TN454Monte Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Hey all, Does anyone have a bench seat with a floor mounted automatic shift? I'm having some work down this week, I want to go ahead and do my floor shifter since the trans will be out of the car, however budget doesn't allow right now for me to do my bucket seat swap. I've been really busy over here so I haven't been posting, but the Monte just spent the last 3 weeks in the shop. Here's all I had done this go around.... The MSD digital 6 ignition box is completed, with a HVC and new MSD Billet distributor. I had the rear end re done with a 3.73 Eaton Posi. I am having the transmission redone with a reverse manual valve body. While this is being done I figure I might as well go ahead and put in a floor shift. I want a ratchet shifter, any suggestions? *** I realize a floor shift with bench seats is going to be a little clunky looking and maybe a little cumbersome for awhile but I wanted to know if Anyone is running a floor shift and bench seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN454Monte Posted October 24, 2008 Author Share Posted October 24, 2008 I have a console and buckets from a 72 Monte Allan, however the seat are in bad shape, and need re done, it just ain't in the budget to have the seats re done right now, and have the console put in, I'm stuck with the bench seat for at least till next spring. Also am I confused on the reverse manual set up here? I was thinking the way that works is Park, Reverse, L1, L2, Drive, you have to manually shift the car no matter what. Is this wrong? If so what does the reverse manual valve body do for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monte70car Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 you have the right ideal on the valve body. here is a picture of the one in the nomad it has a bench seat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 I had a B&M Megashifter with a bench in my 71 Monte at some point in time: Megashifter with Bench Seat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 I have a 700r4, with a Hurst ProMatic 2 ratchet shifter and a bench seat. I purposely chose the long handled 'truck' version of the shifter because I had a bench seat, and while wearing the stock monte shoulder belt, I would not be able to reach the car type shifter comfortably, so this is what I wound up with: (click on the pics to see the full size ones) My shifter in park: This is the shifter in 'drive' which is the same position for all 4 gears, OD, D, 2 and 1. it's in the 'center' of the ratchet, my shifter will ratchet up or down at the same time. this is not a very flattering picture.. LOL.. but it clearly demonstrates why I wanted the long-handle truck shifter. the camera is sitting on the passenger side arm rest (gotta love the timer option) and the car was pointed into the sun.. so that's why it's so bright heh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 yes, my car is a mess. and no, I can't move the bench seat because of the ratchet shifter.. the bench is all the way back (Where I like it) and it stays there. I need to paint a thing on the side of the car that says 'you must be this tall to drive' basicly unless you are mighty close to 6 feet tall. u will have a very awkward time of trying to drive my car :> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heckeng Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 Like Tim mentioned, you need to put your bench seat in the position you like it and THEN install the shifter, otherwise the shifter could limit your seat position to a position that is uncomfortable to drive. There is no way I could drive with my seat all the way back with my short legs! Also, I've used several shifters and really like the B&M quick silver the best. It is not complicated and is very smooth. In the pic below, I moved the seat to my preferred driving position, then marked the floor and installed the shifter so that I have about 1/4" clearance between the seat and the shifter base. Worked out very nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 the hurst takes a little getting used to; to get thru the ratchets.. but once you get the hang of it, it's slick. it's what the call a one-handed ratchet shifter. Some shifters require you to use both hands to unlock them to get into/out of park. it looks like the quick silver is a one-hander too... from park I have to pull the shifter lever up, and then back, that's reverse, then it drops down and I pull it back again for neutral. now I'm in the ratchets, I can pull back two gears at a time (going down) and push up one gear at time. going into park is just the opposite, ratchet up to nuetral, pull up push foward, that's reverse, pull up push fowards and then back down and that's park. of course the pro matic 2 also has provisions for park/nuetral (NHRA accepted) and also provisions for back up lights. Since my steering column lock has never worked from day one, I just removed all teh shift linkage stuff the column and put it away. i just haven't bothered to take the column shfiter lever off yet :> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 HEY Tim...if you cleaned out your car you might pickup a tenth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 24, 2008 Share Posted October 24, 2008 i clean it out for the track sam. The subwoofer even stays in the pits. I dont take the amps out tho because there's no easy way to disconnect that 4ga wire powering them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN454Monte Posted October 24, 2008 Author Share Posted October 24, 2008 Cool Guys !! That answers my questions! Thanks a bunch for the help. With luck, I will have some new pictures of the Ignition install here some time Friday to share!! Thanks again!! GL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN454Monte Posted October 24, 2008 Author Share Posted October 24, 2008 Tim my wife thanks you...after those pictures of the car she says I can never complain again about her putting the dogs in our vehicle and the resulting dog hair everywhere mess.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN454Monte Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 I'm a Little off the topic here, but here are the pictures I promised of the ignition upgrades... