Thread: 3 speed shifter question

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My 64 El camino has a three speed with the shifter on the column. the shifter seems to be broken because i cant find all the gears, 2nd, 3rd, neutral, reverse. Ocassionaly i will find reverse or neutral but i cant seem to put it in gear again. I was wondering if these shifters have a certain way of putting it in gear or is it just broken. If its broken any ideas what it may be and were i can find replacement parts. Thanks

Originally posted by motorhed65
My 64 El camino has a three speed with the shifter on the column. the shifter seems to be broken because i cant find all the gears, 2nd, 3rd, neutral, reverse. Ocassionaly i will find reverse or neutral but i cant seem to put it in gear again. I was wondering if these shifters have a certain way of putting it in gear or is it just broken. If its broken any ideas what it may be and were i can find replacement parts. Thanks

you have a shift tube down in the shift column that the shifts leavers att. to and they get worn. sometimes you can go under the hood and adj. them to make them better. if not you can find the stuff at THE EI CAMINO STORE IN CA. http://www.elcaminostore.com/

Is this a vehicle you had been driving and the problem just started or is it a new project that you know nothing about ? It could be as simple as the nuts on the shift rod adjustment loosening up and the shift rod sliding in the adjustment.On a 64 its proberly had shifter parts worn out and replaced more than once so at this point we dont know what condition yours is in. 1st Find neutral in the transmission. 2nd, look under the hood where the shift linkage is on the steering column. there are 2 levers there attached to 2 shift rods that go down to the transmission. those 2 leavers are suppose to be aligned wtih one another. Its been a while( many years) but I think there should be a line up slot on those levers that you can use a nail or a drill bit to help you line things up.3rd Once you loosen the adjustment nuts it helps to have someone in the vehicle to hold the shifter where you think neutral should be.4th Make sure any metal or rubber grommets are replaced that may be missing or worn.5th once the adjustments are made and everything is tightened up, see if it works. If it does You can have the person in the vehicle shift the linkage enought times for you to observe what is going on and at that point You may be able to make slight adjustments to improve it and make the operation smoother. 6 MAKE DARN SURE THE PERSON IN THE CAR KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING SO YOU DONT GET HURT OR RUN OVER.

Originally posted by riverhorse59
Is this a vehicle you had been driving and the problem just started or is it a new project that you know nothing about ? It could be as simple as the nuts on the shift rod adjustment loosening up and the shift rod sliding in the adjustment.On a 64 its proberly had shifter parts worn out and replaced more than once so at this point we dont know what condition yours is in. 1st Find neutral in the transmission. 2nd, look under the hood where the shift linkage is on the steering column. there are 2 levers there attached to 2 shift rods that go down to the transmission. those 2 leavers are suppose to be aligned wtih one another. Its been a while( many years) but I think there should be a line up slot on those levers that you can use a nail or a drill bit to help you line things up.3rd Once you loosen the adjustment nuts it helps to have someone in the vehicle to hold the shifter where you think neutral should be.4th Make sure any metal or rubber grommets are replaced that may be missing or worn.5th once the adjustments are made and everything is tightened up, see if it works. If it does You can have the person in the vehicle shift the linkage enought times for you to observe what is going on and at that point You may be able to make slight adjustments to improve it and make the operation smoother. 6 MAKE DARN SURE THE PERSON IN THE CAR KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING SO YOU DONT GET HURT OR RUN OVER.

motorhed65, this is the way to go, wish i had gone into it that deep. if you cant adj. it then decied if you wont a floor shift or not, and if you still wont to keep it stock then call the EL comina Store.

thanks a lot guys. As soon as it stops raining here in southern california, i will atempt to adjust. I want to eventually put an automatic transmission on the floor but i would like to get the car running properly so i can drive it around from my house to the shop.

I have rebuilt exactly one column shifter, and that was on a '68 Plymouth Belvedere in 1975. After 30 years I can still remember what a bitch that was! I honestly would not waste any time on a column shifter if I were you. If you have to stick with the 3spd manual, then go buy yourself a Hurst Indy 3spd floor shifter and pat yourself on the back for doing the easy thing. If you're going to an automatic, the point is obviously moot. The only possible reason I can think of to rebuild a shifter on a car as old as yours, is to restore to original condition; and it sounds like that is not a concern since you may be going to an automatic anyway. If you do choose to rebuild, you're gonna have a heck of a time finding used parts, and an impossible time getting them new from GM. The General is only interested in selling new iron to suckers with deep pockets, they don't give about grunts trying to repair their old junkers. There's just no money in it for them to sell obsolete merchandise over their parts counters.