Floor Gear Shifts vs Column

[blucar]

The earlier topic about the difference in Ford wheels prompted me to recall the transformation of floor mounted gear shift levers to column mounted levers..
There were two very good reasons for the relocation, and one of them was not to raise the shift lever above the seat cushion so as to avoid the likely-hood of a slip of the hand landing on a girls knee.
A hint, one of the reasons did involve the fairer sex..

[Jason in TX]

Automakers in 1938 were really pushing "Remote Shifting" as a luxury upgrade. The larger maker cars were moving toward that to increase sales.

Here is an article from Popular Mechanics December 1937. I only have the first 4 pages.

[blucar]

OK.. The first reason for column mounted gear shifts is well documented in the info Popular Mechanics article, however, you have to look closely for the main reason, and understand what you are seeing.
Starting in the mid 1930's, marketeers began to see a change in how the funds of a house hold were being spent. Women had a much bigger voice in how and when "her" husbands wages were going to be spent.
Starting in about '36 Ford changed it's advertising from being directed to the males, to featuring women driving the cars..
Prior to this big change in marketing, it was felt that women could not drive a car because they lacked the ability to move their feet and hands at the same time. Therefore, put the gear shift lever up on the steering column, making it easier for women.
Now... what is the second reason for column mounted gear shift levers?

[Vic Piano]

I always thought that moving the shift lever from the floor to the steering column was done to make more room to fit three people in the front seat...

[Jason in TX]

I know that in 1931 Ford and Chevrolet marketed the Cabriolet models more toward women and country club settings because of their roll up windows and easily converted tops.

[old Tom]

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Originally Posted by Vic Piano

I always thought that moving the shift lever from the floor to the steering column was done to make more room to fit three people in the front seat...

Remember how on a Model A when it was in 3rd gear you oculd lift the shift lever up and over to make room for the 3rd person

[Vic Piano]

Originally Posted by old Tom

Remember how on a Model A when it was in 3rd gear you oculd lift the shift lever up and over to make room for the 3rd person

I did not know that. I've never had a Model A; I'm too chubby to fit in anything but a roadster...

[hbleadsled]

I did not know that either. Harold

[Jason in TX]

Well, you can make room to get closer to your lady, but I don't know about actually fitting a third person into a Model A. They are pretty narrow.

[Gumpy]

Ive always thought it was easier to shift a floor shift...but I can understand why the motor companies went to column to promote more room in the front seat!

[Shadetree]

Off subject but a true story. Years ago I had read in an old advertisement that was a sales pitch for an Ercoupe airplane. The Ercoupe didn't have rudder pedals and you flew it much like driving a car except you had another dimension, up and down. Anyway, the commercial for the Ercoupe said a housewife could learn to fly it in eight hours. I told a friend what I had read and he later repeated it in a group of people. One of the women became furious and asked my friend if he believed women were stupid! Needless to say it sat him back on his heels and he had to back track in a hurry.

Shadetree

[Shadetree]

Originally Posted by Jason in TX

Well, you can make room to get closer to your lady, but I don't know about actually fitting a third person into a Model A. They are pretty narrow.

My grandfather was a rural mail carrier in West Virginia and drove a Model A coupe. It was common back then for the country folks to hitch a ride with the mail carrier into town. My grandfather always joked about two heavy women riding with him in the Model A coupe. I don't know how he did it but knowing him he probably enjoyed it!

Shadetree

[blucar]

The relocation of the gear shift from the floor to the steering column had nothing to do with making room for a third person in the front seat.
The first reason is clearly shown in the pictures provided by Jason TX that shows a woman dressed in all of her finery, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the column mounted gear shift.
The second reason for relocating the gear shift was to dampen transmission/power train noise from being transmitted into the passenger compartment.
With the exception of Ford, who did not utilize a column shift until '40, a vast number of other manufactures used the top loader trans with a modified cover plate which made a conversion to side levers for the column linkage.
I guess it is ironic that the street rodders mainly opted for the "stick" shift whereas the customizer's, etc., usually opted for "three on the tree", some of which were mounted on the left of the column.

[Joe/Ct]

Originally Posted by old Tom

Remember how on a Model A when it was in 3rd gear you oculd lift the shift lever up and over to make room for the 3rd person

My wife's great uncle, who is 92 years young, told me of the ability to move the shift lever up and out of the way when in 3rd gear. We also have a '28 ford roadster, I tried and I cannot get that to happen.

[Kahuna]

Joe, you're not trying hard enough. In neutral, just pull the lever straight up (you must overcome the spring tension), and rotate the lever 90 degrees either way.

[40 Deluxe]

There's an interesting book ("The Fords in My Past") by a Ford engineer, Harold Brock, who designed the '40 column shift. In it he says: "Sheldrick (a head engineer) had recognized that the gearshift and the handbrake in the floor were obstructions to passenger seating and comfort......The design did permit one, when parked, to pick up on the stick and move it out of the way if desired. My design objective was to get rid of the stick shift for a cost not to exceed $1.75." Brock worked at Ford form 1929 to 1959 so here is the answer right from the engineer who designed it. He is still alive (as of last year, at least) and living in Iowa (He was 15 when he started at Ford as an apprentice and was trained at Ford to be an engineer). The Ford tractor newsletter (n-news.com) has a DVD interview of Mr. Brock done about a year and half ago.

[tdlmomowers]

On the old TV show, The Waltons', There were times when they had 3 people in the seat of John Boys Model A. My son in law has a 29 Coupe, and I don't see any way that 3 people could ride any distance on that seat.

[blucar]

When the Model A and/or early Ford V8's were the common everyday vehicle, the economy and people were much leaner. People also did not give to much thought to having someone sitting on someones lap.
I can remember riding three or four, two adults and two kids in my dads '30 model pickups. Dad always had me straddle the gear shift so I could shift for him when he told me to.