Are shift kits all that much worth it? My cous used to have a 76 (not positive though) Pontiac Firebird. Beautiful maroon car with the big gold eagle on the hood. Suffice to say, he had a Hurst Shifter in it and the car would rocket like nothin else on this earth. Are they that god for trucks, too? Is it worth it to have one? Will it make my tansmition shift harder? Cause right now it's almost too smooth of a shift. Is it something I can do myself, or is it more of an advanced project? I have an 86 F-250 HD 4x4 with 4.10 gears and a C-6 tranny, 351W, Edelbrock Performer intake, Edelbrock 600 4bbl carb, Flowmaster 30 series exhaust. What is a better shifter brand? Hurst, B&M, any others? What's an approx cost?

 

The shifter on the floor has absolutely no relation to a shift kit. A floor shifter simply makes it easier to choose which gear you want to put your automatic tranny into. A shift kit is a modification of the valve body inside the transmission. It's the aluminum block inside the tranny pan, with all the passages and stuff in it that regulates shift timing and pressure. B&M makes an easy to install shift kit for about $30 called the Shift Improver; at least the one I bought for a TH350 was easy to install. Gonna put one on my C6 tomorrow as a matter of fact, I'll let you know how it went. But basically it's just unbolt the valve body, change the metal plate between the valve body and transmission case, and bolt it back up. Couple hours max, just need the shift kit and some oil for supplies, tools is just some sockets to remove the tranny pan and valve body, and a drill if you need to drill a new hole in the metal seperator plate. Real simple, just follow the instructions in the kit. It will make your tranny shift harder, and also possibly at higher RPM depending on which modifications you do when you install it. A truck/RV shift setting would probably be the best bet, unless you want to spin tires between shifts or drag race. It will makes the shifts firmer without adding stress to the internal parts of the tranny, or your driveline. Just takes away the soft-shifting that is there for user comfort. Anyways it's all in the instructions with the kit. Alot easier to do than it would seem.

 

I just got my C6 rebuilt and I got a stage two shift kit put in and it shifts hard but good. I have a 84 f150 xlt with a 351w with all the toys (headers, Edelbrock 600cfm 4 bbl, Edelbrock intake, RV Cam, MSD plugs and wires) anyway it shifts like a dream, it shifts hard enough to skip my cd player but it feels great. I don't know how easy of a job this would be but I know they have to take the whole tranny right out, so I would only do it if you were gettin the tranny rebuilt because they had to take one of the headers off and everything. If for any reason you have the tranny out go for it.

Canadian Fordman

 

My tranny mechanic has had the good fortune of rebuilding 3 trannies for me over the past 3 years (all differenct vehicles). He put a shift kit in each of them, even my little Chevy Lumina. I like the feel of the stiffer and more positive shift and it does make mine shift a little higher in the rpm range which I like.

I really like the B&M Megashifter. It's a ratchet shifter that really works nice. I put one in my son's Camaro and we had a blast with the thing. I've been toying with the idea of putting one in my truck sometime in the near future.

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik

 

SO in other words, all I'd have to do is unbolt and remove the plate on the floor where my 4x4 shift is, more or less bolt on the shift kit and I'm done? I'm still confused at what it does, how it works. What do I do to use it? Do I basically put the transmission in drive and drive like normal, but when I want to, shift it to change gears? Like if I'm going up hill in the snow and I want a lower gear, just leave the trans in drive and downshift on the shifter to the lowest gear? Does it just use the 3 speed auto I have now as shift points? I don't know if it's worth it for me. I could get a kit for around 30 or 40 bucks, how much would I expect a transmission shop to charge to put it in if I'm not sure of myself still? I don't want to get into something I can't finish here. Any good websites explaining shift kits, or showing diagrams? And what is the difference between a B&M Megashifter shift kit, and a Hurst Shifter? Or rather, what's the diff between a shift kit and a shifter?

 

I can get to it from inside the cab by removing the tranny cover in the center of the cab? Also, if you install a shift kit, is that what you use to drive permanently, or can you still shift with your column shift into drive and just drive it like normal? Does it affect neutral or reverse, or like on the column, D, 2 and 1? Thanks guys

Ryan

 

You would drive your truck like normal with a shift kit. If you want to drop your column shifter into 1 or 2 for a downshift, that's OK. The shift kit only sharpens the shift points and usually puts the shift points a little higher in the rpm range, it doesn't change how you would normally drive your truck.

The B&M Megashifter is a ratchet shifter that replaces your column mount shifter and mounts to the floor. The advantages are that you cannot accidently overshift into Park or Reverse when trying to power shift your tranny. In fact, I cannot get a feel with the stock column linkage to do much shifting at all on the column. The ratchet part of your shifter insures that you do not miss a shift point from stop. You normally drive in Drive, but once you stop you can pull back on the shifter twice and it ratchets the linkage down to 1st (lever is still in same physical location as drive, but tranny is in 1st and shift indicator shows 1st), when you punch the gas off the line, simply bump the shifter forward to shift to 2nd at your desired rpm, and bump it again to shift into drive. Hurst has ratchet shifters also, I've just had experience with the B&M and I thought it was a lot of fun.

