I needed a shifter.....So I Built one!

I already have a shifter....but its for a 3 speed ( I have a two speed trans), Its shiney and new ( I want it to look old and trad), So....we have a dilema! Do I modify and use the one I have....or throw it in the cupboard and start over.

I started over.

Out came the paper, pens and a rule!

I had an old 3 speed manual box on the back of an old flatty motor. I had been eyeing up the shift lever on that to use because it is tapered from 5/8" at the base to 5/16" at the top and is forged too. After some careful disassembly (rather than chopping it off like I was going to do!) I found that it would work out well with the tapered lower part as well (more on that later)

I had a look at the store bought shiney shifter that I had and took a few basic measurements from that and the old lever, then set to and drew out what would be needed to make it all work.

I am using a 2 speed Buick Dual Path trans behind a 215" Aluminium V8, and as such there aren't a heck of a lot of aftermarket parts in the shops for these.

I had a scratch through the steel bin to see what was available for raw materials, and settled on a piece of 3mm (1/8") pressed channel and some bits of round stock.

Some marking out followed by some hacksaw and filing later I had the main side plates basically sorted. So It was off to Dads' to spend some time on the lathe, spinning up the main pivot, cross shaft and some bushes to let it all pivot smoothly.

To enable to see how it was all going to fit in the car, I made up a dummy trans tunnel piece with no sides for starters. This meant I could sort out the lever position and the linkage onto the trans itself, before cutting into the actual trans tunnel later in the job.

I will throw in a few photos to help explain my ramblings.

Once happy with the way everything was fitting with the dummy tunnel, I set about making up a recess to go into the actual tunnel. To fasten the shifter into the recess I have used RIVNUTs. But to get the base of the shifter to sit flat on the recess I had to make up a dimpling Die and press individual recesses for the fastenings to sit down into.

 

That's what hotrodding is all about---thanks for posting.

 

To enable the shifter to work properly with the bazar Buick selector pattern ( P N D L R ) and not be able to drag it back into reverse when in low gear with my foot hard up it, I had to have a series of "Gates". To do this I made up a curved plate to go under the main pivot tube, with a cut gate. I have also set up an inhibitor switch on the side of the shifter so it will only start in park or neutral. Just a simple ball type switch, actuated by the main pivot as it moves back and forth.

The original 1939 gear lever I used had a taper on the bottom end which enabled it to pivot sideways inside the main tube. So by pulling the lever gently to the side when moving forward and back you are able to move through the gates. But not able to inadvertently select reverse, without trying hard!

Once I was happy with how things were working out, I made the oval piece to hold down the leather boot which will cover up all my hard work.

After getting things working out of the car I had to bend the shift lever to fit around the dashboard when in park and allow space for reaching reverse without hitting the centre console/trans tunnel. To do this I made up a buck from wood and got at it with the gas torch until things fit nicely.

I am pleased with the way this little project has turned out and plan to pull it all to bits and send it away for Cadmium plating to keep it in good shape.

 

VERY nicely done. excellent engineering and workmanship! Thanks for sharing.

Ray

 

Nice work! I like that oval bezel too, looks great

 

cool design,as stated above--That's what hotrodding is all about

 

Jeeze, makes Lokar look like junk. Well done.

 

Looks good. Wish the pictures were bigger. Those don't show up well on iPhone.

 

thanks for posting .

 

You get my "attaboy" for the day! Nicely done.

 

Awesome!!

 

Neat shifter, nice workmanship. I was wondering if you incorporated a spring or anything to keep it to one side in your gate?

 

very nice work !

 

That looks great!! nice work.

 

Wow! Very nice!!

 

Holy crap, that thing looks like Lokar made it!

 

damn! very nicely done

 

Slick looking! You ought to go into business.

 

Thats freakin bad ass!!!

 

Thanks for that. I have a bit of a thing for Ovals on this build. Fuel tank, seat back tops, windscreens.......must be a Ford complex!

 

I am about to post up a picture of the drawing I did for the build.

The one I have in the cupboard was made by them, but I figured "Why reinvent the wheel?" they have done the hard yards, I can just personalise it!

Sorry, I had to resize them to upload. Just click on them to see a bigger image.

Yes I did. You can see it in the drawing I did. It is inside the main pivot shaft and is adjustable with the grub screw.

As stated above, I didn't want to start over just personalise.

Are you ordering one? Just drop off your car and I will start work right away!

Thanks guys for the remarks. I do appreciate them all.

 

Aloha
Nice work, you made something better than can be bought. We hot rodders understand how to solve a problem. Out here in the islands where supply and shipping make things challenging, we commonly need to use the kind of ingenuity you exhibited with that shifter. Plus, it's fun to make stuff.
Shaka, Big Al

 

Here is the drawing I put together before I started. It is pretty close to what I actually finished up with. The side plates are not as heavy as shown, only 1/8" not 1/4" as drawn, but otherwise pretty damn close.
You can see the hole in the main pivot shaft where the spring is located. This spring holds pressure on the side of the shift lever, to keep it against the gates.
The 1/4" pin that holds the shift lever, is drawn wrong in the colored elevation. I faces the otherway to allow sideways movement.......My bad!

 

Cheers Brä'. We face the same dillema with distance and shipping. If we ain't got it we gotta make it. If it breaks, we gotta get it going again.....soon......cause we can't wait for parts to get here! Its much more satisfying to make it yourself too!

 

Aloha,
Yeah, best answer to the question, "Where did you buy that." is , "I made it".
Shaka, Big Al

 

Aloha,
Yeah, best answer to the question, "Where did you buy that." is , "I made it".
Shaka, Big Al

 

Damn right!

 

Very nice work looks way better then any Lokar Iv seen

 

I hope so. I will keep you all posted when its running.

 

I spent a little more time on this today, getting it ready to take to the upholsterer for a leather boot. He has some old leather from some seats that he recovered some time ago, so we can end up with the "Old" look. I am planning to cover the seat cushions and emergency brake boot from the same stuff.