Shifter ideas needed

[ABLAZN]

Here is the deal,my '72 K5 is an original 4 speed truck. The PO put a turbo 350 in it, but then put a junk shifter mounted on the floor. What I want is a shifter that will look like the original stick. First, does someone know what the length of the 4 speed stick is and then is there anyone that makes something that looks like it. I think the issue is that most of the ones that I have found that might fit the bill, but it looks like they are linkage types that do not look like they will work. Any thoughts as to what might work.

[RED72blazer]

have you looked at lokar?

http://www.lokar.com/index.htm

[ABLAZN]

lokar was the first one that I looked at. They only have linkage style shifters for the turbo 350.

[RED72blazer]

I'm not sure I understand what you are looking for. Are you looking for one that is cable actuated? Why don't you think the mechanical linkage shifters would work?


this one's cable


http://www.lokar.com/interior_pages/...ideview-fs.jpg

[ABLAZN]

I guess I will try to explain a little better, what I want is something that mounts close to the stock location of the factory stick. The original position of the hole is fairly far forward and off to the left side. Most of the lokar shifters with the linkage look like they set back on the transmission too far to use. I was hoping that a cable operated shifter would get me around all that. I looked at lokar applications that offered cables, but they only show up as being for Mopars. That was through the Summit Racing web site, so they may not have everything listed that I need. I may just have to call lokar and see if they have something that will fit my needs.

[1lowdiesel]

b&m has a few

[Bishops Trucks]

You want one that looks like the tall sm465 stick that mounts to the top of the trans? You could always find one and do a little fab work to it to make it work how you want it.

[pcwillsie]

b&m makes a 14 inch automatic shifter that mounts to your transmission and is adjustable so it should come out of the original shifter location. I am running one on my 70 four speed truck withh a th400. they call the shifter the street rod shifter

[1lowdiesel]

yea thats a nice one little pricey though.

[vtblazer]

Why not just mount it using the tranny cover and install it where you want?

Looks like you could do it with this one.

Or fill your existing hole on the tranny cover and use a cable shifter that mounts and works from the steering column.

[ABLAZN]

Well, I called Lokar today to see if they made a shifter that would work for me. The shifter that you guys showed me will work. It is so new that most places are not stocking it and even their own website says to call to get the part number. I did punch the part number in at Summit afterwards and it did show up that way for a price of $241 and it is not a stocked item. I did look at the B&M street rod and that is still an option at $180. The one thing I do like about the Lokar is that if I ever do put a 700R4 in like I want, they make a retro fit kit so, I would not need to buy a new shifter.

VT I looked into the going the column shift, but that would mean getting a whole new column. If I am going to put in a different column it is going to be a tilt. The price of those is more then the shifter route, plus this will get me going .


By the way does anyone know the length of the SN 465 shift stick.

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by ABLAZN

VT I looked into the going the column shift, but that would mean getting a whole new column. If I am going to put in a different column it is going to be a tilt. The price of those is more then the shifter route, plus this will get me going .

Glad you got things squared away, Lokar seems to be a good product.
Mines worked great from day one.

Surprised at the cost though, I got mine for like 99 bucks two years ago.

[ABLAZN]

VT, are you using a Lokar in a Blazer, if so which shifter? The price is a little steep, but this is more of a show queen (some day) so it will be worth it to have a nice piece in there. The other Lokar shifters start in the $160 range, but this may meet my needs the best. I think we can all agree that it can't get much worse then the shifter that I have now .

[vtblazer]

It's just the cable kit.
It comes off the bottom of my tilt column.
It uses your existing shifter lever that would normally connect to the factory hard linkage.

I use it in my off road blazer cause I can't afford to have the hard linkage bind up while I'm flexing the snot out of it.

You can see the factory column in the last pic.

[johnnywagon]

Check out the B&M Unimatic (cable) shifter. #80775. Looks like an old school tall truck style manual shifter. Cheap too...about $120. The one draw back is that there arent any detents.

[ABLAZN]

Originally Posted by johnnywagon

Check out the B&M Unimatic (cable) shifter. #80775. Looks like an old school tall truck style manual shifter. Cheap too...about $120. The one draw back is that there arent any detents.

John, I looked at that shifter as well, but I wanted the detents and reverse lock out feature. Also, I wanted the round stick to match the factory look. I did order the Lokar from Summit Racing and it was close to being two weeks out. I checked the status and they added another 10 days to the back order. I thought that maybe Lokar was out of them, so I gave them a call. The gal said they had them on the shelf ready to ship. Sooo, I need to get Summit on the ball, or find someone will order it sooner.

[johnnywagon]

As an auto parts retailer myself, I'm obviously not a fan of Summit or ANY mail order for that matter. Its funny how often I'll get customers who want me to help them remedy a problem they have w/Summit. Anyway, enough of my ranting. You should call Lokar back and ask them if there are any retailers in your area who are Lokar dealers. If so maybe the local guy could get it for ya. AND then you would be supporting local business rather than the evil corporate empire ..............I know... ... ...

Sorry, I cant help it...

[ABLAZN]

Well, I thought I would update this tread so everyone could see the end result. The whole thing was a real PITA . Summit took 3 week to get it to me and then it had the wrong shift knob on AFTER I double checked to make sure that I was getting the right one. I would have ordered it locally, but it was $85 to go that route and I need the to save where I can. The install was not easy either. The hardware kit was incomplete, so I replaced some of it with stainless and some of that stripped out. To top it off I was sick all my day off last week, so that put me another week behind. The only good thing is that was good it that having a removable transmission hump made it nice to mount the shifter outside the vehicle. All and all though, I am pleased with the end result and the shifter worked well on its first test drive today .

[LUV2XCLR8]