I know this has been hashed over a billion times but I'm putting in a big order tonight and I want to buy my shifter. A lot of my HAMB buddies seem to be of the opinion that Lokar is inferior to Gennie. However, I like the idea of a locking mechanism to prevent accidental shifting that Lokar offers. I had a racecar drop into gear while I was next to the fender gunning the engine. Luckilly all I ran over was my hood propped against the bumper. I want a unit that bolts directly to the transmission, not the floor pan. So what are the pro's and con's. If the limited shift knob availability of the Lokar is the biggest drawback, that won't deter me. If it's the quality/safety that's not as good as the Gennie, then I won't buy a Lokar.
I have had a lokar in my coupe for 10 years now without any problems and I just bought one for the truck I'm building now. The quality and safety made it an easy decision for me. -Rich
I use 'em both, and they're both well-made. The button in the top of the Lokar shifter sometimes rattles when the harmonics don't agree with it. And I've taught the front bracket on the Gennie parking brake cable some new cuss words, but I'd say it's a toss up.
I've never had a gennie, but I sure am happy with the Lokar shifter on my TH400. It has maintained its adjustment and has always felt really solid. My .02 BRT
I have both. The wife's car came with a Lokar and I don't like it. The button rattles like crazy and you can hardly push the button down until the heat from the trans warms it up. It acts like tar was used to assemble it. The Gennie in the '32 is going on 6 years and I haven't touched it since I installed it. Flawless. Besides, Roadstars kid runs Gennie so it's like family Frank
not to hijack a thread, but does anybody here know anything about the b&m street rod shifter? seems like it's marketed towards guys looking at lokars and gennies. also, does gennie make a trans shifter mount ebrake like lokar? i'm in the market too, and i've run and read the search results for lokar vs. gennie, and it seems like the consensus is gennie. but then a thread like the recent tall-shifters-are-dangerous-and-this-is-why comes up and the people who swear by lokar start posting and the gennie guys pipe down. i haven't made any decisions, but i hope this thread clears some things up. fab32, would the problem your wife's car has with the sticky button be resolved lokar's universal shift knob adapter kit?
Ran em both. Have a lokar now. Both work fine but I sure liked the column set-up in my old Troadster. Keeps the floor clean and more room for the right leg in a narrow car.
i say ditch the automatic and get a manual, hurst make a mighty fine shifter. but if ya have to have the auto, go with a gennie.
fab32, would the problem your wife's car has with the sticky button be resolved lokar's universal shift knob adapter kit?[/quote] I don't think so, it feels like it's coming from the cable/rod/ detent area not the knob. It takes a steady hard push for about 5-10 seconds to get it to depress when it's cold, and she can't do it until the car/trans is well warmed up. When you first depress it it stays depressed until your 10-15 miles down the road then it slowly returns. In the meantime there are no detents, it moves into any gear freely. Frank
That was the original plan I have a 4 speed, bell housing, clutch and everything else. Problem is the car is channeled 6 inches and the "Z"d part of the frame is already in the footwell. I had to go with hanging pedals just to get the gas and brake in there. No room for another pedal and all the linkages. Plus, I'm 6'1" and the top is chopped 6" too so there's just not a lot of room. Don't worry, the next one will be a hiboy and it will have a stick.
Lokar by me! Even better now that they have the adaptor to run any shift knob... _______________________________________________ File that under CS.....
I put a new Lokar in a 64 Falcon. Not only did I have to pull the trans to mount the shifter, it rattled constantly. I'll never buy another.
Read this thread about the safety issues of Lokar vs. Gennie http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1973790#post1973790 I prefer the Lokar because of the positive lockout that keeps it from being knocked into park, reverse, or drive which can happen in the tight spaces of an old car. I talked to one guy who reached into his Model A pickup to get something and knocked the Gennie shifter into gear, he didn't get run over, but before he got it stopped, it went through a fence in his yard. It could have been much worse.
I think one moves side to side to shift allowing any shift knob you can dream up. The other has a button in the knob limiting you to choices. If this helps, i'm sure someone here can tell you which is which
I have a lokar love the mechanism, but button rattles like crazy (i have a big nasty motor with 3 inch exhaust, car is super loud and the rattle from the button can still be heard and it drives my crazy, i usually drive around with my hand on it to keep it quite) I thought it was just mine, glad to hear everyone else has the same problem, misery loves company
Have Lokar in my truck ..works perfect I'm doing the Gennie in the Desoto Just cause , I want to switch knobs That adapter thing, too me looks like poo
If you go with a Lokar, MAKE SURE YOUR NEUTRAL SAFETY SWITCH FEATURE IS ADJUSTED PROPERLY!!!!!!!! I'm an NSRA inspector, and have heard of LOTS of them that are not adjusted properly starting in gear. I have had several do it while inspecting myself. Dispite that fact, I'd go Gennie, I like the fact that you have to pull it to the side to get out of park vs the button pushing.
Thanks for all the great advice. I decided to go with the Lokar for my first try. I drove Hatch's model A this weekend and it has a Gennie. That sideways shifting deal is what had me stuck in the parking lot with everybody looking at me I was looking all over the skull shift knob for a button of some sort. When it was in gear it took very little effort to move up through the gears. I was worried I might go from first to third. Do you have to depress the button each time you shift a Lokar or just out of park? I ask because the motor/tranny in my sedan is directly out of my circle track car. The tranny was built to stay in the gear you select so I'll have to shift it manually. I'm not too worried about noise. There's a giant hole in my roof and open headers dumping out in front of my doors. I just ordered the shifter, driveshaft, and a panhard bar. Hopefully I can at least drive it on and off the trailer at Billetproof next weekend. If not, will somebody help me push?
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