This 3-speed trans is gonna have to go...

Learned to drive with a three on the tree. Truck stayed that way for years until Ford's weak *** shift linkage finally gave up and it was converted to a floor shift. Short shifter for a bench seat truck (Hurst conversion) made it a pain in the ***.

Fast forward a bit and daily driving a '54 Ford. Three on the tree, manual steering, manual brakes, manual choke, vacuum wipers (fun to watch them slow down at idle and then speed back up going through the gears). The car is a blast to drive!

Fast forward a bit more and driving a an NP435 in a Ramcharger. Granny low has no synchronizers (that's okay, unless you're pulling off with a load or crawling through a field, just take off in second) and reverse has no synchro's. That's okay, just give it a little clutch as you're slipping it into gear. It'll mesh and won't grind.

Do the same thing on downshifts, going into first. Push the clutch all the way to the floor, pop it in neutral, start out on the clutch with a little throttle and it'll pop right in.