Slick 60's

Hey everybody-

I have a quick question- looking for opinions about notching the crossmember, and whether this presents any structural integrity concerns.

Situation: The truck is a '65 F100. Column from '78 with a column shifter. Running an AOD from an '89 Linc Mark VII. I had to go get a different bracket and bell crank for the linkage, as the shifter on the AOD points down, instead of up (as in the C4 I had before). I pulled the bracket and bell crank out of a mid-80's truck- which has a shorter frame rail (not as tall). To get the rod to line up with the bracket on the bellhousing, we had to flip the bracket over, which lowers the rod by 1.5-2 inches.

The problem is this- the shift rod coming from the column attaches to the pivoting rod (which runs from the frame rail to the bell housing) just in front of the main crossmember, which runs under the bellhousing. The crossmember blocks me from being able to run through all the gears- I would have to cut a slot in it about an inch long, and maybe .5 inch wide.

THE QUESTION: Anyone think that doing this will compromise the structural integrity of the crossmember- it is quite hefty, after all. Anyone foresee any other problems.

Thanks-

Clay

I am having a hard time figuring out what you want to cut.

Can you post a picture?

Sorry-

Probably more info than needed, and not too clear.

Truck's at my father in laws... I could run over and take a pic, but not quickly.

Basically, for clearance I need to put a notch in the front upper edge of the BIG crossmember that runs across beneath the bell housing. It would be roughly 2-3" from where the crossmember attaches to the frame rail on the driver's side, and the notch would be about and inch deep (front to back of the truck) and a half inch wide (side to side on the truck).

Think of an arm swinging down and back, and the end of it hitting the front of the crossmember- needing just a little more travel for the distance it needs. Don't know if this is any clearer- if not I'll try to get a pic.


Thanks-

Clay

Mine on my '61 was removed completely and replaced with a different one I fabbed up further back. The size you are talking about probably doesn't represent too much of a problem. If you are worried about it, find some DOM tube (3" or so) and cut it length wise and weld it in the hole you made. Kinda like C notching the cross member.

I agree with Comet.

Why don't you just flip the lever over inside the AOD case like when you go from Column shift to Console/ floor shift ?

All you really need is a pan gasket & O-Ring and what a great time to change out the filter in the pan. . . .

FBp

FBP- good suggestion- I don't know if the linkage will line up even doing that. I'll have to take a look at it. The fact of the matter is that these trucks never came with this transmission, so the results are bound to be somewhat Frankenstinian. The tranny's been all freshened up when it went into this truck a couple months ago, and has not been driven yet. The engine finally fired about 3 weeks ago, and we are working the kinks out of the EFI, as well as tryiing to get this shift linkage worked out so I can get it back on the road. There are always a million little things to do before it's really driveable...but I'm getting closer.


Thanks for the responses all.....

Clay

Having recently done a similiar conversion on a couple of C6 transmissions, I would agree with FBP! Vans with AOD have a shift arm that should work for your application or maybe a shift arm from a regular truck C6 would fit. You can notch the crossmember but besides being ugly, it may jam when the engine wiggles around driving down the road. These ladder frames really flex! LoKar makes a nice shift rod that connects from the column down to the shift arm on the trans. The LoKar rod even has nice ball joints on both ends. I'd give this a bit more thought before you drag out the sawsall!