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 here's how I did my MSD setup greg... I got my stuff used from Sam, that's why it's all MSD brand ~ u can't see it here, but I also have an MSD proBillet distributor now too. I've since cleaned up all those wires... as usual, I was running out of daylight, and took the pic before I was totally done ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Tim my wife thanks you...after those pictures of the car she says I can never complain again about her putting the dogs in our vehicle and the resulting dog hair everywhere mess.... I've said it b4.. and I'll say it again.. my car is a driver _FIRST_ and a show piece second. When I first assembled this monte in 2004, I took a pic of the gauge cluster on 4/21/04. It had 9,357.0 miles on the odo. it's now got 39,864.1 miles 30,000 miles, 5 engines, 3 transmissions and 2 axles in 4 years.. u bet I drive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN454Monte Posted October 25, 2008 Author Share Posted October 25, 2008 here's how I did my MSD setup greg... I got my stuff used from Sam, that's why it's all MSD brand ~ u can't see it here, but I also have an MSD proBillet distributor now too. I've since cleaned up all those wires... as usual, I was running out of daylight, and took the pic before I was totally done ~ Cable management...it's a PITA ...I think I am going to get some of the OEM ribbed sleeves for mine and clean it up some once I get home. Back on topic, I am going to hold on the floor shift for now. I still have some work to do on the rear suspension and control arms so I will wrap that up first. I'm real anxious to see what the new gears do for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusdude Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 Has anyone tried the Lokar setups?? They look pretty nice and looks like once they are installed ...they look like they belong there.Just need to find proper placement on the floor for the hole.Then it looks like a shifter boot would cover it. Here is a link Lokar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 The lokar stuff looks nicely made. I have seen their stuff on display at car shows, but never actually handled one. The problem I have with the Lokar is that I imagine them to function like the cheap universal shifters like this one: picture I didn't have a good experience with this type in the past. I'm not sure about the Lokar, but the mr. gasket model had NO detents, NO reverse lockout, and NO neutral safety switch. What it amounted to was a lever mounted to a pivot. The "click, click, click" was just what was inside the trans, and you had to feel for it in the shifter....you had no idea what gear you were in unless you were counting those far-away clicks. Oh; there was also the problem of bumping that lever, and it could send you into any gear, or out of Park, etc. The travel was also really short, so things happened fast with minimal movement of the lever. You would put a little effort to pull the trans out of Park and it would suddenly jump you to 2nd perhaps, so you would have to shift into 1st and count clicks to find Drive. There was no way I'd try to shift manualy while the car was in motion. If you were at a dead stop and had found the gear you wanted, the best thing was to stay well away from that lever if the car was moving. Ok, there's my rant. I hope the Lokar is better than that. I just want a shifter that is rigid enough that I can rest my hand on it without it shifting gears all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 mark.. that shifter you linked to is for a manual trans... most manual transmissions I know of, don't have a 'park' position.. i paid just under $200 for my Hurst ProMatic 2 (the 700r4 versions are bit more pricey) but I drive with my hand on the knob all the time. it's a LONG pull on that truck type handle between gears so it's rarley a problem,b ut u do need to make sure that you go all the way to the stops, or it can leave the transmissions shift valve 'between' gears. but mine is a full ratchet shifter.. not just a basic floor shifter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallaby Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Look again Tim. The heading at the top of the page and the caption below the photo say "3-4 spd automatic shifter" or something similar. Actually, it did function like a manual trans shifter, except it only had 1st and 2nd gear positions and it was connected at the other end to an automatic trans! 1st gear was Park, and 2nd gear was low. Somewhere in between were all those other gears like N and R and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
680HPStroker Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 B&M Pro-Rachet(carbon fiber) is what I have. The shifter is located for my driving position and I have no reach issues with a bench seat. I'm on the short side and was concerned about reach when I put the shifter in, but it's just fine. Try it, you will like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc8oye Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Quote: This quality shifter features an 11" chrome plated solid steel stick with a black knob. It has stop bolts for positive shifting and the linkage and mounting hardware are all zinc plated for corrosion resistance. Shift boot and trim ring are inclulded. wierd.. I've only ever heard of 'stop bolts' on manual transmission shifters *shrug* guess that's one on me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andreas Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Here is what the LOKAR shifters have: • Neutral Safety Switch • Positive Lock-Out in Park and Neutral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN454Monte Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 Okay, so I picked out a shifter. Maybe. I'm torn. I want to ask a question and feel free to let er rip. I want to do this myself, I am handy with a car for most part, been around them enough years, worked on enough of them that I'm certainly not afraid of working on one. This is part of the project I want to do. Myself. 90% of my work gets farmed out to my mechanic, as I have no garage. To me something like this keeps me in touch with my car, it gives me a sense of having made my mark on it, I guess that is silly, but to me, it certainly sucks to be farming out almost every aspect of this to others. We'll not mention the cost in labor as well, that could be very well used elsewhere. Labor for the Gears and my latest ignition upgrade and a few minor things on the transmission...700.00. So here's the deal, If I did this myself the best I could possibly hope for is a set of Ramps and maybe some rubber foam mating under the car to try to keep the sharp gravel from digging into my hide. It's in the 50's up where I live, long range forecast while I am home says that and lower. I'm under no illusion this will be a one day project. Would you tackle something like installing a floor shifter in this car if you were in my shoes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN454Monte Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 Thanks Allan. I'll give it a shot I suppose. Lets hope the weather cooperates... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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