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I couldn't resist continuing this subject after it came up on the Strat cases thread!

Those column changes appeared from the '40's through to the '60's on many cars worldwide.

They were the latest design fad and even some sporty cars had them..

However, they were indeed difficult to the point of almost making a car undriveable when worn and sloppy. The problem was worse with four speed and reverse gearboxes, because the gear lever had to be able to move and operate in three planes with more potential for mechanical wear and problems etc.

They were better and often easier to use when the car had only a three speed gearbox- such as the bigger Fords and Vauxhall of that era, and many of the Australian cars of the era with which I'm familiar and which were also larger 6 cylinder three speed and reverse cars-as the column change mechanism was simpler than for 4 speeds and reverse.

When you recall all those vehicles from that era (lousy drum brakes, cross play tyres- often retreads!- and few or no safety features, seatbelts etc- it makes you wonder how we all survived driving those cars- especially when they were old, worn out and the only cars cheap enough for many young folk to afford..

My first group used an old 1957 Ford Thames 400E van - which was knackered by the mid '60's- we travelled thousands of miles including interstate trips here in Australia...

Would you let your teenage sons travel in a banger like that these days?

cockroach wrote:it makes you wonder how we all survived driving those cars- especially when they were old, worn out and the only cars cheap enough for many young folk to afford.

Easy - most cars were a lot slower in those days (especially the old, worn out ones). Now, even small cars with engines of less than a litre are expected to be motorway capable which means 70mph in the UK with a bit in reserve. Also, the UK MOT test which came in during the 1960s and got progressively tougher, took all the 'old bangers' off the roads for mechanical and safety reasons.

One huge advantage of the column gear change was the bench seat that went with it. What better when taking a girl out? I remember . . . . .

Hi John, I learned to drive in 1966 in my dad's Hillman minx which was a column change/bench front seat, and passed my test on the 20th March 3 weeks after my 17th birthday (27th Feb), always found it easy to use but strange when we swapped the minx for a cortina floor shift !!.

Ray! You naughty boy!

Mind you, I agree with you- couldn't beat a bench seat when parking....I recall one bird who could change gear with the column change while I pushed the clutch pedal- my left hand was otherwise occupied....

Bucket seats with a floor gearshift might supposedly have been more 'sporty'- but the gear lever got in the way and was a bloody nuisance...

Also, with the old bigger cars with bench seats in front and behind, you could fit all your mates in - and their birds! And give everyone a lift home after a good party..

My mate used to borrow his dad's early '50's Ford Zephyr on Saturday nights- we managed to get 13 of us in it one Saturday night (girls sitting on boys' laps)- car broke a half shaft at 2 am taking the girls home...good clean fun in those days! No mobile phones to call daddy and get rescued either..

There was of course a lot less traffic on the roads back then and people weren't in such a mad hurry on the roads either..mind you , regarding using old bangers, the state in which I've always lived here in Australia (South Australia) has never had any annual or other testing like the MOT, and still doesn't, even today!

Keith,

My mate had a Minx like that- a 1963 model with column change and bench seats- they were a good car in their day- we used to cram girls into that too and go cruisin' (as the Yanks say)...

One such Saturday night,whilst in the Hillman, we got involved in a race with some local yobs driving a huge 1942 Cadillac (I kid you not! There were still quite a few old Yank cars in Oz in the '50's and '60's)- both cars got up to over 90mph on the main road- but we won because their car overheated and pulled over, smoking heavily from under its bonnet ....daft things teenage boys do...

I learn't clutch control driving forward and reverse in our short drive, to engage reverse you had to pull the end of the column lever outwards then locate reverse gear !!

I've never driven a car with a column change, but my Riley Pathfinder has a right hand gearchange. Most Pathfinders have a bench front seat (although mine has the optional buckets) so you could have three abreast (qv!) seating and avoid the (potential) vagueness of the column change; there's a grease nipple on the gear linkage and the change is really good.


It also has trafficators! I've recently had seatbelts fitted as my wife isn't a fan of bangers and (understandably) wasn't happy riding without a seatbelt. Referring back to the safety aspect - as mentioned in earlier posts, I think that as well as there being less and slower traffic back in the 50s and 60s, our whole attitude to risk has changed. In those days, most people were 'responsible' and they took care, but weren't as risk averse as we are now. They wouldn't think, "I'm getting into a deathtrap" - as most people nowadays would think if they had to drive a 'classic' car any distance. When I was a 2-3 year old, my mum (not wearing a seatbelt!) would sit in the passenger seat and I would sit on her lap! That was quite normal then but would horrify people now. I also own two other 'deathtraps': an MG ZB Magnette and an MGA. I think they're all beautiful old cars and I love driving them! My 'function over form' car is a Vauxhall Signum. I can't really think of a Shadows link to any of this...

Soon after getting my driver's licence I drove my father's Renault Frégate which had a column change. With time and wear the lever became loose and when selecting the 4th gear, the tip of the lever touched the radio volume knob, causing volume increase. This was the first kind of automatic volume increase when going faster !

Didier

Tee hee, blinkin things.
I had 2 Ford Thames 400E 15cwt vans with column change in my time , one 3 speed and one ( luxury !) 4 speed.
Great fun when they jammed up at traffic lights . You had to open the drivers door, lean out and reach underneath the drivers seat and waggle the selectors until the jam was released.
Same fun in the rain going up hills when the vacuum wipers would slow almost to a stop just when you needed them most and then go berserk at the top . I had my side fly off across the road once.
The heater ! another worthless addition, I swear it got colder when you opened the flaps and switched it on. Most heat came from the engine cowling, great in July, whether you wanted heat or not.
I could go on and on... the spare wheel , getting it off from underneath after it had been there all year or more and had rusted up.
Happy days.

I had an Hillman Imp van - brand new - and then found out the heater fan was an optional extra!