Modified ratchet shifter in stock consul pics

[Ttype6]

hello people; stupid question 902. Why would you want a ratchet shifter on these Buicks? I guess it's a drag race thing where you start in a lower gear and slap an up shift.
Tell me to you racers out there. What gear do you start off at the line with?
IBBY

I use the factory shifter,but I do manually shift into third. I get a better shift into third when I manually shift it if I shift it at a higher rpm than it would shift on its own. I make sure that it automatically shifts into third at a lower rpm than is ideal. I do this in the valve body. When I release my transbreak by moving the shifter forward from first without depressing the button,the lever is only allowed to move as far as the drive position because of the Stageright detent plate. As soon as the 1-2 shift is made automatically,I pull the shift lever back down into second without depressing the shifter button. When pulling down into second,the shifter stops at the second gear position because of the design of the Stageright detent plate. Now I'm able to manually shift into third at the rpm I want.

 

[Mark E.]

hello people; stupid question 902. Why would you want a ratchet shifter on these Buicks? I guess it's a drag race thing where you start in a lower gear and slap an up shift.
Tell me to you racers out there. What gear do you start off at the line with?
IBBY

Regular driving. Makes it much more fun.

Start off? First

Seriously I use it all the time. Ratchets up and down. Makes commuting better.

Mark E.

 

[Phoneguy]

DCVING 6-that is exactly what I would do except maybe extend the shifter an inch or two higher. Looks awesome. I gave you a PM too.

Phoneguy- they make a 3 speed and 4 speed, it doesn't matter, they work the same. Did you have a B&M Pro Ratchet? If you did what do you mean by double ratchet?

Yes I had a B&M Pro Ratchet, loved it except for the double hit to and from Park.

This is from their manual:

On GM TH-200, TH-250, TH-350, TH-400,
TH200 4R, TH700 R4, 4L60, 4L60E, 4L65E and
Powerglide transmissions it is necessary to
shift the ratchet twice to get from Reverse to
Park. These transmissions have twice the
travel from Reverse to Park as between the
other gears.
If you only ratchet once out of
Reverse you will not be fully in Park gear
and the car may move

Bryan

 

[coach]

I started a thread a few years ago just asking for pics. Here's mine. Similar to Claude's but I did not use the factory console plate. I just built a custom Carbon Fiber plate to finish mine off.

 

[TurboTdr3.8]

Can you use the stock shifter cable with the B&M ratchet shifter as I running a TB400 . Has anyone done this ?

 

[coach]

Can you use the stock shifter cable with the B&M ratchet shifter as I running a TB400 . Has anyone done this ?

Nope. Aftermarket cable needed. You have to mod the bracket the cable goes to on the tranny also to keep the column working as factory.
I made this from a column shift regal non turbo car. I believe Claude did the same for his. Works just like factory.

 

[toofastforyou]

Nope. Aftermarket cable needed. You have to mod the bracket the cable goes to on the tranny also to keep the column working as factory.
I made this from a column shift regal non turbo car. I believe Claude did the same for his. Works just like factory.

Yeah, that's what I did with the car's original transmission, but I did the same with my new TH400. Everything works is if the car came that way (neutral switch, back up lamps, etc...)

Claude.

 

[66P]

Yep same on transmission.Coach nice shifter and thank you for the booster plate.It works great sorry i never got back to you on that great productManually shifting around town fun

 

[TurboTdr3.8]

does the aftermarket cable go the same route as the stock cable , old out new in same hole in floor ?

 

[66P]

No you end up making a new hole it was worth it in the end just make shore you putt a rubber grommet in there i tried using the stock hole but it was kinked in the hole

 

[coach]

does the aftermarket cable go the same route as the stock cable , old out new in same hole in floor ?

Strike 2...cable is on the left side of shifter...at least on my shifter. Mine is the B&M Carbon Fiber Pistol Grip Pro Stick.

 

[toofastforyou]

Here's a picture showing the routing for the cable...If you look closely, you'll see the modified bracket for the cable.

Claude.

 

[northerngn]

Yes I had a B&M Pro Ratchet, loved it except for the double hit to and from Park.

This is from their manual:

On GM TH-200, TH-250, TH-350, TH-400,
TH200 4R, TH700 R4, 4L60, 4L60E, 4L65E and
Powerglide transmissions it is necessary to
shift the ratchet twice to get from Reverse to
Park. These transmissions have twice the
travel from Reverse to Park as between the
other gears.
If you only ratchet once out of
Reverse you will not be fully in Park gear
and the car may move

Bryan

He is correct because that is how his old shifter works...It's in my car now LOL
I grabbed a gear indicator for the bowl in the column and used a silver sharpie to mark my gears...
Floor shift, gear indicated on dash!
Also stripped the bristles out of two 1.99 snow brushed to fill the gap... pics in a sec...

 

[northerngn]

He is correct because that is how his old shifter works...It's in my car now LOL
I grabbed a gear indicator for the bowl in the column and used a silver sharpie to mark my gears...
Floor shift, gear indicated on dash!
Also stripped the bristles out of two 1.99 snow brushed to fill the gap... pics in a sec...

The gear indicator is sloppy (I know) but NO ONE ever notices it till I tell them...works good for racing too!

 

[Spooling]

I tried to maintain a "somewhat" stock appearance:

 

[toofastforyou]

I tried to maintain a "somewhat" stock appearance:

Wow...one of the cleanest "stock appearing" installations I've seen! great job!

Claude.

 

[nash421]

I dig that... Good work!

 

[trailinjake]

Spoolin... You did a GREAT job installing that keeping the stock look. That's a B@M?

 

[Spooling]

It is the B&M Shifter.

Very nice that you guys (TooFast & Coach) posted pics of the bracket you modified - to allow the rod to be used with the new shifter. I simply removed the rod and placed it in the box with my OEM Shifter. I guess another job - for another day... maybe.

So, I can only assume that the following will be different - with the rod removed:
--------------------------------
1. Reverse Lights will not work - unless the steering column sleeve is rotated by hand?
2. Saftey Starting Function - allowing the engine to start in Park or Neutral only - will not work as designed - Hence simply be certain the trans is in Park before rolling over the starter motor?

Thanks !!!

 

[toofastforyou]

1. Reverse Lights will not work - unless the steering column sleeve is rotated by hand?
2. Saftey Starting Function - allowing the engine to start in Park or Neutral only - will not work as designed - Hence simply be certain the trans is in Park before rolling over the starter motor?

Thanks !!!

Question #1 & 2: Answer = YES.



Claude.