Thread: Lokar/ Gennie shifter preference?

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Hi all,
First off, Im new to the site and looks great!
...Im in the process of having a 700 od built to replace the 350 TH thats currently in my 37 chevy coupe. My question is..Does anyone have a preference between a Lokar and a Gennie shifter?

The car has a Lokar in it right now and the button in the shift knob rattles and drives me nuts. Is there a way to "tighten" it? I think Im going to have to change the shifter when I install the 700?
If thats true , I could use anyones shifter..Has anyone had any experience with the Gennie? It looks to me like you can use almost any knob on it? Any other "old"looking shifters out there?

Any Thoughts???

This has been kicked around on this Forum before and the general opinion was that the steel pattern in the bottom of the Gennie might be subject to rapid wear, but I bought the Gennie anyway because I did not want the Lokar button. I do not have the car running yet so I don't know how long the plate lasts. I put a glob of high temp grease on it and I looked hard at putting a thin metal wrap around the bottom to hold the grease in. Now that I think about it I think some heavy aluminum foil could be brought up under the bottom of the shifter and wrapped around the base of the shifter to hold a big glob of grease around the shift plate. I also bought a Gennie handbrake to make the Model A cockpit look a little like the original, but I have since learned that a flat Vega style handbrake might have been less obtrusive in a small space. The handbrake does look stock and installed pretty easy after I got the lines installed for the rear brake cables. The tech guy at Gennie said not to worry if the shift pattern plate wears because he will replace it but he has not had that complaint.

Don Shillady
Retired SCientist/teen rodder

Originally posted by slamd 37
Hi all,
First off, Im new to the site and looks great!
...Im in the process of having a 700 od built to replace the 350 TH thats currently in my 37 chevy coupe. My question is..Does anyone have a preference between a Lokar and a Gennie shifter?

The car has a Lokar in it right now and the button in the shift knob rattles and drives me nuts. Is there a way to "tighten" it? I think Im going to have to change the shifter when I install the 700?
If thats true , I could use anyones shifter..Has anyone had any experience with the Gennie? It looks to me like you can use almost any knob on it? Any other "old"looking shifters out there?

Any Thoughts???

I installed the Lockar probably go with the Giene but will check out the B&M first. Ed ke6bnl

Been running a Gennie Shifter in my 32 for the last 5-6 years.

Trouble free.

I like it because you can run any knob you want, but more importantly you don't have to screw around with a button to select gears.

The Gennie Shifter is intuitive in that it operates much like a column shifter.

Gear selection with the Gennie is easy, all you do is pull the shift lever to the left to get out of park or into reverse, low or second.

That said, I like the Lokar mounting bracket better.
Easier fore and aft orientation although the Gennie bracket puts the shifter in the right place for most cars.

My friend runs the short Gennie in his 29 roadster and it's easy to drive.
I have the 23" tall one and it's even easier.

Originally posted by Ed ke6bnl
I installed the Lockar probably go with the Giene but will check out the B&M first. Ed ke6bnl

Fwiw, I had a B&M competition shifter in the 32 for about 6 years.
Swapped it out so Sweetie could have an easier time driving the car.
You guessed, she hasn't driven the car since the shifter swap.

Anyway, the B&M worked well, dependable and the only problem was reaching the reverse cocking lever.
I was going to make an extension for it, but never did.

The B&M shifter is in the new project and it may be raised up off the floor a touch as well as have an extended reverse cocking lever.

I have a short Gennie with an optional straight lever in my coupe. I like it. I don't care for the Lokar button, either.

Thanks for the input so far... Ive been kinda leaning toward the Gennie,just to get rid of the button in the knob.
I also see that B&M is advertising a street rod shifter that doesnt look too bad. . has anyone used it? I dont want the "race" look of most of their shifters...

it is the shift lever that wears on the genie. i have replaced several. you will lose detent lock for park .the plate acts like a saw blade.

Shine, now I remember the picture you showed of a goove worn into the short end of the stick. Were the sticks that wore "dry" and will lubrication help prevent the wear or will the grease just run out of the joint when the trans gets warm?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I've been looking for a shifter for months. The Gennie is exactly what I've been looking for. DAMN, that shifter is pricey.

Well you do get a nice picture of a brunette with the shifter and the tech guy is very helpful as when I broke a set screw on the end of a brake cable and he sent one right away. Mymain question is whether anyone else has figured out how to put some sort of bag of grease around the bottom of the stick?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I have also been kicking this around for the past several weeks and have decided to go with the Gennie.

I bought a floor mount shifter (TCI "StreetFighter") but decided to not install in my 29. Anyone interested in this NHRA/IHRA-approved unit drop me a line. It lists for $186 and I will sell it for $120 or best offer.

(http:www.tciauto.com)

JC

Yes this One!
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[quote]:Originally posted by DennyW
This one ?[quote]
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[quote]I have also been kicking this around for the past several weeks and have decided to go with the Gennie.

I bought a floor mount shifter (TCI "StreetFighter") but decided to not install in my 29. Anyone interested in this NHRA/IHRA-approved unit drop me a line. It lists for $186 and I will sell it for $120 or best offer.

(http:www.tciauto.com)[quote]

jc