Converting from column shifter to floor shifter

No, this is how I originally hooked it up. I just found and posted the instructions to show why I have the linkage lined up the way I do. I must be missing a step in the column to floor conversion or not understanding how the linkage needs to work. I'm clueless.

 

If you haven't figured it out yet, you have the arm mounted wrong. Take a look at the picture, the part of the arm the arrow is pointing to needs to be where the circle is.

 

Take a look at this video and it should help clear it up for you. If I did it right it will start at 9:06, if not, jump ahead to 9:06.

 

Rick, Thanks for posting that info. So I should be connecting to the existing arm that comes off the selector shaft? Here is another angle of the two locations. I thought that existing arm location was what the throttle kickdown was connected to before I took it apart, but it's been awhile. The location on the right is where your arrow is and the location on the left is what you circled.

What doesn't make sense to me is that the Lokar arm attaches with a pinch bolt and the location you circled doesn't have anywhere to tighten that down on; it's just a bolt, whereas the location on the right has the large shoulder surface. I don't like that it's just a friction type connection, but it seems that's what's intended.

The only thing I can think of is maybe I didn't have the pinch bolt tight enough and when I tried to switch gears the Lokar arm just slipped??

 

From what I can tell it slides on to the part behind the kick down arm. I looked at my transmission earlier and that's what makes sense to me. The friction fit should be fine, it only has to overcome the detent.

edit....
Just reread, the arm will clamp to the tube between the existing shift arm and the kick down arm. That is part of the original shift arm. Make sure it's clean and cinch it down.

 

OK. I'm changing the filter while the pan is off and this Lokar arm is on good and tight at the shift selector as shown in my first picture.

The various info I've come across about changing or rotating an arm accessed from inside the tranny must be when someone is reusing the existing arm of a column shift tranny for their floor shift conversion. I'm assuming that doesn't apply in my case because I'm using the Lokar arm that was supplied in the shift kit. If anyone knows something different than this please let me know before I button this up and try again. Thanks!

 

That is correct. Some people have been able to rotate the factory column shift lever 180 so it could operate with a factory type floor shifter. The Comet had a B&M shifter when I first got it and it hooked to the factory lever the same as the Lokar. You should be able to use it as is.

 

Reporting back in: The linkage and tranny are working correctly. The linkage is connected as shown in my picture (post #13) and the Loakr instructions (post #14). I think the original problem may have actually been it was low on ATF fluid.

After I got it back together and tried to shift, it still would not engage. So I put the rear axle up on jacks and then the tranny did engage in forward and reverse. So there was apparently not enough pressure to overcome the weight/resistance of the car. I had about 3.5 quarts in at this point because I had read to be careful about not overfilling.
I kept adding ATF at .5 quart increments and rechecking. It took 5 quarts to get where I am now, which I guess is due to the extra volume of the tranny cooler and lines??

Anyway, it's working and I will monitor the fluid level and performance. Thanks for the feedback and help resolving.

 

Looks cheap to me. Last one I sold about 5 years ago was $225 plus shipping for a good used lever.

 

hat one is so pitted, if it'd been mine would have gone in scrap metal bin.