How do you shift?

[mygirlz55]

I stabbed the engine/trans back into the truck and would like to get an idea of what floor shifter would work. Trans is a turbo 400. The PO had a sloppy setup on it and it seems like a small bump to the shifter would pop it out of gear.
thanks for the continued help
Hope to sit down and post a build thread soon

[parkwood]

I've always had good luck with Lokar..

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by parkwood

I've always had good luck with Lokar..

I wish I had a nickel for every lokar shifter sold!
I can only remember one complaint and that was a part missing in a kit.It was replaced by lokar free shipping and all.

[Speedbumpauto]

I also used a Locar but did the floor mount/cable option since my truck is pretty modified and I wanted the shifter to be about where the old 4 sp. came out of the floor. I have two complaints. Biggest: Locar uses the same boot and trim for all the shifters. It looks great on the tranny mounted shifters where it just covers up a hole in the floor, but when you mount the shifter on the floor, the mounting brackets/bolts interefere with the boot/trim ring. A boot/trim ring 1/2" bigger would have saved me hours of fabricating a raised area on the floor for the the trim ring to mount to so it would attach easily and look right on the carpet. Other One: Even though it's quality, the cable Locar uses is so rigid (1/4") it's really hard to route it through stuff and keep the shifter where you want it. The operation is flawless and very heavy duty but it was a real pain to install.

[mygirlz55]

@ speedbumpauto
I have a floor mount shifter in it currently. Would probably keep it floor mount due to the hole in the floor. Thanks for the insight.
Guess I should have specified I am looking for floor mount instead of a trans mount shifter.

[DesertCat]

I was looking at Lokar (okay, drooling) and would also have gone with the floor mount but found a new B&M Hammer shifter on the board here for $50 shipped

I like the function (ratchet action for the forward gears, trigger pull for all others) but really don't care for the look and the short shift rod but that just gives me an excuse to make my own shift rod/trigger and see what I can do about that plastic cover.

Lots of choices out there and you can find a lot of cool OE floorshifters from the 60's and 70's too. Had I not ran across this one I would have probably went with a Lokar in 16" or 24". Would really like to know what the other guys bought and if they like the length they got.

[Speedbumpauto]

Before you throw your money at a Locar and, don't get me wrong, they're really well made, here are a couple of pics of how it looks in my cab. I have the firewall set back 5" and the tunnel/center section is homemade to fit the console I have and clear the OD unit bolted to the back of the TH-400, so it's a little different, but you can get the idea. You can see what I did to get the boot and trim to clear the shifter mounts. Not hard, just a PITA that could have been avoided at Locar. I made that section of tunnel out of thicker plate and welded nuts underneath so the shifter would be solid and easy to get out, if needed. I really like the way it looks with the 16" handle and the leather boot, when installed, will give it a little bit of class.

[mygirlz55]

Originally Posted by DesertCat

Would really like to know what the other guys bought and if they like the length they got.

I'm hoping for some pictures of others floor shifters for automatic transmissions. Is it just my transmission, or do they all just have the 'box' on the side that pivots to shift into gears? Thought this was standard setup, but I'm new to alot of the 'mechanics'.
Always been a 'Bowtie Guy' just never taught much about tearing into them.
Is there a cable type setup that selects gears?

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by Speedbumpauto

Before you throw your money at a Locar and, don't get me wrong, they're really well made, here are a couple of pics of how it looks in my cab. I have the firewall set back 5" and the tunnel/center section is homemade to fit the console I have and clear the OD unit bolted to the back of the TH-400, so it's a little different, but you can get the idea. You can see what I did to get the boot and trim to clear the shifter mounts. Not hard, just a PITA that could have been avoided at Locar. I made that section of tunnel out of thicker plate and welded nuts underneath so the shifter would be solid and easy to get out, if needed. I really like the way it looks with the 16" handle and the leather boot, when installed, will give it a little bit of class.

That looks good! when has somthing that seems easy not grown into at least a half day project.

[mknittle]

I have a b&M star shifter sitting around just in case!

[hotrodimpy]

With the Lokar floor mounted shifter you have the ability to turn the ears so that the tabs face the inside. This will leave you with a smaller footprint. The boot ring is designed with carpet and padding in mind also this keeps the ring above the floor at least 3/8". there are so many different applacations out there that we here at Lokar try to cover some just take some creative solutions. I am sorry that you had such a hard time with your install. Call us here at Lokar when you are having an issue we will be happy to try and help out. 1-877-469-7440

[Kabwe]

Here is my lokar shifter

[Speedbumpauto]

"turn the ears so that the tabs face the inside" I knew there should be a way and looking at it again, that may have taken care of the problem. Thanks. Guess that's what happens when your brain can only see the part in one conventional way. I'm rather embarassed to think I didn't figure that out myself. I would rather have done what kawbe did but with the engine set back, the shifter would have been too far to the rear for me.

[mr48chev]

Most of us like the Lokar shifters not only because they are reliable but because they have the look we want in our trucks.

There are plenty of other good quality shifters out there that will work fine but may not have the right look or feel for the build of the truck. One that looks right in a pro street truck with race car style buckets and a race car style steering wheel might not look right if you are going for a semi restored look or the more traditional look.
Many mid 70's GM cars had cable operated shifters that worked pretty good but again don't look quite right in a lot of builds. They could be quite inexpensive though if you hunt around a bit. A lot of the Pontiacs had turbo 400s in them and that would be an easy do.

[mygirlz55]

Originally Posted by Kabwe

Here is my lokar shifter

Thanks Kabwe, thats what I was hunting for.
Looks like I'm going to have to save up some coin to make the lokar happen.
Are there any other shifters out there for a little less $$ ??
My current setup is "rigged". Only things missing are baling wire and some duct tape

[PurdueSD]

I would like to run a tall lokar shifter in my truck like the radical 32 double bend. Anyone have any experiences with the taller lokar shifters? I will be putting it on a 700r4 in my 51.

Been eyeing the tranny mount style over the floor mount. I'm planning on an original style rubber floor mat if that would matter.
Posted via Mobile Device

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by DesertCat

I was looking at Lokar (okay, drooling) and would also have gone with the floor mount but found a new B&M Hammer shifter on the board here for $50 shipped

I like the function (ratchet action for the forward gears, trigger pull for all others) but really don't care for the look and the short shift rod but that just gives me an excuse to make my own shift rod/trigger and see what I can do about that plastic cover.

Lots of choices out there and you can find a lot of cool OE floorshifters from the 60's and 70's too. Had I not ran across this one I would have probably went with a Lokar in 16" or 24". Would really like to know what the other guys bought and if they like the length they got.

first of all thank you for your service,
For the cover maybe you can make a sheet metal one and cover it with leather vinyl.