Thread: Lokar or Gennie?

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I have heard a lot of rumbling lately about the quality of Lokar versus Gennie and visa versa.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

I bought and installed a Lokar unit last year when I was building my roadster pickup, and I must say that I am very pleased with it.
The safety lockout switch was a bit of a pig to adjust, (had to screw around with various thicknesses of spacer washers under the shoulder of the screw in switch body), but once I got that sorted out, the Lokar has performed flawlessly.
I did a bit of research before buying the Lokar, instead of the Gennie unit.-----If you use a Gennie unit, you have unlimited choice of gearshift knobs, as the detent is operated by pulling the shift lever sideways, so no internal push-rod is incorporated into the gearshift and shifter knob.
The Lokar unit, on the other hand, has this internal push-rod system, so you are limited to Lokar shifter knobs that have a "push-button" top to activate the internal pushrod that unlocks the detent.---for some of us "geezers" who have arthritic hands, this can be an issue.
I have heard it said by other "experts" that the shift gate for the detent on the Gennie units is not made of hardened steel, and that consequently it wears very quickly and the shifter becomes rather "sloppy" in a relatively short time, and you lose the feel of whether or not you are in any specific gear.---I am only repeating what I have heard from others about this "rapid wear" flaw on the Gennie units.

Originally posted by brianrupnow
The Lokar unit, on the other hand, has this internal push-rod system, so you are limited to Lokar shifter knobs that have a "push-button" top to activate the internal pushrod that unlocks the detent

They just introduced an adapter to allow other knobs.

Thanks for the replies!

Any idea how the knob adapter works? I could find nothing on their sight.

My son spends a lot of time on the H.A.M.B. forum and the consensus over their is that the Gennie is the better of the two.

I have yet to talk to anyone with a Lokar who has had any complaints.

I guess, like everything else, ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances!

Bob---How could that (a knob adapter) be done? Something has to depress that flexible cable running down the inside of the shift lever.--The only thing I can think of that would let you use any knob is some kind of "add on" lever that you squeeze with your fingers, or a pull-up style lever that you pull up with your fingers while the palm of your hand was on the shifter knob (I've seen that on some factory stock car in the sixties but I don't remember what). Either way it sounds kinda ugly and not too workable.--- -----Now, putting on my design engineers hat, (the one I wear all week), I suppose you could make a sliding tube that fits over the top 2" of the shift lever, with a stud on top of the tube that will fit any old gearshift knob, and some method of attaching the tube to the flexible cable that pushes down the detent mechanism, and a compression spring that fits between the top of the shift lever and the inside top of the adapter tube. That way you push down the gearshift knob, which makes the tube slide down over the outside diameter of the gearshift, which pushes down the flexible cable to disengage the detent mechanism down at the transmission end, thus allowing you to change gears.-----still sounds pretty hokey to me.

Originally posted by Wel
Any idea how the knob adapter works? I could find nothing on their sight.

They just debuted it at SEMA this week, probably haven't updated their site yet.

You should know too that Gennie Shifter was recently purchased by the folks at Streamline, Denver CO. Don't know whether that's good or bad, it just is.

Originally posted by brianrupnow
Bob---How could that (a knob adapter) be done? Something has to depress that flexible cable running down the inside of the shift lever

The best way I can describe it is it's a chromed collar that replaces their existing knob unit, and has a threaded top for the replacement knob. All you do is press down the entire "new" knob assembly instead of the center button on the original. The demo unit they had there was very clean, very smooth, and close to invisible. If I were psychic I'd have taken a picture.

Brian, I see you edited your querie while I was typing my reply and you sound like you've pretty much gotten the idea.

Well I bought the Gennie because I did not want the push button at all regardless of the knob. I'm still in the assembly stage so I don't know how the detent wears. So far the Gennie seems to be a high quality item but there are little things to mention. The hand brake mount is farther to the right than I would like and the only thing that holds the unit to the trans is a round plug that fits into a dimple-hole on the side of the trans. Now that I have the Gennie knob it does not thread out at the right space, but I guess I will try to put a small amount of something into the hole to make it tighten at just the right place. The single rod to the trans shift lever on the side of the trans is pretty flimsy and I wonder if it will take abuse if I decide to manually shift from low to second by holding it in low longer and then shifting to second. I am guessing that that little rod which looks less than 1/8" diameter won't take much abuse and it will be better for me to adjust the shift point for low gear than to frequently use a manual hold in low and then stab at second. Anyway I like the looks and feel of the Gennie and if the hand brake were more to the left I would rave about it. As it is I will live with it and make it work.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

the shift gate is harder than the shift lever on the genie. it will "saw" into the lever and you'll lose detent for park. i have had to repair several genie shifters because of this flaw. if you have one do not let it ride on the gate when you shift. notice the grove in the shifter ? not suppose to be there.

Shine---you were the "expert" that I was referring to in my post that told about rapid wear being a "flaw" in the Gennie shifter design.

You guys have been a great help! I really appreciate it!

I'm going to order Lokar's 16" Nostalgia shifter.

Thanks again!

This is the car as I bought it. It was hot rodded in the 60's and has been stored for approx 20 years.

I am in the process of putting a Chassis Engineering front axle kit under it and new exhaust. other than that it is a nice original steel car.

Oh ya....I drove home with a bag over my head because of the wheels that are on it,

Originally posted by Wel
Oh ya....I drove home with a bag over my head because of the wheels that are on it,

Glad to hear you say that!

Shine, will it help to put some grease on the shaft? Allow me to say that I have to learn everything the hard way from unexpected problems even though I try to "think ahead". If I ask everything ahead of time I seem foolish but if I don't ask then I get into these sort of traps due to lack of awareness. Well anyway I still don't want to use the Lokar button so I'll just lube the shifter shaft and maybe that will help? Maybe Gennie will come out with a harder shaft? Shine, how long did it take to wear that much and when did you purchase the Gennie in case it may have been fixed with a harder shaft since the ownership changed?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I bought a Lokar after searching for the right look (similar to OE).
The Lokar went in just fine. Had to cut out a new hump hole and weld up the old one, but that was easy.
Only problem with the whole thing is I can't open the ashtray in Park Good thing I don't smoke
Jeff

Originally posted by Wel
I have heard a lot of rumbling lately about the quality of Lokar versus Gennie and visa versa.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks.