There’s nothin’ like the feeling of accomplishment you get when you complete one more step in that long road that is rodstoring a classic truck. Every finished chore, repair, or install gets us a bit closer to the light at the end of the tunnel, and right now I’m enjoying that post-shop-time euphoria myself. Yesterday I completed the installation of my new Lokar shifter in Project ’57, which means I’m one step closer to getting this baby on the road.
The ’57 was originally a manual-shift truck but as part of its rodstoration I chose to replace the three-speed with a top-of-the-line 4L80E from GearStar Performance Transmission that’s been treated to GearStar’s professional performance upgrades. The new column I’ll be using is a floor-shift design as well, which naturally necessitated a floor shifter assembly. Since I’m trying to spare no expense when it comes to this project (you’ll notice I said trying) it was only logical that I chose the highest quality shifter mechanism in the aftermarket—a Lokar shifter.
To be honest, I’ve been using Lokar products for years and when planning the build of the ’57 I’d made up my mind well in advance that it’d be fitted with a hot rod-style long Lokar assembly. Well, once I’d gotten to the point where a shifter installation was warranted I hit the Lokar website and checked out what was available for my GearStar tranny. I soon found exactly what I was looking for in the way of a 23-inch swan-neck shifter assembly (PN ATS64L80A). In a matter of a few days my new shifter arrived and I made plans to install it during the course of the very next weekend. The following is the install, which took about an hour or so. It’s not rocket science, but I wanted to show how simple Lokar makes it to install so that anyone who’s contemplating a similar install will see just how easy it is. So take a look and know that this is an install that even a beginner can handle with confidence. CT
This is where I spent a good hour or so this past Sunday afternoon—inside the cab of my ’57 Chevy pickup. During the course of ordering replacement sheetmetal from my friends at LMC Truck I had the forethought to order a replacement trans cover. The original was nowhere to be found in the pile of parts that came with the truck when I got it so when I did order its replacement I made sure to order a floor shift model to save me the work of cutting an access hole for the shifter.
