VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 play in shift handle

my 33 master shifts gears ok, but there seems to be a lot of lost motion in the shift lever or handle. Can this be tightened up? where would the lost motion be? Is there a part that needs to be replaced, bushings, etc. Thanks, Tom

You probably need to replace the die-cast cup in the top of the shift tower. They are not the easiest part to find but are out there.

After you remove the shift lever to look at the die cast part, check the bottom of the shift lever to see if it is worn. It should be a round ball and not flat on the sides. If it is flat on the sides it will be very sloppy. One more thing to look at is that ball on the bottom of the shift lever fits into a grove in a pressed steel part that moves the shift forks in your transmission. If the grove is to big then it will also cause some slop. Unfortunately I did not take a photo of the bottom of the shift shaft, I can if you need one

Dale, your article on repairing the 33 34 trans was great. pictures were top notch. Is the article in the chevy chatter archives? If it's not it should be. Thanks for sharing that article. Tom

Hi Tom
I'm not sure you could call it an articular but one day I just felt like taking some photos while I was messing around in the shop. I ended up combining a 33 and 34 transmission for my 33. The case and most of the insides are 33 but I ended up using the 34 cluster because it has helical cut gears instead of straight cut, much quieter. I guess I should have used the first page instead of making you look for it.

Dale, You had me hooked with the first picture I saw. I had to go back and see them all. Good detail pictures on the 33 34 trans. Thanks, Tom