This project came about since I put a sbc and a 700R4 in a '72 Ford Pickup (don't ask why) and wanted to shift the transmission with the column shift. The shift bracket I found at a salvage yard was set up for linkage that was more horizontal with the ground and the Ford linkage came down at a steep angle from the steering column.......
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The two arrows point to the original 700R4 shift bracket that attaches to the shaft coming out the side of the 700R4. I bent it quite a bit (about 45 deg.) but that wasn't enough to get it where I needed it geometry wise.
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Here is the other side and the two left arrows point to the original bracket. I bent a piece of 3/16 strap (top right arrow) and welded it to the original bracket. Next I cut a piece of strap (bottom middle arrow) and welded it to the original bracket and the previous new piece. This triangulated things and gave me a place for a second hole for the pin I'll make next. I installed this and shifted the shifter on the column from Park to Low and also moved the bracket by hand from Park to Low to find the point for the hole that would let the shifter move from Park to Low. I then drilled a 3/8 inch hole all the way through and then enlarged the top hole to 1/2 inch. I actually drilled the holes one size under and used a 3/8 and 1/2 end mill in the mill to get more exact holes, but a drill bit would work.
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Here is the back side to this point. The arrows point to the original bracket after it has been bent some.
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Next I took a piece of 3/4 inch cold roll steel and turned the left down to a 3/8 inch dia. to go through the small hole in the bracket and the middle to 1/2 inch to go through the large hole. Using the mill I milled 2 flats on the 3/4 inch dia. section on the right and drilled a 5/16 hole for the shift rod that comes down from the steering column. Finally I cut 3/8 X 16 Threads on the left side.
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Here we can see the pin installed in the bracket. There are two nuts on the bottom jammed against each other to hold the pin.
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Here it is installed on the transmission. The pin rotates as the bracket moves from Park to Low.
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A view from the front. The marks on the transmission case were witness marks I made while figuring this out. It seems to work fine with Park and Low lining up on the shift indicator on the column. The other gears are off some since the Ford auto was a 3 speed. The indicator could be replaced with one of the after market indicators that sticks onto the column.
I have about 6 hours into this and I'm happy with the results. Probably something no one else will do though :-(
c ya, Sum
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