At the moment I’m putting together an injected 4.0 jeep in-line six swap in my completely stock and original ‘50 3600. I decided to stay with the OE column shift SM 318 three speed. A swap bell housing is available in the aftermarket. The transmission will be a ‘modern’ SM318 3 speed overdrive from a ‘63 Impala. A couple of my car guy friends think it is ludicrous I would upgrade the engine and nothing else on the truck. That old column shift three speed is such a huge piece of the personality of the truck, I just can’t let it go. The slower shifting and the gear whine, I just can’t wrap my head around driving one of these old trucks without it. Even the nonsyncro first gear, once you’ve figured out your timing with double clutching, it’s fun to master that shifting smoothly without a crunch, part of the experience too! Admittedly this will just be a fun truck and likely never see any real traffic, but even if I did it would be OK, I’ll just be the one hanging back creeping along slowly .....
Steve weim55 Colorado