<VV> 3 tree (no Corvair)

[Louis C. Armer, Jr.]

All these stories about 3 speed column shifts carries me back to my teen
years and all the wonderful episodes that we all had with the family car. It
was at least 1955 and my Dad had bought my Mom a 1953 Ford Mainline
4 door sedan. I was thrilled because it had a V8. Mom was like a lot of our
Moms were back then and she put up with my teenage reasoning a lot more
than I later did with my son. I never talked her into dual exhausts but a 
"smitty" was
soon added and 3" wide "port-a-walls" followed. Now mind you, this was not my
car to drive and the only reason we had a second car was because my Dad was
a traveling man. Of course any time I could run an errand I was more than 
happy to
do so IF I could use Mom's car. One night while going to the grocery store 
for bread
and milk it was necessary to wind the V8 up tight and "practice" my speed 
shifts as
well as let off the gas to hear the fuel saving smitty mellow out with a 
few backfires
for good measure. On my last speed shift I slammed second and popped the clutch
only to find the shifter column in my hand and almost to the turn signal 
stalk. I was
able to drive home with a set of vice grips subbing for the shifter and 
relate to Mom how
lucky it was that I was driving when the faulty welds broke on the shifter. 
<GGG> Yes
I got the milk and bread but I don't think my Dad ever bought the story.

Chuck Armer
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
CORSA Tri-Membership Chairman
CORSA MEMBER
Corvair Atlanta, BOD
Corvanatics member
http://carmerjr.home.mindspring.com/
1965 Corsa Coupe
1964 Greenbrier
1966 Monza Convertible