Since I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, videos like this bring back memories. I am familiar with the 3 speed column shift transmission and even drove a car with a 3 speed column shift when I was young. I suspect that most young people have never seen this type of automobile transmission, which in years past was called the standard transmission.
Only in California, very cool. I burned the clutch up on one of those in high school auto shop back in the 80's trying to figure it out. It was a teacher's dropped off for repair so didn't matter that much.
When I was a teenager most cheap used cars had a "three on the tree". My rusty old 67 Chevy truck had a three on the tree. It's super easy to drive as long as you can drive a manual.
You just know Lucky and Jeff love their jobs. It is wonderful to see when a vintage bronco, with a three on a tree, can make two older guys, act like giddy little children, playing with a new toy.
Lol I just bought a 66 Bronco and the wife told me that I shouldn’t leave it unlocked with the keys in it! I told her not to worry! Nobody would know how to drive it!
We had a '70 Buick Estate Wagon (455 engine and generally trimmed like a deuce-and-a quarter) with the three-speed. I forget how my Mom ended up with it, but I drove it regularly after she got her new Regal in '84.
I am quite used to 3 on the tree. We have an old cushman truckster at work with it. We had another one with a similar shift pattern but the shift lever was on the left side of the seat
I remember the mid-sixties Tarzan TV show, Ron Ely (as Tarzan) driving a borrowed three-on-the-tree Bronco in one or two episodes. I had three-on-the-tree as routine (if not exactly daily) transportation as recently as about ten years ago.
My 70 bronco is a three on the tree. Shifts smooth as butter. Can’t say the same for a 69 Chevy truck that I owned. It was always getting hung up. had to keep a tire chock on the driver side floor for when I got stuck in neutral, and I was on a hill.
I learned to shift on my older brother's first car a 1956 Plymouth Savoy. Flathead six & three on the tree. He put an aftermarket chrome shift nob that must have been made out of lead because if you were in second gear (all the way up) and pushed in he clutch it would drop down into third with no help.
Loved the 3 on the Tree in my '77 Bronco. Easiest way to teach someone (who already knows how to drive a stick) is to just present it as a sideways/vertical "H" gate. After that, the hardest thing is the coordination factor of having everything so close to the steering wheel. Great for cruising...
This makes me miss my old 68 so much. I had converted it to a floor mount Hurst shifter and the 289 was gone when I got it so we rebuilt the motor with heads from a 1984 GT motor and it ran so well with the little 2 barrel carb on it
I owned a few 3 on the tree vehicles ...what is it about them that they hang up? I always carried a beater tool to climb under her at an intersection and bang an arm to get it to free up again....strange but TRUE! 4 speeds? Was not an issue on any vehicle I ever owned....wierd,,,,,,I even converted a a Ford "three on the tree" to a Hurst kit floor shift ....did NOT cure the problem ....just kept hanging up DAMN IT!
These things 3spd column shift r fun to play with, however they dont like being beat on they can and will jam and hang up, then u gotta go under the hood or the truck and knock it loose. My advice be gentle with em and they wont get pist off.
Many years ago now I had a paddock basher that was a 76 Valiant with three on the tree and if I remember correctly first was toward the driver and up. Maybe it's opposite down here in Australia or perhaps I'm remembering wrong.
I remember column shift in my father's old Daihatsu truck, whenever the truck sent to inspection (mandatory for commercial vehicle here) & people there often don't know how to shift... unfortunately he sold the truck 13 years ago to get something less needy in term of maintenance. We do still have column shift vehicle today but it's automatic.
Ya I rebuilt a few older Chevy's . I had newer 84 Chevy stepside v8 3on the tree. Get on it in hard second and it would kill the trans. Blew up 3 trans
Just wished for more "vintage steel" like that around me ( other than my own). Would also be extremely fearful of driving that during the day around me. Too many others with the lack of driving skill. Also people around here would loose their minds with the mid-street parking that you guys have. So miss my time in that area of Cali. Thanks for sharing!
