Alrighty we all know how much of a pita the granny tranny's are to shift with they're mile long shift throws. So after this last mud bog that ended up being a drag race and requiring me to powershift my nv 435 (still managed to win my class though ) 4sp, and with a new powerplant on the way with at least 400hp (yeah i knnow its not a lot to some of you, but its double what it had from the factory) shifting will be a more common occurance in the pitts for me. (and all of you running these tranny's all know the pain)

So lets see what we can come up with, and since there aren't any aftermarket shifters this is gonna be custom fabbed stuff i think. Now since its all about leverage and the ratios of the lever and pivot point (ie shifter handle and the pivot point), a simple solution would be to raise the pivot point, but with the internal linkage and top cover i'm kinda at a loss of what to do, and its been awhile since i've had the top cover off one of these tranny's, so anyone have any ideas?

 

first thing that comes to my mind is to fab an external shift handle. basically cut the existing shifter down as short as you can and fab a linkage b/t the 2 shifters. not only will this give you a short throw but you can put the shifter closer to ya =so you wou;dnt have to reach. i dunno if thats a problem or not but something to think about. prolly have use square tubing as the linkage so as to allow the 2 shifters to move freely forward and back but the side to side movement would be stiff.... obviously allowing you to shift gears freely.

i dunno, it's late and i dont have any more good ideas

OR you could slap in a C6, build it and get a slap stick for it. cant get much quicker than that!

-cutts-

 

With my current trail rig I had concerns about the length of the shifter and me sitting kind of far away from it so that it was uncomfortable to shift. I did some brainstorming and hit upon the idea of ditching the shifter handle altogether and building a linkage system by connecting to the shift rails by going through the backside of the aluminum shift tower. I never really tried this idea as once I got out and started wheeling, I didnt have any of the discomfort I thought I would. If you dont understand what I mean, think of those aluminum multi handl shifters that dirt track cars use- they connect to the shift arms on the side of the tranny by a linkage,, well instead of connecting to arms on the side, you somehow run them into the back of the topcover and connect them to the rails that control the forks that in turn push the gears around- pull the cover off and I believe you will understand.

 

im gonna keep my eye out on this thread... maybe we can talk B&M or someone like that to help us out, it sure would be nice. but the knuckle buster NP435 is kinda cool, it def looks different.

 

Yeah i just wish the top cover was steel and not cast aluninum, cause cast anything is a pita to weld on. But yeah i think wyld is on to something as really the toploader's and the borg warner t10 come to mind as they use the external linkage similar to what wyld istalking about and i have an old shifter off a toploader (factory junk that got replaced with a hurst ) i could use for the linkage i think, but then again i could always use it to do something along the lines of what cutts said with shopping off the existing shifter and build another and connect them, but then again i want something thats going to be reliable, and i think what syld suggested might be a bit better method.


Lol, as far as a c6 is concerned, well it'd take about a thousand bucks to build one the way i want it, and the way i see it thats $1000 i can put to better use in my motor build (and of which is sitting at the machine shop getting the machine work done, just waiting on pistons right now)

 

this is a common thing i hear about around hear when i race, I run a NP 435 while all my buddy's run c-6's... i like my 4 speed and have changed numerous trucks from auto to manual, but never the other way. i just run low range, third gear. then when i have to shift it's a straight down quick shift to fourth.... i like the idea of using seperate handles- more like a lenco style?

 

put a zf-6 out of a vette in it

 

While I too prefer the manual tranny for towing, wheeling and in the daily driver, for racing you are definitely better off with an auto. I used to run a stock 3 speed in the 67 bronco I mud raced. I ran low range 2nd and 3rd gears- while the gearing was ok, what really opened my eyes was watching some of my runs on video. The nose of the Bronco would drop and the whole rig would noticably slow down- that was with a relatively quick hurst shifter- it has to be much worse with a NP435!!

You can build your own C6 for fairly cheap. I get my tranny kits from Northern Auto for about $80 and there is a video for about $20 from Eastwood or other sources that walks you through it. Even better, I borrowed a book from a friend when I did my own AOD and that book was way better than the video. I believe it was a Hanes or Chilton and it had more than one Ford tranny instructions in it-C4, C6, AOD, maybe a couple of others too- Spotted the same book at O'Reilley's not too long ago. The beauty of the C6 is that even with just a stock rebuild, they are plenty stout. Use one from 88 up and you will gain drums with more clutches and more roller thrust bearings in place of just washers.

 

Yeah i know what you mean wyld, and i will eventually switch to a c6, but most of the events we're running are bog's and if you try to shift, auto or stick, you stop. But usually there's at least one that turns into a drag and thats what i want the shifter for, and for now i don't want to have to worry about building a tranny (my dads knows a c6 inside and out) till after i get the new motor in and running good.