Thread: C4 wont upshift....lokar dont feel positive

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i have but havent installed a new vac modulator....but that lokar shifter is about as jinky as i've ever seen....fixin to put a b&m or other shifter on and just weld a long shift lever on it and then cover the whole thing with a leather boot.....am i missing something or is the lokar a terrible shifter

yes i've read almost all of the archived posts about both

did it shift before you put on the jinky shifter ?

First of all, do you have the vacuum hooked the manifold port (below the throttle plates) NOT the ported carb port? They wont shift smooth, if at all, on the wrong port. And yep, I HAVE hooked a C4 wrong port.

Lokar shifters are vague at best. Being tall, I often rest my knee on the shifter lever and end up in second. To do it again, I would opt for a cable shifter with positive detents - and may yet. Great shifter, but needs better positive detents, a subject that I have discussed with Lokar a couple times

I actually like Lokar shifters. They aren't meant to be a positive racing type like the B & M types, but are for street use. You have to fiddle with them a little after installation to get them dialed in. Mine was dropping down from third to second gear on hard bumps, but that was because I didn't tighten up the jam nuts enough. Once I did that, no more problem.

I think some of the problems come in because people pick one that is way too tall, just for coolness, and that causes the shifter to be a little wimpy. I had a 16 incher in my 23 and my Son Don has a taller Lokar in his T. Mine seemed a little more positive IMO, but his looks better for his car due to the tallness.

One thing I found helps a lot is to get the knob adapter and put a larger knob on it. I had been running a large round Gennie knob on my 23 that was a gift from my Son Dan. I liked the way I just had to put my hand on top and push down on the whole thing to get it into gear or shift. When I sold the car I kept that knob and put the original back on. The last day I drove the car it felt really strange and harder to put into gear with the small original knob.

By comparision, last night we installed a Gennie shifter on my Son Dans rpu. I know it's a personal thing, but I am not nuts about the action of the Gennie compared to the Lokar. I find the action to be less positive than the Lokar. I like the Lokars so much I will be ordering one for the 29 rpu I am going to start building, and that is after using the one in my 23 for 3 years of driving. I never had a missed gear, even when running hard through the gears.

Don

I use Lokar shifters in mine and customers cars and they have always been fine once setup correctly.

otay....put the modulator on and whatdaya know...a BB size hunk of metal came out of the hole....not good....thinkin on gettin a built AOD instead cause this one is toast

Get a TREMEC and another pedal

Originally Posted by rspears

Get a TREMEC and another pedal

You can be rest assured if I had foot box room, that's the way I would have gone

same here, limited room for my big ole cluds....ordered an AOD, the C4 is out and on the floor

I honestly wish I had removed the stick setup and gone with a C4 this time when I redid my 27. In a small body it really takes up a lot of foot room for that 3rd pedal, and the Hurst shifter is very close to my right leg. I enjoyed my 23 with it's TH350 as much as if it were a stick, and in some ways it was more enjoyable. (holding down a stiff clutch in traffic gets old REAL quick)

Don

and i found 2 locking bolts on the lokar were not locked....lots better now....info on this forum helped on that one...thanks....b

Glad you got your Lokar straightened out. Like you, I found out you have to play with them a little once installed to get them adjusted correctly. But in the 3 years mine was on my 23 I really had no major issues with it, and never missed an upshift when playing around in traffic. I'd also suggest anyone who has one buys the adapter to run a big knob that you just push down on to shift........much easier than pushing that little button on the original IMO.

As a side note, it appears something may be going on at Gennie Shifters.......rumors on other forums about them going out of business. There had been a rebutal from Gennie posted on their website, saying that a disgruntaled employee was spreading those rumors, and they were not true, however, another guy just posted that he talked to them the other day and they were "selling off inventory and had lost some suppliers." He was trying to buy a shifter from them and they didn't have all the parts in stock to do it. There was also talk about some employees not being paid for some time.

I have no hard facts, other than what was posted there, but thought I would just mention it in case anyone is anticipating buying a Gennie in the near future.

Don

I really like the Lokar style auto shifter, just hart to find one with the tall style, but operated by a cable. With a hard mount, my c-6 and 460 engine the shifter would be coming out of the middle of my seat. Finally went with a B&M truck shifter, with cable mount. They seem to work well, but only used to back out of garage so far!