Love the column shift. It was the only manual we got in Australia throughout the 50's and 60's and the GM product didn't even have a syncro on first until 68 ~69. A friend of mine who used to be a policemen in the 60's would tell me about the competitions they would have to see who could get the car into first at the highest speed. Column shift makes sense more than floor shift but it's the linkage expense and wear they would get that killed them off. Column shift even in autos died off in the RWD class by about 06. Reminds me of the 70 wagon I have with a column shift. Discipline with shift pattern and not just push forward and up otherwise linkage chaos :P Great Video Lucky Cheers
what a sweetheart of a bronco! you never see them stock! is that the original motor? what is it? my dads truck was a 3 on the tree but I actually forgot it was an H pattern lol. senior moment
I daily drive an '87 Dakota, 6 cyl. with the 5 speed, it has great heat but no factory ac. I'd love to know what kind of kit if there is one that would work for it. It's got V belts and plenty of room. I assume the coil would have to live near the heater core which I have not had to dive in for yet. 110K miles if you're wondering, picked it up 5 years ago in high school at 67K for $1700.
does a 70 bronco have syncro gears? my 70 landrover is only syncro 3&4th. But having known it quite a few years, 1st and 2nd slip in so easy. Very nice gear chances Lucky if this in non-syncro (still quite sloppy action on the leaver too)
NUTTY QUESTIONS ON THE P T O WINCH........ 1 st.... whats the p t o stand for...... 2nd can any 1 make or have a pto styled winch put in their rig's.....3rd... did the military start the hole p t o thing on their heavy duty rides..... if so what yr,. & what all were the pto styled winches were they on..... & 4th.... did they stop making them the pto styled winches ....... if so why........???????????????????????????????????????
i am not a car person. i think cars/trucks etc... and driving are waaaaaaaaay over rated. i did not learn to drive until i was 25. but i love the stories of teens who try to steal a car and cannot because it is a manual. a comment on one of those stories led me to look up column shifting. i remember some people with floor stick shifts a long time ago, but 3/21/20 is the first i ever heard of this. it looks like you still have to push a pedal with left foot when changing gears, is that right? one thing i don't know is why you switch gears and why is it done when it's done? i guess that's two things. but if the car is in first why/when do you switch to second? third? etc...
I had an 81 Mazda pick up with a 4speed column shift and a bench seat happy days. The shift was fine, never saw the issue with it- It was a real ugly truck though
Our family truck had a 3 on the tree when I was just starting to drive. It would sometimes hang up with the shifter in neutral but still in the last gear. PIA to open the hood and bring the levers all to neutral again. Never did fix it, just drove it.
I got one 1975, I have problem with the column shifter, some time is stocking when I try to make fron first to secong shifter...what cause that problem? I have to change the column shifter or I can repair thd one that I have?
Since I grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, videos like this bring back memories. I am familiar with the 3 speed column shift transmission and even drove a car with a 3 speed column shift when I was young. I suspect that most young people have never seen this type of automobile transmission, which in years past was called the standard transmission.
Thanks, it’s always a pleasure to take a break to watch your videos.
Only in California, very cool. I burned the clutch up on one of those in high school auto shop back in the 80's trying to figure it out. It was a teacher's dropped off for repair so didn't matter that much.
Here's what the shift pattern looks like on a 3-speed manual transmission:
R. 2
|--N--|
1. 3
i grew up in that area too... i bet you know a lot of the same guys i do lucky..
When I was a teenager most cheap used cars had a "three on the tree". My rusty old 67 Chevy truck had a three on the tree. It's super easy to drive as long as you can drive a manual.
You just know Lucky and Jeff love their jobs. It is wonderful to see when a vintage bronco, with a three on a tree, can make two older guys, act like giddy little children, playing with a new toy.
