Ratchet's Blazer - 1970 2wd with Original paint

[smbrouss70]

OK, I finally got the shifter in... about 2 months later than planned. I had to work, then had some stuff come up, and then I got lazy, then lost interest, then took a nap, etc. When I first tried to install the shifter, it wouldn't seat all the way down on the transmission. The stub was too long sticking out of the bottom. I made some measurements and found that it was 0.1345" longer than it should have been. I probably should have sent the shifter back to the Core Shifters, but I had already modified the top of the shifter stub to allow me to use my Lokar stick, which he argued with me about using a Hurst stick before I even bought it. I did contact him and let him know the issue I was having. He wanted me to get a measurement on the transmission itself. I tried to get what he was after but I couldn't duplicate my measurement, which to me means that they weren't good measurements. To get what he wanted "accurately", I would have had to gut my interior to remove the high hump or pull the transmission to be able to get an accurate measurement. I'm way too lazy to do all of that.

The measurement that I got for the difference between the 2 shifter stubs turns out is the exact thickness of 10 ga. cold rolled steel. I decided that I was going to make a shim to go between the tower and the plate that bots to the transmission out of 10 ga. sheetmetal, effectively raising the tower and therefore the stub enough to allow it to all bolt up. Turns out 10 ga. sheetmetal is less common than you think since it is just slightly thicker than 1/8". I could have bought a full sheet from my local metal place, but I only needed a 4" square, so I opted to order a 12" square online that way I didn't have a full 4' x 8' sheet that I had to store afterwards. I finally got around to getting off my butt to do it last night. I made the shim, got longer bolts from Lowe's which are fully threaded and no strength was listed on them, so they'll probably break when I bang through the gears real hard. I ordered some Grade 8 4-1/2" bolts last night that should be here by next weekend, so I'll seal and final assemble it then.

It has been more of a pain than it should have been with this shifter, but the end result is FREAKIN AWESOME! I took measurements before and after the shifter swap that are listed below. I essentially cut my front to rear throw in half, and moved it all over 3-9/16" to left (closer to me). I used to have to reach way over for 5th gear, but it is now easier to reach 5th, than 1st was with the original shifter. I was afraid that it was going to put the knob right next to my leg in 1st and 2nd, but it is far enough away for it to be comfortable. I couldn't have designed something that would have worked better.

Original TKO shifter specs:
7-1/2" of throw front to rear
2-11/16" of throw side-to-side
16-1/4" tall from shift boot ring
32-15/16" from passenger door panel

New Core Shifter
3-3/4" of throw front to rear
2-1/2" of throw side-to-side
17-3/8" tall from shift boot ring
36-1/2" from passenger door panel

Difference
3-3/4" less throw front to rear
3/16" less throw side-to-side
1-1/8" taller from shift boot ring
3-9/16" further left