'61 T Bird w/ C6 Transmission

[askiles]

Okay, so my second post ever... LOL

My '61 T Bird seems to have had the original transmission swapped out for a C6. The shift pattern on the C6 must be a lot closer together than the original, as the column shift markers do not line up at all. I know that the Drive gear is on neutral. LOL It did create some problems at first when driving the car and not knowing this. I put it in D on the column, and it never shifted out of that gear. LOL

My question is, does anyone make anything to fix this?? Either a new marker plate for the column, or some new shift linkage that makes the C6 shift pattern the same distance? It is the same P R N D basically with the other forward gears, so I would think it wouldn't be too hard. Any help is appreciated!!

[simplyconnected]

The steering column and the transmission have 'arms' that the linkage attaches to. The lengths of those arms determine a ratio. Longer arms produce a wider shift pattern at the column.

Look at your linkage to see if any other modifications were made. It's best to take a few pictures with a ruler included so we can see what's going on.

The C6 is a great trans. - Dave

[askiles]

Thanks Dave, I will crawl under there and do that. I will try and get some pics.

[askiles]

Here is how the linkage looks on my '61 T Bird/C6 combo. The linkage is at the furthest end of the adjustment, so I can't adjust to be any longer. What can I do to adjust it to be correct? Thanks!!

[YellowRose]

'61 T Bird w/ C6 Transmission

Andy, your picture does not show up. It is fractured. I tried to fix it, but I got an error that says that I am not allowed in your photo hosting website. I see you used the [IMG] function. Try putting that link in the little blue globe under Colors and use the [URL] function. I tried to do that, but it would not let me do it. If that does not work, send me the graphic and I can post it for you.

[askiles]

Shoot...I will figure it out...LOL Thanks!

[YellowRose]

'61 T Bird w/ C6 Transmission

Andy, please send me that picture you were trying to post so we can see it. I will post it for you. I contacted one of the best Tbird Techies in the world who knows a lot about Squarebirds, Bulletbirds, and Flairbirds. His name is Tom Maruska and you might want to visit his website. http://www.tbirdsquare.com/ Here is what he had to say.

"He will still be able to use all the gears in the C6 but they will not match the indicator. Until someone makes an indicator for the swap he'll just have to get used to where the gears on the indicator in the column are and get used to it. I have a 65 with a C6 and the same issue. No swap indicator is made."

One thing that has been suggested by jopizz, that you might want to see if you can find the shift linkage off a 1966 Flairbird that has the C6 tranny in it. That shift linkage should work on other years of Flairbirds that someone added a C6 to. It might also work for a '61 with a 390 engine in it. John says the steering column and PRNDL indicator for all three years of the Flairbird are the same and should work on a Flairbird. Except that you have a '61 Bulletbird with a different PRNDL indicator probably.. If I got all this info right, from John.

[askiles]

Here is the picture...

[askiles]

Ah! Bummer. I was afraid of that. I may just have to black out the current indicator, and make my own. It would be easy enough.

[jopizz]

I would just get a flat piece of heavy steel and make a slot in it and connect it to the linkage you have with a nut and bolt to make it longer. You probably only need another half inch or so.

John

[askiles]

Yeah I could always try that. Or cut the arm and lengthen it.

[Joe Johnston]

Making your own may be easier than you think. A poster on another forum made his own tach face and sent this info.

I used a vinyl cutter to cut out the numbers. I found my vinyl cutter in one of the little kiosks in one of the malls around my area. Most sticker makers have a vinyl cutter or you can look up a few sticker makers in your area and see who has a cutter.

I just had to provide him with the artwork that is sized correctly. They will use your artwork to "cutout" the letters and transfer them onto a clear transfer paper for you to peel and stick to the lens. Make sure when you do the artwork to make a whole page of them even if you aren't going to use them. My vinyl cutter charges me by the page so I figured might as well keep the extras just in case.

Just might work to get your letters in order.

[askiles]

Another question with the C6...

So the speedometer is off of course, and I pulled the gear and it is a 19 tooth gear. I have paced the car and looked at the speedo, and it read approximately 1.25x the speed I was going. 60 when I was traveling 45. So if I take 19 teeth and divide it by .75, it gets me 25...but I see the most teeth I can get is 23. Should I go with that?? Someone please help! Thanks!