Shifter questions.

N

Not A Duster

Well-known member
So, I'm thinking that with a $5K paintjob looming around the corner & wanting to get my shiny 8 & 3/4 and better brakes on the car, my budget is going to be tapped for a while.

This means the awfulmatic will likely have to stay in the demon for a couple years at least.

That said, I want to lose the column-shift & install the nice buckets I have.

Anyone have any preferences on aftermarket floorshifters?

I may try to retrofit the thing into a console, so keep that in mind...

Thanks.
 
I have this one
pro%20stick.jpg


But I always like the look of this one.
star.jpg
 
kamstra said:
I have this one
pro%20stick.jpg
Click to expand...

A nice shifter no doubt, I have one in the RR. But for a mostly street driven cruiser a ratchet shifter is a good choice. The B&M Quicksilver is a quality unit that looks classy and the short throw of the ratchet mechanism is good for tight spaces.
 
[Yosemite Sam] Ah hates ratchet shifters. They feels weak and the damned thing keeps goin' back ta wheres ya just moved it from! [/Yosemite Sam]

I much prefer the Pro Stick... good, solid feel to it; it actually moves, and it's a lot less break-prone than ratcheting trash. A friend of mine had a QuickSilver in a '69 Cuda 383--it looked and felt like cheap junk to me.

If you're thinking about a factory console, I'd suggest the factory shifter if you upgrade it to the "Slap Stik" conversions folks are selling now. Not the hokey Pistol Grip stuff, the conversion that makes the OEM piece function like a Slap Stik--only one gear at a time, and no slide to neutral without a push of the button. Without that conversion, pretty-much all non-Slap Stik factory shifters just plain suck balls (particularly '66-'70 B-car, any C-barge, and '66-'76 A-bod)--I'd rather have a column shift than any of 'em. :D
 
B&M Quicksilver ....had the shifter for years(well since 95 atleast) and love it..beat on it as hard as ya want with the only problems ive ever had is burning to cables after an engine yank and reinstall (forgot to tie the cable back up)..doesnt feel cheep either..as far as the shifter itself goes ive had to regrease it once but never had 1 problem with it..and i looked into it at one time to see about fitting it into a "stock" a body console...im fairly shure that its short throw would make it fit nicely
 
whats wrong with a stock slapstick? cant miss a gear and cant go past drive and it looks origninal equipment because it is!
 
BB71Challenger said:
whats wrong with a stock slapstick? cant miss a gear and cant go past drive and it looks origninal equipment because it is!
Click to expand...

Well - to be blunt, I want to eventually get my four-speed installed in this car, so finding all of the linkage & other assorted crap to make a stock floorshifter work seems silly. Particularily given the prices that are being asked for the stuff these days.

If this was a permanent solution, I would definately look at that option.

For now I have rough old console that XL gave me that I think I can make look pretty with some paint & TLC, The only shifter element that came with it is the handle. I figger I will install that & put an aftermarket shifter into it for a couple years until I have the cash to buy clutches and driveshafts n' such.

Thanks for the input.
 
Well - went to the local speedshop & looked through the options there. He stocks only B&M, so I didn't get to see any Hurst/Mr.Gasket options.

Sorry 69.5 - I agree with the good Dr. regarding the quicksilver - the top plate is even cheap chromed plastic. It just feels cheap - and it's too big as well.

The Megashifter/Street Star T-handle stuff just looks too much like something I would expect to see in a '55 chevvy with M-50's and sidepipes.....They are just so big.

I looked at the pro-shifter & it appears that I might be able to make it work through the slot the stock shifter handle pokes though. They also make a version of it with no outer case, which makes sense if I'm just mounting it into a console anyway.

But:

I have owned a ratchet shifter & a detent shifter is self - explanitory.

What the hell is a "gated shifter?"
 
This is what I use in the waGOON, works pretty good.....





....and the price was right too. :D
 
a gated shifter,is basically that,you have to follow a gated pattern,it's kinda' like a hard shift forward,then you have to move the handle a tad to the side to go fwd.again into the next gear,it's just a simple maze,with stopper's along the way,so you can only go one shift at a time,it's old school,before ratchets cam around.,but they work....it's almost like a 4 speed,where you have to move to the right or left before you shift again,but they do it in a str8 line,starting in low,,,
 
68R/T said:
This is what I use in the waGOON, works pretty good.....





....and the price was right too. :D
Click to expand...

Got one of them...look silly with the buckets I think.

Thanks 69X9X9 - so it's like the old "vertical gate" shifters then? Now I understand.
 
Nodda......

.....I'm missing some info here.....

....your DS has a complete 4 gear setup in it now.....correct?

Why do you need to buy parts to put a 4 gear in the Denmon?
 
If its just a temp I wouldnt spend too much on it. Most any cable shifter that is low enough to get into your console will suffice. Scrounge one from an old GTO mabeye? [smilie=e:
 
68R/T said:
Why do you need to buy parts to put a 4 gear in the Denmon?
Click to expand...

Needs clutch, pressureplate, flywheel (plus machine work for cast crank 340) Also needs a bushing & spring service kit for the clutch linkage.

All that comes to a thousand bucks Canadian.

Local trans shop will charge me $20 to weld a weight on the converter - plus a $200 shifter & I'm on the road.
 
I'd do your 4 speed, and drive it around with the Joe Dirt look for another year,epoxy primer will last that long,,,
 
Trouble is 69X9, every year the price of paint & bodywork seems to go up another grand. Especially here in the Soviet Socialist Republic Of Saskatchewan where the enviro regulations & labour laws make it hard to be in any kind of business.

I need to jump on this deal while it's available to me I think.
 
If you'd like, Nodski, I'll have my flywheel balanced and send it to you... it's not like I can use it for a few more years anyhow. Besides, where I'm going, I really should have an SFI-approved unit anyways.

No, not for free. :D

I'm pretty sure my machinist can do the balance job for minimal money, and the 'wheel has already been magnafluxed and resurfaced. It's just sitting in my basement collecting dust.

I hate to see you blow money going in the wrong direction... it's just a loser in the end since you won't be able to recoup half of what you have into the shifter and you'd likely never use it again anyhow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

SiteLock

SiteLock
Back
Top