Show me your automatic floor shifters!!

[61_FL_Apache]

Im thinking about moving my column shift to the floor and want to see what you guys have done.

Im running a bench seat and plan to keep it that way. My daughter usually rides with us to shows.

Thanks guys!!

[smilts60]

Heres what I'm pulling out of my truck its pretty ghetto. I think with a little more work it could have been much nicer

[jchav62]

Lokar 16" floor mount...

[PGSigns]

This thread is right on time. I am looking at the lokars to replace the B&M that is on the floor now for a more retro look and that one is just what I am wanting. Hows it working out?
Jimmy

[jchav62]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

This thread is right on time. I am looking at the lokars to replace the B&M that is on the floor now for a more retro look and that one is just what I am wanting. Hows it working out?
Jimmy

It works great. The throw is a little long but we are getting used to it...

[61_FL_Apache]

Originally Posted by jchav62

It works great. The throw is a little long but we are getting used to it...

Is it centered with the seat? Is it also cable driven? I was thinking about one like this, but I want to mount it as far left on the hump as I can so its not in the way of the person in the middle.

[PGSigns]

Thanks for the info. That is going on my list, and that gets longer everyday.
Jimmy

[61_FL_Apache]

Originally Posted by jchav62

Lokar 16" floor mount...

I see you still have the one on the column. Are you going to keep that one? I was thinking about shaving and filling where it came from if I go to the floor.

[jchav62]

Originally Posted by 61_FL_Apache

I see you still have the one on the column. Are you going to keep that one? I was thinking about shaving and filling where it came from if I go to the floor.

It's not there any more. I've since changed out that column to a '4 speed' type column. I changed that out at the same time I did the power steering conversion...

[awbrown]

I think mine is from the 60's it is a Mr.Gasket , long like the lokar , but no detents ... my last truck that I converted had a tire iron mounted to a slice of angle iron bolted to the floor , it worked well ....

[61_FL_Apache]

Originally Posted by awbrown

I think mine is from the 60's it is a Mr.Gasket , long like the lokar , but no detents ... my last truck that I converted had a tire iron mounted to a slice of angle iron bolted to the floor , it worked well ....

Im all for fabbing something up too. I had a long chain welded together in my 65 with a nasty looking piston on top.

[awbrown]

I may get a tire iron chromed and do it again for one of my trucks , but I need to incorperate some detents so I may have to find a shifter that I can modify ,just ad the tire iron to it .....

[creep]

I put a B&M Unimatic in mine. It looks good and works decent. I had to put spacers under the front mounting flanges so the cable clears the lip of the hump cover opening. With the boot on you can't tell though.

[markeb01]

I’ve had both Gennie and Lokar shifters. I preferred the Gennie since knobs could be changed at will, there was no button to rattle and it was as easy to use as a column shifter.

Here are a few lousy pictures of my GMC with both shifters. The first is the 23” Lokar. I wanted a Gennie shifter because I loved the one I had in my 46 Ford. Unfortunately I went with the Lokar because Gennie didn’t have an adjustable mount yet, and I wanted the handle to come to come through the original hole in the floor pan, and to the casual observer it looked just like the original 4 speed handle.



Mine was the linkage type. Here’s what it looked like on the transmission:





As soon as Gennie introduced an adjustable mount the Lokar was pitched in the garbage and was replaced with a Gennie Shifter. I went with the 16” length because by then I had tired of the long handle. It remained in place for over a decade until I swapped back to a Richmond 4 speed:



The Lokar was in the truck about a year and I grew to hate it. They may have changed the design since I had mine, but the knob rattled constantly and was really irritating. Worse, in temperatures below freezing the grease in the handle froze up, immobilizing the knob, preventing the use of my daily driver. The solution was to run a complete can of WD40 down the shaft to rinse out the grease. After that the rattling absolutely drove me crazy. And if the thumb wasn’t centered on the knob, it was also easy to painfully fold back a thumbnail when depressing the button. I also didn’t like that only a Lokar knob could be used, although a knob adapter was made available after I got rid of mine. I have no experience in how well these work.

One benefit of the Lokar shifter is the locking feature allows the shifter to go between neutral and drive with no risk of overshooting into reverse. Both brands are well made and function well if you like their specific features. Although both shifters mount on the transmission centerline, I believe the Lokar handle can be rotated toward the driver.

One area Lokar has it all over Gennie is in the sales distribution. Everybody carries Lokar. The last time I checked, the only place to get favorable pricing on Gennie was through Chevy of the 40’s.

[coolair]

Heres my Lokar shifter.....

[hotrodimpy]

markeb01. We here at Lokar are sorry you were so unhappy with your Lokar product.
We do have a tech department here at Lokar that is here to help with any issues that one might have. We did have a problem with a grease we were using. That was many years ago. and we have corrected that issue. As for the rattling problem. That is also a simple fix, it is in the adjustment of the shifter and is no problem to stop. Lokar is here to help anytime a customer has a problem. We cannot help if we are not made awhere of these problems. Anytime you or any customer has a problem PLEASE contact us here at Lokar Performance Products Toll Free 877-469-7440

[lakeroadster]

Originally Posted by 61_FL_Apache

I see you still have the one on the column. ......... I was thinking about shaving and filling where it came from if I go to the floor.

You can buy an original column bonnet from a floor shifted truck that doesn't have the column shift, that's what I did. You will need to pull the column to install it.

[61_FL_Apache]

lakeroadster, that looks real good!!

[gringoloco]

Originally Posted by jchav62

Lokar 16" floor mount...

Is yours mounted above or below the floor?

Looks good!