I am looking for a new shifter for my 26T coupe with a 700r4. I have a B&M in it now, and it has the Tremec style shifter handle mount. I made my own double bend shifter handle with Tremec mount from stainless steel and would like to retain that. I was looking at a Clayton Machine Works "gated" shifter. I think it would fit my needs without breaking the bank. It has the Tremec style mount. But what exactly is a gated shifter for an automatic? Is it still a straight forward and backwards motion to shift gears? Or more like shifting a manual 4-speed, like that 2nd to 3rd motion? Would that be something I would want on a strictly street cruiser? I googled it, but the explanation didn't clear it up for me. I figured I would get a better explanation here, anyway. Is it just a way to upshift (hard!) and not go too far with stops or something? Anyone know of another 700r4 shifter with a Tremec style shifter handle mount? That shifter handle I built has a lot of work in it and just the right double bend in it. It is 20" long. I haven't seen anything available to match it. I'll give them a call, but it is Sunday Somebody please educate me!
Like some older Mercedes, I’m sure there were others as well. Park is still all the way forward, low all the way back. It just kind of snakes between them.
I expect it has a mechanism in the bottom that requires you to move the knob sideways before it will move back or forward. There are different ways to make it work like that. Just imagine you're using the column shifter on any car from the 1950s-1980s, and you think about how you have to pull the lever towards you before it will let you drop it down out of park, etc. Same thing, different shifter location. Looks kind of modern billetty to me. I made my own gated shifter, from a 1966 B&M design shown in one of their ads.
Funny. I was looking for a picture of your homemade shifter to post but got sidetracked. That thing is great.
Hey @squirrel you got any pics of the inside of that shifter to show how you both pivot it and move forward? ....
When we built my new deuce sedan I am such a tight *** that I used a reconfigured Vega floor shifter with built in neutral safety switch to shift my 700R4. Tough to find but I've used several over the years. Usually mount them to the rear of the trans on the floor and straighten and shorten the shift lever.
Thanks for the explanation and the pics. I like your setup. The reverse lockout is slick. Yeah, the Clayton is kind of billetty if you use their levers. The base will all be covered by the boot. And my shift lever is not billetty at all. The one in your pic of the unit is on the left with what they call a Tremec mount. My lever will bolt right up to that. That shifter, with no shift lever or knob, is $235. I believe I can mount it in exactly the same place the B&M is now trans mounted and be able to use the B&M shift rod and heims with maybe very little modification only floor mounted. That's about the cheapest new shifter I can come up with. The B&M is getting a little sloppy and tricky. It needs to be ready for the very rare occasion that the wife wants or needs to drive it.
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