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik

 

Ok, I think this is beginning to make sense. So in other words, going through each step, I'd hop in my rig, turn the key (she's in park at this point). Put the shift on the column in drive, and if I wanted, I could drive her like I have been all along just like this without even touching the shift kit. If I choose to, at say a stop, I could ratchet down twice to drop it in first, but the stick on the column still reads drive. Take off, and rather than the tranny shifting at a given rpm, I can shift it whenever I wanted to, to second, and then into drive, where I'd be back to normal driving like highway speed. Then if i wanted to, I could leave it here and drive her like i have been all along again. And shifting into Park, Neutral or Reverse is all done with the column...cool stuff! Sounds like fun to have, just to have control of shift points, off the line, get a race set up, rather than truck or rv, shift into neutral at the light, rev up a bit, back in drive and rip into first.....get some high rpms, shift to second, little tire squeel, then drive and haul outta there...man, I want one (that is assuming what I've said is accurate)! But like I said, you can if you choose not use the shifter and just use your column as always? What happens if you put the truck in neutral on the column at a light and shift the shift kit into first and give her gas? does that actually put it into first and you take off, even though the column is in neutral?

Ryan

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 19-Sep-01 AT 11:49 AM (EST)[/font][p]So I'm lookin at shifters...here's the site:

http://www.bmracing.com/noflash/index.html

And they show one called the Pro-Ratchet. It looks neat, but I'm just still confused looking at it. It's got the shift ****, but next to it it has like a "minishift lever" showing Park, Reverse, Neutral, 1, 2, Drive. what's the little shift lever for, or does that just move when you hit the shift **** to show where you are? how does it work? Do you pull the **** back and it shifts down through the gears? P, R, N, D, 1, 2? and you push forward to go back up? 2, 1, D, N, R, P?

There's one on here called the "Truck Megashifter". Is that what I'd want? Is the Megashifter the same as a shift kit?

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 19-Sep-01 AT 12:05 PM (EST)[/font][p]The B&M Megashifter is a ratchet shifter that replaces your column mount shifter and mounts to the floor. The advantages are that you cannot accidently overshift into Park or Reverse when trying to power shift your tranny. In fact, I cannot get a feel with the stock column linkage to do much shifting at all on the column. The ratchet part of your shifter insures that you do not miss a shift point from stop. You normally drive in Drive, but once you stop you can pull back on the shifter twice and it ratchets the linkage down to 1st (lever is still in same physical location as drive, but tranny is in 1st and shift indicator shows 1st), when you punch the gas off the line, simply bump the shifter forward to shift to 2nd at your desired rpm, and bump it again to shift into drive. Hurst has ratchet shifters also, I've just had experience with the B&M and I thought it was a lot of fun.

Sorry! I just reread your post...cleared alot up. You did mention that I'd normally drive in Drive, but when I come to a stop I would pul back on the shifter twice to put it in first, and then off the line at my desired rpm bump it forward to second, then to drive. Now the case is at ALL times the column lever is always in the same position, in Drive? Can you use the Megashifter to shift to Park, Reverse or Neutral? I'm guessing yes, cause on the picture at the B&M page it shows all the gear positions on the Shifter. If this is the case, could I physically remove my column shifter so it's not just sitting there, and shift to all points using the Floor shifter? I could keep the floor shifter in drive always, correct? Or do you actually need to shift down to first, then up to second and then drive? I'm also seeing alont like the Truck Megashifter have a "reverse/park lockout". Is this that little button/****/lever attached to the shifter ****? I'm assuming you need to pull this or push the button to release it so you can actually shift into Park or reverse using the floor shifter.

 

The Megashifter REPLACES the column shifter. You disconnect your linkage, pull your shifter off the column, and throw it away. Then you put some Black electrical tape over the shift indicator on the dash.

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik

 

I would use the truck megashifter, it raises the shifter another couple of inches off the floor since you sit higher in a truck.

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik

 

Ohhhh, ok, I see. So basically all you're doing is replacing the column shifter with a floor shifter. How does that make it shift harder though? And what's the difference between clicking back twice on the floor shifter down to first, and just shifting on the column down to low (1) gear?

 

A shifter like the megashifter does not make the tranny shift harder, a shift kit does. A shifter is external to the tranny a shift kit is internal.

The difference in shifters from column to floor mount megashifter: Try racing your truck and jamming your column shifter between 1st and 2nd as quick as you can....you'll miss and if your lucky you'll hit drive, if not, you'll hit neutral, reverse, or park..all of which can cause some serious damage to the engine and transmission. The megashifter does not allow you to miss a shift!!!

'82 F150 2WD w/351W (orig 300 I6)
Slik