Page 1 of 1

What was the original Ford finish for the AA truck shifter rod?

Posted: October 20th, 2017, 6:44 pm
by vonheine
Did the 1930 Ford AA have a black painted shifter rod or nickel plate, cadmium plate?

Re: What was the original Ford finish for the AA truck shifter rod?

Posted: October 20th, 2017, 7:48 pm
by Neil Wilson
vonheine wrote:
October 20th, 2017, 6:44 pm
Did the 1930 Ford AA have a black painted shifter rod or nickel plate, cadmium plate?
Quote from page E-44 of the RGJS:
"The dipped, gloss black enamel finished lever length was 17-3/8" to 17-1/2" as a straight-line measurement between the gear shift lever spring seat (under the cap) and the bottom side of the ball. Post AA production levers were 19-3/4" long."

You should get the RGJS since it seems you are wanting your AA to be original.

Re: What was the original Ford finish for the AA truck shifter rod?

Posted: October 21st, 2017, 5:01 pm
by vonheine
Thank you for your response. My goal is to restore my AA to be a fully functional driver
I still want it to look right,as a Ford product. The shifter on my 31 model A station wagon is bright, nickel I think. I have 3 rusty AA truck shifters, I can’t tell if they were once bright like the car or not. Same question on the Emergency Brake lever. Also, what was the purpose of the internal threaded bushing under the gearshift knob? Is the shift knob a male thread or an internal thread? Did they use a short stud? Why doesn’t the shift knob go directly on to the male thread of the shifter rod?

Re: What was the original Ford finish for the AA truck shifter rod?

Posted: October 21st, 2017, 7:47 pm
by Neil Wilson
vonheine wrote:
October 21st, 2017, 5:01 pm
Thank you for your response. My goal is to restore my AA to be a fully functional driver
I still want it to look right,as a Ford product. The shifter on my 31 model A station wagon is bright, nickel I think. I have 3 rusty AA truck shifters, I can’t tell if they were once bright like the car or not. Same question on the Emergency Brake lever. Also, what was the purpose of the internal threaded bushing under the gearshift knob? Is the shift knob a male thread or an internal thread? Did they use a short stud? Why doesn’t the shift knob go directly on to the male thread of the shifter rod?
The four speed shift lever was finished as stated above. The hand brake lever was a A chassis part. So, it was finished the same for both the A and AA as stated on page 6-8 of the RGJS - Butler or unpolished nickel on the lower portion and bright nickel on the grip portion. The gear shift ball was larger version of the 3-speed A chassis ball. There is a threaded insert as part of the ball. See page 6-7 of the RGJS. There was no threaded bushing under the ball.

Re: What was the original Ford finish for the AA truck shifter rod?

Posted: November 5th, 2017, 6:36 pm
by vonheine
Neil, Thank you again for your response. I have three AA truck shifters, one from March of 1930,(my original) one from 1931, and one from ?
Two out of the three have this weird 3/8-24 threaded bushing 3/4" extension that I have been discussing. My theory is drivers thought the thumb lever for reverse was too close and interfering, so they raised the knob by 3/4". In order to do this you would have to have short 3/8-24 stud, as the shift knob is an internal thread. One of the two bushings has an outside diameter close to the shift rod. The second one is too large a diameter and looks aftermarket or homemade, but both provide a 3/4 lift of the knob. Some of the Ford drawings appear to look like the neat one, but I find the situation odd. I have enclosed photos. (The large diameter one isn't threaded down all the way in the photo)