned veteran city worker said "move over you're driven". I replied "I cant drive a stick".
is reply "you're gonna learn. Now drive". Learned real quick.

 

[Muley Gil]

"After I had my license he bought a '66 F150, with a 352..."

Must have been a F100. The F150 wasn't introduced until the mid '70s.

 

[gunny4053]

First was a 1961 Ford Falcon station wagon, 170 Special straight six with three on the tree. That was followed by a 65 El Camino, 283 with three on the tree, which got transferred to the floor with a Hurst conversion kit.

Those were the days.

 

[fletcher969]

I purchased a 1970 C10 back in the early 90s for $300 that had 3 on the tree, floorboard air conditioning with a screen to keep the rocks from flying into the cabin, and brakes that occasionally just quit working (and I can say first hand that it's a terribly interesting experience flying through a 4 lane intersection with a red light, and dodging crossing traffic at 60 mph). If that wasn't enough, the shift linkage was finicky, so unless one knew exactly how to shift from 1st to 2nd, it would get stuck in 1st, requiring one to get underneath it to put it back on track. While I eventually learned the trick to shifting it, I always knew if anybody every stole the thing, they wouldn't get far. All in all, one of the most fun trucks I ever had. I still regret the day I sold it 11 years later...for $300.

 

[snowman]

"After I had my license he bought a '66 F150, with a 352..."

Must have been a F100. The F150 wasn't introduced until the mid '70s.

And you would be correct, Muley. Duly noted and corrections made to my post.

Andy

 

[Twiki357]

The first one I drove was a 1949 Plymouth. The first one I owned was this 1956 Plymouth Fury bought in 1959. Both three on the tree. There wasn't a Corvette around that could keep up with that Fury between traffic lights on Van Nuys Blvd cruse nights.

 

[S&W Fan]

I graduated from high school in '75 and driver's ed was a part of our curriculum. It was taught in the basement of our gym, we had multiple rows of simulators that were from the 50s. Each class we had a session where they would convert from auto to the 3 speed column shift, that was the only time I "drove" 3 on a tree. Good times indeed.

 

[Dave_n]

Well, having learned to drive in the UK in the 50's, all we had were manual transmissions. The fun however, came because there was no standardization. Fords with three on the column were effectively upside down compared to the GM cars (Vauxhalls) with reverse either being down and down or up and up, so the first thing you did was to find out where 1st was (the hard way). Even worse were the British cars pre-amalgamation in the late 50s. You had four on the column and each make had a different gear gate pattern with reverse being anywhere in the potential 8 positions (each one of four with a knob that you pulled out and then went up or down). When on the floor, it was relatively simple, though VWs with their push down and pull back for reverse were sometimes a challenge. First owned car was a 1938 Ford Anglia (one year older than me) with 3 on the floor. Since then, almost always a manual until my current Acura TL (which did not come with a manual option in 2008). Just finished driving my son's Focus with 6 forward gears to have it shipped over to him in the USAF/Lajes. Now that was fun! Dave_n

 

[LAH]

1956 Chevy 3100, 235" six with three on the tree & starter pedal in the floor. Dad's truck in which he taught me to drive.

 

[JcMack]

I had a 60 Chevy Biscayne 2 door and a 63 Poncho Catalina 2 door with 3 spd column shift. Large PIA since 1st gear was not syncro in cars till I think Ford had one in 63. Meaning complete stop to pull it back to 1st gear. I kaputed a couple first/reverse idler gears. My buddy had a 59 Edsel we could pull the trans change the gear and reinstall in 2 hrs.

 

[therevjay]

I was always curious about those. Is it comfortable? Doesn't sound like it

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

They were OK when tight. But as they aged and wore, all that linkage would sometimes bind up. But you could then convert to a floor mount.

 

[LTC]

I learned to drive on a 1929 Ford Coupe. About 1958 and I was a big 11 year old. I graduated to our 1950 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup. The Ford was 3 on the floor and the Chevy 3 on the column.

The first car I owned at 16 1/5 was a 1929 Chrysler 75 4 door sedan. It had three on the floor.

From there I went British with a series of MG's and Jaguars, all with 4 on the floor. Then a 1964 Pontiac Le Mans with 4 on the floor and then a 1968 Dodge Dart 2 dr. hdtp. with 4 on the floor. These cars got me to 1970.

LTC

 

[Hamster65]

A hillholder was an automatically-operating mechanical device, rather simple, I'm told, which, when you were stopped headed uphill, kept the brake engaged when you took your right foot off of it to use the accelerator while using the left foot on the clutch. It disengaged when it was supposed to. Rather convenient.

Wow, they need to install that feature on modern cars. I've lost count of how many times I've seen gear pokers roll back 3 or more feet when taking off on a hill.

 

[GRIZZLYBEAR]

I learned to drive in a '48 Chevy with tree on the tree...6 volt system, straight 6 engine, no seat belts or automatic turn signals, no power brakes or steering.

Type of car everyone should learn to drive on.

 

[clubleaf206]

I once owned a '71 Chevy C10 with "three on the tree", if I remember it had a 232 ci six, with a one barrel carb. Faithful as a Magnavox, never gave me a bit of trouble, for years after I sold it I would see it around town, from time to time.