0EG@EnglandGreen

This thread will detail the installation of a ratchet shifter connected to a 4L60E transaxle transmission. This is a C5 first!

Is there any interest in this as a turnkey mod?

Currently this is a weld-in permanent mod but I am thinking of offering this as still a custom mod - but turnkey and bolt-on - new shifter, housing, custom console and shift boot.

Any Interest??? Please post in this thread if you would like this mod...

EG
As always, full details of The Grond Chronicles are at http://www.grond.tv


Let's start with a B&M Pro Ratchet Shifter


I was told categorically by B&M that this shifter will NOT work in a Generation 5 Corvette. I had the same answer from Jeg's, Summit Racing et al...


So naturally I am going to try and make it work..


Started by fabbing up a bracket or two


And spending a lot of time fine tuning...


But after all that work, I realise too late that the 6 foot cable that ships with the shifter is w-a-y too short...


So ordered a 12 foot cable from Jeg's (cost $60)


Let's begin with the stock automatic shifter.


I hate this shifter!!! Forget shifting fast up or down - I have missed so many shifts... Grrrrr....


Now this is what the doctor ordered But its too high...


That's better..


And it will look stock...


Garage Queens - Avert your eyes!!!!!!


Don't try this at home...


That's better...


This just may work... if I can clear the torque tube...


Not a lot of depth to play with - only 2 inches....


OK. Back to the shifter. Where was I?
Oh yes, made a template and offered it up


If I can get it at this height, this will look way cool




Transfer the template to steel...

0EG@EnglandGreen

Drill the mounting holes...


And cut it out


Smooth the edges...


And try it on for size...


Good fit... still concerned about torque tube clearance though...


The moment of truth (tunnel viewed from below)




Remember, this is a permanent mod!!


First tacks


This is the biggest downside to working alone. I end up having to jury-rig all sorts of Heath Robinson (Rube Goldberg to my American friends) contraptions just to do simple tasks.
Made this stand to hold the shifter base while I tacked it in place - or course, it caught on fire...


Now for the side support


Tacked in place


OK. Ran some beads on this bad boy


And on the top. It isn't going anywhere!

0EG@EnglandGreen

I ended up having to mount it higher than I would have liked


But the torque tube clearance was just too tight


It is extremely solid!!!!


Relieved the console for clearance


I was going to make a custom console anyway, so this does change not represent any more work


Let's see how it looks populated...


Sweet!! It clears the AVIC N2 by a mile!


I am very pleased with how this mod has turned out


And the feel of the shifter... Rapture!!!!


Sand, clean and Black rattle-can


Just the rubber weatherproofing to mount. It looks stock!

vetteman9368

damn EG, you are one sick and twisted individual. I like it

16Again

I answered in the other thread.

0EG@EnglandGreen

You are on the list Bob. I need to package this so it is not so labour intensive and intrusive. And I want it to be reverseable, if necessary.

I'm more than happy to cut up my own car - but I would be loathe to cut up anyone else's C5

0EG@EnglandGreen

Just to put some perspective on what is involved...

I have the templates and made careful measurements, so I can reproduce this mod - if it works as expected. Obviously, until my car is completed and I get a chance to beat on it for a while, I will not be offering it to anyone. I prefer to be my own guinea pig. Let it break on my car, not on a customer's car.

Unfortunately, it will not be a low cost mod.

The shifter is $200 and the cable is $60. The cost for wiring and custom finish plate are an unknown at this time. At a guessitmate, expect another $200 or so in parts alone. Not counting the other custom parts...

From a labour perspective, the torque tube will have to be dropped (which means the entire drivetrain has to come out), and the interior partly dissembled. Stock shifter uninstalled and discarded. Then the tunnel needs to be cut (not for the faint hearted), the shifter mounting plate out of 1/8inch stainless steel plus SS brackets to be welded and the whole thing sealed against the weather.

On the transmission side, the shifter mechanism needs to be modded to work with the ratchet shifter and carefully tested. One wrong shift will destroy the transmission - serious. Next, the hook up to the shifter and final assembly.

Once that is all done, the interior and drivetrain needs to be reassembled and then test driven.

So if anyone really wants this mod (as it is right now - welded in), expect to pay a fairly hefty price for it. It will be expensive.

The bolt on version will still be quite pricey, with the custom console, wiring harness, shift boot, mounting plate etc. etc. etc. plus the labour - but it will be cheaper than the weld in version and reverseable.

