In today’s ’63 Nova SS CC, I waxed eloquently over its console and floor shifter for the automatic Powerglide. There’s something very un-gimmicky about it, with that rubber boot, straight stick, white ball and the gated shifter. It could be straight out of a Mercedes Pagoda SL.
But then spartan functionality isn’t the only game in town when it comes to consoles and shifters.
And since my favorite dealer in Iowa City sold Chevys, Buicks and Cadillacs from one showroom, I got to experience the opulent counterpart to the Nova SS, in the form of the 1963-1964 Riviera. This was my altar at the time, in the chapel of St. Mark of excellence, and if the salesmen had allowed it, i would have burned candles and incense in it. As it was, they were being mighty accommodating to allow me to sit in it for an hour or two as I perused the Buick and Cadillac brochures; I mean the sacred texts.
So what console and automatic floor shifter would cause you to have a religious experience?
Early ’70’s Mopars were wild with crazy names and colors. Love the Slap Stik.
AT shifters belong on the column, not taking up floor space, but if I had to choose, the Pagoda Benz was nice.
I remember the early 60s Chevys very well, as my uncles drove SSs w/ Powerglide in college. As you say, very elegant. Especially as I get older, the floor shift automatics in 60s and 70s cars generally aren’t appealing.
Favorite factory shift is the 80s Hurst Olds with Lightning Rods, so I can grab a different handle for each gear like Warren Johnson.
LOL! I was trying to think of this Olds setup. Thanks…..
I’m intrigued. To someone who’s not familiar with this setup, how do you use it?
The short knob on the left operates the usual PRNOD range; center knob selects second; right knob selects low.
To accelerate through the gears from a stop, pull all three knobs all the way back, then push right, center and left forward in sequence to shift 1-2, 2-D, D-OD.
This mimics the operation of a Lenco clutchless planetary drag racing transmission. A Lenco planetary transmission has one or more planetary gear packs in series that are individually locked up or unlocked to create various transmission output ratios. You can find YouTube videos of real Lenco shifting. Each Lenco handle pull locks up one of the planetary gear packs, which has the same effect as shifting into a higher gear in a standard transmission.
As a rule, heavier/less powerful drag racing cars need more gear packs to keep the engine in maximum output from a standing start to the finish.
This is how we entertained ourselves before the Internet.
The problem with the factory ‘Lightning Rods’ installation was, besides looking goofy as hell, they really didn’t do much. As one might surmise in the US’ litigious society, in order to prevent drivers from over-revving and damaging an engine, if you waited too long to shift, well, the transmission would shift for you, pretty much negating the whole point of the ‘rods’.
Interesting, thanks for the explanation. Despite being a bit overkill, I think I would prefer it to the modern automatics that try to do everything with one lever, mostly because it would always be obvious what gear the car is in. Though I suppose one limitation is that setup only works for a 4-speed. You could always add more knobs to handle more gears, but it would really start to get unwieldy pretty fast.
Dodge had a pretty nice one with a padded armrest for the ’66 Charger.
The padded armrest was just one of the remarkable features of the 66 Charger console and interior.
Don’t see stuff like this every day.
Oldsmobile/Pontiac Hurst Dual-Gate.The Dual-Gate looked and operated like it meant business. Also because the armrest of these consoles was at a height that was actually usable for resting one’s arm.
Other noteworthy console automatics:
Chrysler Slap-Stick, but only the 1970 wood-grain knob/short chrome shaft, one-year-only, E-body version. 1971 and later Slap-Sticks in E- and B-bodies used a brittle plastic T-handle that would quickly crack and break under even light use.
Chevy and Ford ‘horseshoe’ automatic shifters that mimicked jet airplane thruster controls..
Buick used the “airplane shifter” as well.
I would go so far as to suggest that the Buick had the most style of the horseshoe-style shifters, what with all the plasti-wood, chrome, and curvature.
Yes but why didn’t Buick put any lights or anything in theirs ?
Buicks with consoles still had the PRND21 indicator on the speedometer face so there was no need to light up the console.
I’m another fan of this style.
I need a 69 Ford xl Gt floor horseshoe shifter handle!!! My number is +16472822410!!!my name is Joe!!!
I agree with the 70 e body shifters, great looking(and functioning) knob and lever, but the gate is pretty plain and uninspired. That’s always been my biggest letdown with auto shifter aesthetics.
