'61 Chrysler 300G, Factory 4-Speed

[L_e_e]

Love the 4 bucket seats, but often wondered why the manual shifter was not incorporated into the center console, looks like an afterthought.

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by L_e_e

Love the 4 bucket seats, but often wondered why the manual shifter was not incorporated into the center console, looks like an afterthought.

Before Hurst started building shifters the mechanisms were very flimsy. Only a straight handle would work, as the trans was all side mounted levers,this was the only way to install a shifter. The French 4 speed was a top mounted shifter and was able to be incorporated with the console.