3 on the tree questions???

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
Somehow I managed to make it this far without ever driving a column mounted manual. Seems strange, I guess we were always driving sporty cars with floor mounted shifters or sedan/trucks with autos.
Dont feel bad. I was 20 yrs old in 1989 and was the only persom in a 8 or so bay Pep Boys service center that knew how to drive a 3 on the tree.

 

[rslifkin]

Other than the linkage complication, I'd think a 4 on the tree wouldn't be too bad usability-wise, provided the added a push button or something to get into the reverse gate. Otherwise, finding where you were going would be a PITA.

 

[Stu_Rock]

Iancoleman has the answers I would have said: 1987 GM R10 pickups and 1980 Dodge Aspens.

They may not be the last, but they're the last that I know of.

For the pickups, my answer is from parts diagrams that list 1987 as the last year for column-shift manual trans. For the Aspen, I knew it was an option and they were made until 1980. A quick search of "1980 Dodge Aspen three on the tree" finds examples.

 

[Rick in PA]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
It's funny, I never would have gussed the three-on-the-tree setup was to maximise seating positions. Really learned something with this thread....


That's a fair point. I always saw it as a way to accommodate the front bench seat, which provided seating for a third passenger up front. You definitely couldn't have a third passenger with a floor shifter, well not easily. I don't recall ever having seen a three-on-the-tree shifter in a car with bucket seats and I don't recall seeing bucket seats in cars built before the '60s, the '60s-'70s were sort of a transition time from front bench to bucket seats.

Loved the 1st to 2nd shift on a three-on-the-tree, you could drive it into second whith your palm.

 

[demarpaint]

I taught my wife to drive a 3 on the tree Granada, 200 I-6. That car ran great, I can't recall the year, I could swear it was a 1980.

 

[addyguy]

I seem to remeber that in Australia, 3-OTT were a LOT more common.

I visited there in 1982, and I remember that pretty well every car we drove in had a 3-OTT, whereas back home in Canada, you NEVER saw them.

 

[L_Sludger]

Does anyone remember the strange shift linkage on the Citroen 2CV?

 

[lexus114]

i kinda liked three on the tree. my mother had an old 66 chevy p/u with straight 6, with it for the horses. i liked beating around in it.

 

[1999nick]

I can remember when 3 on the floor was the standard, back in the 1930's, and the change was universally made to 3 on the tree in the 1940's. It was a big deal as the gearshift was much easier to reach, being just behind the steering wheel.

My favorite 3 on the tree was a 1954 Ford that I got new in 1954. It had the three speed plus overdrive transmission. I would buy that transmission today if they still made them. The overdrive was a semiautomatic gear on the back of the manual transmission that kicked in when you lifted your gas pedal at any speed above 27 miles per hour, and shifted back to regular 3rd gear when you floored the accelerator and pushed the overdrive cut-out button under the accelerator; passing gear, in other words.

The overdrive was the same as the going out of style 4 speed automatics were, that is, it was a .70 ratio. With the standard overdrive rear axle ratio, a 4.10, it cut the rpm at 60 from about 3100 to right at 2200. If you did not have overdrive, you got a 3.90 axle, and you had to put up with 2953 rpm @ 60.

So, you actually had a 4 speed on the tree, and 4th was automatic. Thinking back you really had 6 usable ratios, as the overdrive would kick in in any gear as long as your speed was abov 27 miles per hour. You could rev it up to 30 in low, raise your foot and overdrive would kick in and then you could get back on it and do over 50 in low. Same in second gear, and it would do over 90 in second.

It was also a marvelously durable transmission as it performed flawlessly for me for 5 years and 140,000 miles at a time in my life when I was age 17 to 22.

 

[lexus114]

yeah, i remember 3 on the floor too. not a sporty driving experience compared to the 4 speed.