1976 f-100 Ford pick up with 3 one the tree I love it because no one can drive it but me haha!
"anti theft" transmissions. Usually equipped on Plain Jane vehicles (I like it)
They also come in $100,000 sports cars, not just plain jane.
Lol I just bought a 66 Bronco and the wife told me that I shouldn’t leave it unlocked with the keys in it! I told her not to worry! Nobody would know how to drive it!
We had a '70 Buick Estate Wagon (455 engine and generally trimmed like a deuce-and-a quarter) with the three-speed. I forget how my Mom ended up with it, but I drove it regularly after she got her new Regal in '84.
I am quite used to 3 on the tree. We have an old cushman truckster at work with it. We had another one with a similar shift pattern but the shift lever was on the left side of the seat
The pinnacle of American production
Love to have an early 70’s Bronco with a 302 V8 & 3 on the tree.
My '52 Chevy 5-Window Pickup and '70 Econoline Van both had three on the tree. Memory lane! :)
I learned to drive in a three on the tree Chevy van when I was eight on the beaches Of Ocean Shores Wa. Cool rig.
"It's a nice day to be out shiftin' your Bronco" lol awesome
Man, that brings me back. My '71 C-10 had a 3 speed on the tree, 250 straight six and manual everything.
I really like the Bronco! Lucky is awesome!!!!!
I use 3 on the tree videos to help me sleep at night as my white noise, along with engine noise.
Nicest paint that I have seen on a rare bronco.Broncos are so expensive in California.
I remember the mid-sixties Tarzan TV show, Ron Ely (as Tarzan) driving a borrowed three-on-the-tree Bronco in one or two episodes.
I had three-on-the-tree as routine (if not exactly daily) transportation as recently as about ten years ago.
Love the bronco & my aunt & uncle live about 4 blocks away. It's fun to see places you know.
My 70 bronco is a three on the tree. Shifts smooth as butter. Can’t say the same for a 69 Chevy truck that I owned. It was always getting hung up. had to keep a tire chock on the driver side floor for when I got stuck in neutral, and I was on a hill.
What a cool little motor.
I learned to drive with 3 on the tree. Thanks Lucky!
That is one clean Bronco and it sounds awesome
I learned to shift on my older brother's first car a 1956 Plymouth Savoy. Flathead six & three on the tree. He put an aftermarket chrome shift nob that must have been made out of lead because if you were in second gear (all the way up) and pushed in he clutch it would drop down into third with no help.
The 65 Nova wagon on the curb was cool. I had a 66 Nova wagon factory 283 glide car.
Loved the 3 on the Tree in my '77 Bronco. Easiest way to teach someone (who already knows how to drive a stick) is to just present it as a sideways/vertical "H" gate. After that, the hardest thing is the coordination factor of having everything so close to the steering wheel. Great for cruising...
Such a nice cool looking machine
I watch all ur videos. ur style is very interesting, cool, educational. thanks
I had the privilege of owning a 1978 Chevy big 10 with 2wd with a 250 inline 6, and three on the tree. I miss that matte green beast.
That thing is so badass. I'm happy to know how a 3 on the tree works haha
the advantage of owning a column shift....noone asks to borrow your truck
Thats why I got one
Love it, Lucky.
Sad that there's entire generations of younger folk that have never enjoyed the pleasure of three on the tree, though.
Super sano, rear wheelwells still in it, and AC ! that's a keeper !
There's that white range rover again! You do roll in style lucky!
Really nice Bronco
This makes me miss my old 68 so much. I had converted it to a floor mount Hurst shifter and the 289 was gone when I got it so we rebuilt the motor with heads from a 1984 GT motor and it ran so well with the little 2 barrel carb on it
Ahhh South Bay....Im gonna be there in a few weeks
Damn. Guess I'm going to have to start locking the doors on my 68 Bel Air now. The secret's out!
