I am looking for a shifter that offers the performance of a gated ratchet shifter like a B&M Megashifter with the looks of a Lokar shifter. Does anyone offer anything like that? Thanks, Ed
There's a cool old one with a chromed boxy cover that was popular in the mid-60s, a B&M something-or-other. All the gasser guys are looking for them though as well....
I made the one in my slant six rail. I figured it would be a huge project but in reality it only took a morning. Six years later without one hickup ever I am still smiling. Like you, I was after that old gated shifter B&M used to make that has disappeared from the face of the earth. Why? I dont know because it was about perfect. The one I made has what I call semi defeated reverse. (Cannot be banged into reverse by accident. Must go ahead then back to the left and then into reverse.) Despite that I have no trouble going from drive or third to reverse at the track as we are allowed a burn through since our FEDs have no front brakes. And I am a nervous aging racer but can still do it without a hitch. Cost? Well it was zero out of pocket since I built it from some scrap. I could have made it pretty but this is a race car. Would it work on the street? You bet. A bit more time filing and sanding and a nicer finish or some upholstery it could even look good. Shifter is spring loaded to the right and can be bang shifted with little more than a swat without it going two gears at once and no worries of hitting neutral or reverse accidently. What is the red handle for? Oh! I use it to control my kickdown lever so I can preset my autoshift points with this trans. (Stole it from an old lawnmower) I use an A&A govenor kit for auto shifts in Drive at up to 6200 RPM. The lever allows me to lower it. I usually set it to 5850RPM for the current setup. Not a necessary prt on the shifter , just my own little deal. Don
You have to love the his/hers idea. Of course try that marketing today, and the boycott lines would go for miles. I have a book I bought that the title is "Mathmatics for girls". I didn't even know they had different math
If you got a conmsole a Hurst Z gate looks nostalgic. It doesn't look like a Locar though. I have a console type of shifter from a '64 olds, it is not gated but it does have detents. Again it does not look like a locar or swan neck type of a shifter but done correctly it will resemble a Vette.
In 1969, GM went from the Hurst His/Her's shifter to a factory console ratchet shifter--push it over to the passenger seat, and bang off one shift at a time. Looks a lot like the one in F'bodies thru the Seventies, so if you see one in the junkyard, give it a try and maybe you can get a ratchet shifter for cheap... Myself, I'd just buy a swapmeet ratchet shifter I liked, weld on a "long enough" handle, and fab a polished steel/aluminum box to put around the base. You've seen some pics here of what it may/could/should look like. Make it look like what you think it should, then sit back and listen to the car show crowd tell lies about how they used to have one and what they did with it some hot summer night running from the cops... remember B&M coming out with a 3 speed auto shifter? It moved in the backward lower case "h" pattern of a three-by-the-knee stick shift...
Never seen one that looked like a Lokar. At the last Good-Guys show Hurst had a booth. I played with the Hurst "Original Quarterstick" model and liked it ($210.00). It's pretty simple, and the shifter post could be extended taller like Lokar's 6" length or taller. Put a HAMB shift knob on it and call it a day.
I have an original Series 60 B&M one just like the one above in my daily 52 chevy truck. It's slick, BUT, if you're not real good with the feel of it it's super easy to go right past second into third...and quite possibly neutral. It's gated, but nothing like the modern ratchet style shifters. There's NO ratchet to it, just push forward and slightly to the right to get the next gear. Aside from that, i love it..and it's not hard to get comfy with it once you actually use it a few times. Tony
Pardon my linkage,but its been in a bunch of different rides over the years... I've had it more than 30 years and it wasn't new when I got it. Here's what I can tell you; it is gated ,it is a Hurst,and through the years I haven't seen many others. There's nothing I've ever seen stamped on it. My guess is a dual gate for a bench seat...
Thanks for all the replies! Looks like I'll just go with a Lokar... that's the look that I'm after... even the old b&m stuff looks a decade or two too new.
The shifter itself is an original Hurst Auto Stick 1, before they went to a bolt on stick. Butch/56sedandelivery.
odd...to me, the Lokar looks 3 or 4 decades too new. The old Hurst AutoStick from the 70s is a neat one. It looks pretty much like a 4 speed shifter, but it's for an automatic. I sure wish I'd kept the one I had 20 years ago
Hello Squirrel, Thanks for the reply! I'd like a little more feedback though... with a swan neck and a basic black knob, the Lokar looks to me like a stock 30's/40's shifter. The other shifters on this thread look more like something you'd see in a 60's-up muscle car. There's nothing wrong with that look.. in fact I'm on the hunt for a truck Megashifter for my O/T '73 C10. That same shifter would look all kinds of wrong in my mostly stock appearing 41 Chevy. The B&M ratchet shifters are a "real good time" so I was hoping that someone sold a 30's/40's looking shifter that ratcheted. So... what about the Lokar shifter looks modern to you? Thanks, Ed
I just finished mine last nite. I took my Hurst Promatic shifter, cut off the old arm and welded a 4 speed arm to it and made it look like an old nostalgic straight shift and it still has the ratched shift. I will post pics this evening. Just TIG welded the 2 arms together.
i just finished putting this in my friends 38 ford pick-up.i no it's not gated it is ratchet style we did not use the ugly box around it and if you have enough room to mount it under the trans tunnel it looks even better.there are to lenghths to choose from and so far it works flawless.
^^Hurst Pro-Matic 2^^ looks like the truck version (longer lever) 3838510. I dont believe the lever is meant to be swapped so buy the right one the first time. Just over $300 and it can be manually race shifted. Probably be in my car soon. Not a fan of the box so that will require some thought/effort.
I've got a series 60 B&M shifter that I had in my (avatar) roadster - reverse pattern Powerglide - thought I'd make a new gate plate to fit the C4 in my coupe but decided on a Lokar instead. The series 60 gets added to the "old stuff" collection, I guess.
I actually purchased a pro matic shifter with the short lever online and then by chance found the longer "truck" lever and was able to swap it over. Hurst will tell you they are totally different and won't sell just the lever. It was a 10 min swap. Matt
For what it’s worth considering this thread is from 2012 Gennie shifter is a gated shifter that looks similar to a Lokar shifter.
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