Technical Anyone build a manual shifter for an auto trans?

Unimatic compared to TCI fast gate. TCI has reverse lock out thats much less noticeable than the typical B&M and Hurst lever. Throw a ball knob and shoft boot on it.

Really like the mustang 2 conversion.

I stretched a B&M shifter cable, went to a boat shop and they made me a shorter stronger cable, worked great, I guess theyre about the same as boat steer cables.

 

Just go with a Gennie Shifter, unlike lokar it does have detents so you're not going into an unexpected gear, built heavier duty and Made in America !

https://www.gennieshifter.com/gennie-original

 

I had a Ginnie but once I got the Hurst Autostick I it was clear that was what I wanted to use.

 

Had a 31 roadster with a C4 with a reverse manual valve body and winters shifter. It looked like a stick and performed like one and fun to drive. The reverse Manuel valve body made is a slap “stick”. It did have a lock out for reverse and had to kick it to the side to get into reverse. I dont think I would not have a trans with out something to prevent that bad shift into R

 

Hello,

Nice find on a modern version of the automatic transmission shifter. Our high school shop project was not as fancy as the one in the photo ad. But, the key to making a manual shifter on an automatic transmission is the threaded fitting that moves the lever forward and back. Any size rod, curved or at an angle, will thread right into the opening. The bottom of the mechanism can be homemade or any one from one of the scrap piles or swap meets. Our technology at the time was to get a steel rod, cut it to length, thread the end and see where it was going to fit.

For a high school automotive shop and metal shop project, I made a shifter for a friend’s 51 Pontiac Sedan. He knew he was not going to go fast or do any kinds of racing. He was happy it was a cool looking car and it got him where he wanted to go…the drive-in restaurant parking lot on Friday or Saturday nights. It looked nice sitting in the rows among all of the Chevy sedans.

He wanted something to make his car stand out without costing too much. I needed a grade and a project, so I suggested a floor shifter with a long curved rod and a white ball on the end. It would stick higher than the dashboard and look like he was shifting a stick. Well it looked like a tall stick. We used a design based on a three-speed stick mechanism, modified it to fit the Hydramatic transmission someone brought in to the class. After many cuts, machining and welding, the unit worked as planned.

Everyone, including the teachers of both the Auto Shop and Metal Shop came over to our model attached to the Hydramatic transmission sitting on the class workbench. They wanted to shift the unit to see how it worked. Countless hours of trial and error made the final product a smooth shifting sturdy shift lever. I got an "A" on the project and classes.

Now, it was cut the floorboard and make the measurements for the long rod sticking up. The first one was a straight rod and it hit the dash or was pretty close, so we bent it back a little to give plenty of clearance when he put it in park. The lever was the hit of the parking lot shenanigans as it really did look cool. My friend found a sporty car boot at a local junkyard that fit and we installed it for a finished look.

The neat thing was, after our trial and error models, we did put in a threaded shifter unit, so we or anyone could interchange any size or shape stick shifting levers. We even made another shifter lever that looked like a 4-speed curved one. That brought a ton of laughs for the Pontiac sedan.

Jnaki

After that auto shop/metal shop collaboration, I started another one for a three-speed stick shift 55 Chevy. The problem was, he needed the car every day after school for his job and could not leave it over night to do other work on it. So, the project started fine, and it should have been a simple install, but it started to take up too much time and my friend’s dad bought a three-speed shifter kit from our local Pep Boys accessories shop and had me install it. It looked very cool, as we made a curved lever that looked like the popular 4 speed lever that came stock with most 4 speeds from the factory.

We had a curved shift lever model on a real 4 speed install, in the 57 Bel Air Hardtop, for all to see and decide if they wanted one in their cars. After the two projects, done for a class grade, we had to start charging for the design and install.

 

I can't remember what Hurst called my shifter but I do recall their magazine ad that called it a "his and hers" shifter (dual gate?) but it gave that manual shift/ auto shift selectability. Doesn't really look like a manual shifter, but I like it.

 

Your right about that. I had a unmarked straight line floor shifter on a powerglide,and at 10 mph missed a down shift to low,and got reverse,or park,and the car ,and engine stopped instantly.I got lucky ,and nothing broke!

 

I've always liked Gennie Shifter, much more than their pushbutton competitors. But then GS changed to a real tiny set screw to attach the shift lever to the shifter mechanism. It allows the shift lever to wobble and is a weak link, engineering wise. Then the set screw strips out and I've had to drill it out to remove the handle. Still, GS is the best in my opinion.

 

The gennie shifter is indeed interesting. Like to have one in my hands to check out.

Love to play with the hurst autostick 1 too. Wish they'd bring that one back into production.

Sorry but I'm not paying 600 + for a autostick.

 

Elcohaulic could you post a pic of the lower plate on the shifter?

I take it that there is a shift pattern in the lower plate with a tit on the bottom of the shift lever that follows the lower plate pattern?

 

I hadnt looked at shifters in years, pretty costly.
If you dont need the slap shift function of an aftermarket shifter. Id check out 70's cars (chrome handle) that match your trans. Get rid of all the housing and add a ball knob. Still like that mustang 2 conversion, good low cost idea.

If youre at a junkyard, pull the shift boot off a 2000's trailblaz*r or env*y. Nice pleather shift boot ready to go.