I owned a few 3 on the tree vehicles ...what is it about them that they hang up? I always carried a beater tool to climb under her at an intersection and bang an arm to get it to free up again....strange but TRUE! 4 speeds? Was not an issue on any vehicle I ever owned....wierd,,,,,,I even converted a a Ford "three on the tree" to a Hurst kit floor shift ....did NOT cure the problem ....just kept hanging up DAMN IT!
These things 3spd column shift r fun to play with, however they dont like being beat on they can and will jam and hang up, then u gotta go under the hood or the truck and knock it loose. My advice be gentle with em and they wont get pist off.
That's so cool.
I had a toyota liteace that was a diesel 4x4 with 5 in the tree. Miss that little guy! No PTO winch though!
5 gears on the tree? I'd love to see that.
All good right there...
Many years ago now I had a paddock basher that was a 76 Valiant with three on the tree and if I remember correctly first was toward the driver and up. Maybe it's opposite down here in Australia or perhaps I'm remembering wrong.
GeebusCripes was the column on the other side of the wheel?
I remember column shift in my father's old Daihatsu truck, whenever the truck sent to inspection (mandatory for commercial vehicle here) & people there often don't know how to shift... unfortunately he sold the truck 13 years ago to get something less needy in term of maintenance.
We do still have column shift vehicle today but it's automatic.
Ya I rebuilt a few older Chevy's . I had newer 84 Chevy stepside v8 3on the tree. Get on it in hard second and it would kill the trans. Blew up 3 trans
My old stomping grounds! Licorice Pizza, Perry's Pizza, etc.
My daily is a 3 on the tree, and I have learned to be very gentle with it
Cannot find a shift hub up here anywhere...
matthew dyess oh yeah they like being Babied, loved on. Get rough and they can and will show u how much of an ass they can be lol
matthew dyess what do u drive? Mine is a 1977 f100 3speed. Just rebuilt the collar linkage bushings she shifts smooth now.
NICE !!!
First truck had a 3 on the tree, loved it ! I was wondering if this would show up again
And here I am looking for a ZF5 wide for my 87 EB lol.
Just wished for more "vintage steel" like that around me ( other than my own). Would also be extremely fearful of driving that during the day around me. Too many others with the lack of driving skill. Also people around here would loose their minds with the mid-street parking that you guys have. So miss my time in that area of Cali. Thanks for sharing!
Had a three on the tree Rambler Rogue that used to blow away seventies Camaros at the stoplights!
Solid...just happen to notice a 1st gen Chevy 2 wagon parked at the curb when you guys pulled in - that car looked pretty solid too
think its lucky's
Love the column shift. It was the only manual we got in Australia throughout the 50's and 60's and the GM product didn't even have a syncro on first until 68 ~69. A friend of mine who used to be a policemen in the 60's would tell me about the competitions they would have to see who could get the car into first at the highest speed. Column shift makes sense more than floor shift but it's the linkage expense and wear they would get that killed them off. Column shift even in autos died off in the RWD class by about 06.
Reminds me of the 70 wagon I have with a column shift. Discipline with shift pattern and not just push forward and up otherwise linkage chaos :P
Great Video Lucky
Cheers
GM brought out the Full Synchro Saginaw 2 speed in 1966.
That was my first ride ever. I didn't think it was very cool at the time.
Very cool. Now you need to do test drive in something with a column shift (three-on-a-tree) non-synchronized tranny, that'll blow their minds.
Almost all had Synchronized 2nd and 3rd, plenty came with unsynchro 1st, but double clutching isn't hard to learn.
what a sweetheart of a bronco! you never see them stock! is that the original motor? what is it? my dads truck was a 3 on the tree but I actually forgot it was an H pattern lol. senior moment
I daily drive an '87 Dakota, 6 cyl. with the 5 speed, it has great heat but no factory ac. I'd love to know what kind of kit if there is one that would work for it. It's got V belts and plenty of room. I assume the coil would have to live near the heater core which I have not had to dive in for yet. 110K miles if you're wondering, picked it up 5 years ago in high school at 67K for $1700.
t may have had a roof mount spotlight. Handy when checking cattle and livestock at night.