The shifter in that particular car is rather intriguing. Although it’s obviously a 1970 Barracuda, the door panel indicates it’s one of the performance ‘Cuda models. Yet, the shifter itself has no lettering indicating it’s a ‘Slap-Stik’. AFAIK, all console automatics in E-bodies (and 1971 and newer B-body coupes) were a ratcheting Slap-Stik. Additionally, if it was of the cheapo plastic T-handle variety, they all had the wording.
But there were a couple of variations on those first year, 1970 shifters. The first ones actually said “Shift Gate” at that bottom. Then, evidently, as a running change, they must have simply eliminated all the wording (like in the photo vehicle). Towards the end of the run, they added the “Slap Stik” from that point forward.
So, depending on when the car was built, if you had a 1970 E-body console automatic, it would ratchet, but would say “Shift Gate”, “Slap Stik”, or nothing at all.
Stunning interior!
This
+1
+1 here
I believe Ford also used a similar type of shifter on some full-size models from early 1970s
doubtfully practical, but very cool & futuristic, even today
That’s the one. Ford really went all-in and fully embraced the driver-centric, cockpit-influenced interior for the upper-tier ‘sporty’ ’69-’70 Galaxie.
Any basket-handle shifter is a good one in my book. Of course, I’m obligated to mention the Olds Touring Sedan:
I liked the floor shifter in my 2006 f150 Lariat. It was unusual at the time for a truck to have a center shifter
C2 Corvette (this one’s a ’64 with Powerglide, Factory A/C, and PW).
I’ll go with a C2 Corvette 4 speed Muncie stock setup.
I liked LS400 series one shifter. It feels great in your hand and the action is very positive and solid.
I can tell you the least favourite one I have come across. In the 2017-18 Chevy Cruize, the shift lever is offset from the actual gear selected. So, it in Park, the lever will look like it’s in say, Neutral. In reverse, the lever is positioned next to Drive. I had a photo I took in a rental but cannot find it at the moment. I found it most disconcerting having to double check every time to make sure what gear it was in.
I’ve never driven a Cruze, but have encountered this problem, which I attributed to parallax, in other GM rentals.
Lee, I don’t have this problem with my ’17 Cruze. However, the ability to manually shift the automatic is a farce. My ’13 Cruze automatic had a real manual shift where I could actually start in first, second, or third gear. (Why with traction control, I don’t know.) Also, once I selected a gear it would stay there until I came to a complete stop. It was a lot of fun keeping the little turbo engine in the sweet spot of its torque curve.
The photos have been located, hidden in plain view on my hard drive. To illustrate, from left to right in the attached photo sequence is park, reverse, and drive. (Sorry for the flash reflection, it was night and I was using my phone.) Maybe this was unique to this particular car, not sure. I’m used to the shifter being immediately adjacent to the gear indicator letter selected. KevinB I’m glad this is not an issue for you.
Gotcha, Lee! Your are correct and my car is the same way. I guess I misunderstood your problem.
I’ll go with a ’63 Mercury S-55, probably because it’s a catalog photo that intoxicated me back in the day:
I was very fond of the push button actuated auto trans in my 1963 Plymouth; it didn’t take up very much room and it was easy to use (great for hooning around). Actually, having a floor shift for an automatic is pretty much a waste of space in my opinion; of course it is the rare vehicle today that could seat three across in the front seat so it really doesn’t make that much difference. I’m surprised that car manufacturers haven’t developed some sort of voice actuation control for automatic transmissions, “transmission, shift to drive”, that would be way cool:-)
With my luck it’d do that right as I was backing out of the garage.
From the day they came out, I was always partial to the 1962 Olds Starfire, especially the interior with the console shifter and with the tach way down there to keep it company.
I think Oldsmobiles had the swankiest interiors from the mid-50s to the mid-60s.
Of course I owned a 1957 88, so I may not be objective about this subject.
My favorite was my 1970 Cougar XR7 automatic shifter, very beefy and felt so solid, how I wish I still had that car, it was my mini-Mark III. In fact, the entire dash was sexy as hell.
That is a fantastic dash. Kind of a US take on a British car IMO.
That particular shifter, curved chrome floorpiece, chrome and black t-handle, had a wonderfully simple but solidly classy look, and appeared with small variations across a huge range of ’70’s Fords, from little Escorts to Transits to big muscle cars. Looked good surrounded by console regalia, and best just plain atop a floor hump. One of my favourites.
I agree with Paul, and I’ll go one further: the 63 Riv may be the high water mark for mass-produced American auto interiors to this day. Clean, functional, and a quality of materials that would be gone in less than ten years.