Stephen

16Again

Don't even think i'm going to try doing this. Hell no man, i'm coming to your place for the weekend, and putting your azz to work. Of course you can come down here for the weekend, and i'll put your *** to work. My garage is airconditioned

REDGAR

What does the ratchet shifter do (other then shift)

16Again

It's the COOL factor, that goes with the shift.

REDGAR

Does it shift different is is the same pull down P R N D

0EG@EnglandGreen

Redgar,

No the shifter itself only moved about an inch in full travel. It remains upright at all times in all gears.

Your car still works exactly the same as it always did. You can just shift into "D" (or "3") as normal and drive as you always did.

The change is when you wish to change just one gear - up or down. No more hunting, missing or looking down for the right gear.

Likewise downshifting into 2nd or 1st into tight corners to gain maximum exit speed. Try doing that with the stock shifter!!

I ran on a "closed course" a few months ago - I shifted from 1st to 2nd - and I missed 2nd gear entirely (went straight to Neutral) and was well toasted off the line until I caught up. Most embarrassing (especially since I'm supercharged) :bb :bb

However, this mod will not change the limitations of your stock transmission.

If you do not have either a Shift Kit or an aftermarket transmission, you still cannot downshift into 1st gear at any speed, nor hold 1st gear beyond its normal shift point. This shifter will also NOT change the shift behaviour of your stock transmission! If it soft shifted before or had sloppy long shifts before - it will have them after.

You need a Shift Kit or an aftermarket tranny to fix those issues. I have a RPM Stage 5 tranny.

But if you want absolute gear control of your automatic transmission - as I do - then this shifter is for you.

Stephen

0EG@EnglandGreen

Perhaps I should explain what a ratchet shifter is...

Have you ever ridden a sports bike? It shifts sequentially - you cannot miss a shift no matter how hard you try.

Usually, 1st gear is one tap down with your foot. Neutral is one tap up from 1st - and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc are sequential taps up. So no matter how excited or carried away you get, you ALWAYS hit your gear. You can never accidentially shift into Neutral or go from 2nd to 4th, for example.

Same with a ratchet shifter in an automatic. I can start out in 1st gear, and slam it forward as hard as I like - it will only go into 2nd gear - slam forward again into 3rd and then into 4th.

Same in the other direction for gearing down.

And the shifter only moves about an inch. It always stays in the same position - straight up. Naturally, you can tap the shifter, you do not have to slam it into gear. But tap or slam, it only shifts 1 gear at a time - sequentially.

If you are into drag racing, you can attach a CO2 or compressed air bottle to the shifter and it can even shift faster. With the light touch of an electrical button on your thumb - shift. Top racers use air shifters.

Paddle shifters work in a similar way on the 2006 C6, but electronically, not air driven.

You have to drive an automatic with a ratchet shifter to understand. It is totally unlike a slush box and a whole lot more fun than a manual (IMHO).

I shift. I need a ratchet shifter.

Stephen

REDGAR

Not sure if you have driven cars like Kia or Subaro where their is an option to shift the trans yourself. Up for next gear, up again for the next. One a at a time, just like you describe. Is that how it works?

0EG@EnglandGreen

No,I've never driven one of those cars, so I can't comment on if it's the same or not. But it is 100% sequential.

SteveDoten

what's the buy in on these shifters?

chaase

It is similar. I have an Autostick in my PT cruiser that allows me to change gears by tapping the gear shift either left or right to go up or down.

A ratchet shifter is a purely mechanical device attached to a shifter that prevents it from ever moving up or down more than 1 gear at a time. In the A4's if I put the shifter in 1 and push up and keep pushing on the shifter, it will pretty much go all the way to neutral. A ratchet shifter will not allow that to happen. If apply constant pressure or a hard slap (these are commonly called slap shifters), it will go to 2 and then stop. It will also have a much more positive feel to the shift mechanism...think reverse saw blade, the shifter will get caught in each tooth.

The same in the reverse direction, can only go from 3 to 2, then 2 to 1.

Chris

0EG@EnglandGreen

Are you thinking of hacking up your white FRC, Steve?

REDGAR

Ah thank Chris. Sounds like something fun to have.

Next question, our our transmissions designed to be manually shifted like that? I have read where they are not.

SR71

nice work, EG. I have the same shifter in my car. since my tranny is up front and I have a driveshaft instead of a torque tube, I was able to mount my shift lower down in the tunnel. I have a rubber mega boot covering it. it looks good, but getting to the reverse lockout lever is a pia. as a matter of fact the rl lever tore a hole in my rubber boot. if I had it to do over again, I would use a B&M quicksilver shifter. it has no seperate reverse lockout lever. you just pull up on the main lever and shift to park. again, nice work.