I guess I am getting old,I drive a three on the tree for my daily driver.
So nice! I’ve got a 75
thanks now I know how to steel one LOL
Syncro on 1st gear? All the 3 speeds I'm used to were non Syncro 1st, but admittedly we always do things a bit backwards down here in Australia.. 😂
They started going synchrod first in the 60s in the USA
Driving a 3-on-the-tree back to your Ranger Rover. Quite a difference in technology.
Kinda wonder why Ford didn't offer a granny-gear 4 on the floor for the original Bronco?
does a 70 bronco have syncro gears?
my 70 landrover is only syncro 3&4th. But having known it quite a few years, 1st and 2nd slip in so easy.
Very nice gear chances Lucky if this in non-syncro (still quite sloppy action on the leaver too)
sweet
Ouch. Having owned two, I can say you didnt need to drop it into 1st when moving. Its a truck and built to pull from 2nd.
Next on America's most wanted "Lucky takes customer's car for a joy ride, with no joy"
Fukn mint.
NUTTY QUESTIONS ON THE P T O WINCH........
1 st.... whats the p t o stand for...... 2nd can any 1 make or have a pto styled winch put in their rig's.....3rd... did the military start the hole p t o thing on their heavy duty rides..... if so what yr,. & what all were the pto styled winches were they on..... & 4th.... did they stop making them the pto styled winches ....... if so why........???????????????????????????????????????
Pto stands for power take off
what about that Ford Fairmont Futura!
Man keep this up and your gonna steal work from Johnathan Ward over at Icon!
i am not a car person. i think cars/trucks etc... and driving are waaaaaaaaay over rated. i did not learn to drive until i was 25. but i love the stories of teens who try to steal a car and cannot because it is a manual. a comment on one of those stories led me to look up column shifting. i remember some people with floor stick shifts a long time ago, but 3/21/20 is the first i ever heard of this. it looks like you still have to push a pedal with left foot when changing gears, is that right? one thing i don't know is why you switch gears and why is it done when it's done? i guess that's two things. but if the car is in first why/when do you switch to second? third? etc...
I had an 81 Mazda pick up with a 4speed column shift and a bench seat happy days. The shift was fine, never saw the issue with it- It was a real ugly truck though
You haven't had a experience to you drive three on a tree that is sloppy and hangs up in gear !!!!!! Make saint cuss !! Lol
All it takes is a bushing kit for the linkage and that can be solved.
My dad had a 69 Tempest 3 on the tree with a OHC 6. Man that was a blast to drive. Just had to be careful of that 1st to 2nd shift.......LOL
Our family truck had a 3 on the tree when I was just starting to drive. It would sometimes hang up with the shifter in neutral but still in the last gear. PIA to open the hood and bring the levers all to neutral again. Never did fix it, just drove it.
71 chevy shortbed van
oh so fun
@@swskitso With a 6 cyl? I had a 69 with a 6 banger/ 3 on the tree.
Where is your shop located at? I work over in LAX area
I got one 1975, I have problem with the column shifter, some time is stocking when I try to make fron first to secong shifter...what cause that problem? I have to change the column shifter or I can repair thd one that I have?
Broncos are the only cool off roaders in California.To bad we cant import Euro our African vehicles cheaply.
Old cal trans maintenance vehicle?
Never see these in the North East anymore. Almost all of them rusted to nothing.
"Straight up built for the farm"?? Cough IH cough.
What year is it?
Millennials don’t drive sticks...
Technically a millennial, both of my current cars are manual, both of my previous cars were manual.
Except...My first car was a '61 beetle and second was a '64 three speed on the column Ford Falcon...
I'll drive em all. 3 4 5 6 speed no problem
F#C% "three on the tree"