Well there are lots of ratchet shifters out there, some economical to down right expensive. B&M make several and so do Hurst. I have found that a B&M Z Gate which is affordable and does a very good job. I have banged mine in the gears a long time and it just keeps takin the punishment. I also use a hurst pro shifter 2 which is more expensive but also does a good job. I am sure others can shed more light...Jim
yeah i am torn between a B&M hammer regular shifter and the megashifter, i never got the concept of the ratchet shifter, i've hered some have neutral some dont,some have 2 parks and basically i got confused.
A true ratchet shifter only has 3 positions... A resting position, a forward position, and a rear position. At rest, the tranny is in whatever gear you put it in. When you push forward, it advances the gear ONE detent, then springs back to resting position. When you push it rearward, it advances the gear ONE detent in that direction, then springs back to resting position. SO... If you are in park, and want to go to drive, assuming a standard valve body, you have to cycle the shift arm back 3 times, allowing it to return to rest each time. One cycle gets you R, second gets you N, then third cycle gives you D. To get to 2 or 1, just add more ratchet cycles for each. The positive attribute for these shifters is that all you have to do to get to the next gear in the heat of the race, is just slap it fast in the direction you wish to shift, and get your hand back on the wheel. It will not go further than one detent and will spring back to resting position, waiting for the next slap to shift it. The drawback is that in daily driving, you have to ratchet it one step at a time when you park and reverse and such. Then there are shifters that are not true ratchet shifters, but rather cable shifters with a detent built into the handle mount. The Megashifter is like this, but IIRC, the 3 drive gears ratchet, so it is a hybrid of sorts. I had a Megashifter in my 75, but didn't like it. The gear indicator was cheap and inaccurate... didn't work long. It was also kinda hit and miss if the thing would be sticky or smooth in action, which made shifts inconsistent when you wish they had been. Complex and pricey for what you get, in short. A ratchet shifter is more reliable, but again, you shift alot to get around the gears. Then there are other cable shifters with positive locking detents, that way you can get around the gears for street driving, but can slap it like a ratchet shifter for spirited driving. The plus is you don't have to worry about going more than one detent when you hit it, and there is a lockout for the R & P detents. I suppose the Megashifter falls into this group, hybrid... Out of the 3 I have had, Mega, ratchet (Quicksilver), and Z-Gate (inexpensive hybrid)... The Z-Gate was titts! It is very inexpensive and super tough. The Mega just had too many bells and whistles, while being of cheap construction. The Z was so simple and tough that you just couldn't break it. It has the pull up T handle to lock you in or out of R&P, and only travels one forward gear per slap. The cons are: Cheap plastic handle on main shift arm. I replaced mine with a nice aluminum handle like Mega. There is no real gear indicator other than the PRND12 cast into the chrome cover, which is not real helpful. However, like I said, a dedicated gear indicator is a liability when it comes to reliable operation. Cable shifters are great in that you can mount them anywhere, in any position... In theory. They all come with a cable that is long enough to mount it anywhere between the front seats on just about any car. If you want a custom mounting somewhere else, they make shorter and longer cables to suit. Dave
i have a B&M megashifter and really like it myself. i find it very simple to use. p-r-n-d-2-1. from neutral you ratchet it 3x to get into 1st. hit it once forward for 2nd and again for d. if your driving on the street just put it in drive and the tranny will shift according to the way you have the tranny set. you cannot go into reverse unless you put it into drive and pull the t-handle up then go forward to reverse.
I have a B&M Hammer shifter I think it is laying around here somewhere... The B&M Prostick is in the Comet... and im fixing to sell the hammer if anyone is interested. Ratio did a good job giving you a break down of how they work.
