So, another iron I have in the fire...the Trans Am shifter.
The car may have an automatic, but I still Ike to shift manually when I'm really on the throttle, or downshift while braking. The factory shifter is OK, but I really wanted something more error-proof.
There used to be several designed-to-fit 3rd gen specific shifters. Today there is one, the old B&M Quicksilver. I loved this shifter in the 80s, but to my eye, in this application, it is too tall, and trimmed entirely in chrome, it sticks out like a sore thumb in the thrid gens all plastic grey and black interior. There used to be a Hurst dual gate, which I liked a lot, especially for a Pontiac. But they are long out of production. The company who bought all of Hursts service parts assembles new ones from those parts, but they are pricey, and from the reviews I've read, prone to errors (allowing incorrect shifts), they work loose over time and become sloppy, their Hurst cables break, etc. Not worth the trouble and expense.
A few weeks back, I found this guy on facebook.
So I had bought a spare factory shifter a few years ago to attempt this myself, using a MOPAR SlapStik shifter as the pattern or inspiration. But when I saw this guy was already making them for 3 speeds, I just had to ask if he'd like to try an OD trans shifter. I sent him MANY pictures and measurements over a period of a week or so, and he thought he could make it work. So he gets to broaden his market, and I get the shifter I wanted without the experimentation on my part.
Here's my unit completed, and in-transit back to me as we speak.
The car may have an automatic, but I still Ike to shift manually when I'm really on the throttle, or downshift while braking. The factory shifter is OK, but I really wanted something more error-proof.
There used to be several designed-to-fit 3rd gen specific shifters. Today there is one, the old B&M Quicksilver. I loved this shifter in the 80s, but to my eye, in this application, it is too tall, and trimmed entirely in chrome, it sticks out like a sore thumb in the thrid gens all plastic grey and black interior. There used to be a Hurst dual gate, which I liked a lot, especially for a Pontiac. But they are long out of production. The company who bought all of Hursts service parts assembles new ones from those parts, but they are pricey, and from the reviews I've read, prone to errors (allowing incorrect shifts), they work loose over time and become sloppy, their Hurst cables break, etc. Not worth the trouble and expense.
A few weeks back, I found this guy on facebook.
So I had bought a spare factory shifter a few years ago to attempt this myself, using a MOPAR SlapStik shifter as the pattern or inspiration. But when I saw this guy was already making them for 3 speeds, I just had to ask if he'd like to try an OD trans shifter. I sent him MANY pictures and measurements over a period of a week or so, and he thought he could make it work. So he gets to broaden his market, and I get the shifter I wanted without the experimentation on my part.
Here's my unit completed, and in-transit back to me as we speak.
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