Not to put anything on the gleaming postwar US interiors with their awesome colors and miles of chrome, but the Riv interior manages to meld a bit of Euro purposefullness with US flash and style (IMO.)
The ’64 T-Bird gives the ’63 Riv a good run for it’s money…
BMW 5-Series (E39). Businesslike but luxurious.
Cousin had a 1963 Impala SS 327 PG Shift console was unremarkable but the car was huge amount of fun. Younger brother in a bad wreck when someone pulled out in front of him and he went through the windshield. That made me a 100% believer in seat belts and safety equipment.
I hope and expect that my next car will not have a shift lever in the console bt will have some sort of push button arrangement. That will open up the console for more storage and/or knee room.
All worthy choices. My favorite though, is the one in my Jaguar XJS. Such a delicate spindly little stick in such a beefy machine. The contrast of the design and the quality of the execution is very satisfying. Yes, I know it controls a very common Turbo Hydramatic 400, used in countless American cars. I spent quite a few hours on my back changing it out.
Great pick; love everything about the interior on those.
When the popular Turbo Action Cheetah SCS (Shift Command System) drag-racing shifter made its first appearance decades ago, I immediately thought they had copied Jaguar’s shifter. To this day, I think it remains one of the best automatic shifters for professional drag cars.
1969 Buick Riviera featured in Hemmings Classic Car July issue:
Very nice stuff. I’m going for nostalgia, the AMC Javelin SST U-bar shifter is my favorite because I transplanted one into my 1972 Matador.
Of course my teenage installation included no interlock between the shifter and the ignition switch, which contributed to my nearly running myself over one day 😛
The Hurst “His and Hers” was something I thought would have looked great in my dad’s Plymouth Satellite. I think it was offered as a dealer option on 60s/70s GM A bodies…
Someone mentioned the Hurst Dual-Gate. Always enjoyed their ads☺
Now that’s an interesting shifter ad. Notice how it has the old-style PNDLR shift quadrant, which is doubly odd because the ad copy mentions a “hydro” with three forward gears.
Plus, I thought the old PNDLR order went out in the late fifties before cars even became available with bucket seats and consoles. In fact, I wonder what that car might be.
I’d guess 63 or 64 full size Pontiac, because of the dashboard and the vent window, but I can’t nail it down.
I believe it is a 1963 Grand Prix interior. Many GM cars had the PNDLR until the mid-60s IIRC.
Wait – since there wasn’t a Grand Prix convertible until 1967 I wonder if it’s a Bonneville with an optional console and floor shift – was such a combination available?
It may also be a Grand Prix, and the photo in the ad was manipulated such that the top was cropped out of the photo. If you look carefully, the background behind the model, above the belt line, appears to have been cut away from the original photo. The roof of the car may have been cut away, as well, to make it appear to be a convertible.
I think that’s it: a ’63 Grand Prix with the roof cropped out from around the model’s head.
FWIW, the quadrant was actually PNDSLR (it ‘was’ a 3-speed Hydromatic). It would have been truly bizarre to have a Dual-Gate for a two-speed automatic. That’s also the reason I thought it was a late fifties car.
OTOH, a ratchet shifter for a Powerglide might not have been so strange, after all, since the PG was very popular with drag-only race cars (like rails). But I just don’t think it would have been worth the trouble for a Powerglide used primarily on the street.
I find it interesting that the ad refers to HydrAmatic as “hydrO.”
Hurst’s legal team may have had some concerns…
Hydramatic was called Hydro in early drag racing. A manually shifted dual range could be an effective drag racing transmission unless the weight was a problem.
But if this is a GP, this isn’t the classic Dual Range Hydramatic; it’s the much less desirable Roto Hydramatic. And I’m surprised that Hurst bothered with a performance shifter for it, as it does not seem to be a desirable automatic for performance driving. It had awkward gear ratios, second gear was direct and slow to shift. Did anyone ever use the Roto for drag racing?
As used in Pontiacs the old-style 4 speed HydraMatic was only in Bonnevilles and Star Chiefs. The Catalina and the Grand Prix did indeed use the Roto HydraMatic.
A roto wouldn’t be used unless it was required in stock class racing. A dual gate shifter is just for image and fun.
They’re all good compared to some of the ones on the market now. Last week I test drove a new Genesis. Once the car was started, neither I nor the salesman could figure out how to actually put the car in gear. Pull back to go forward, Push forward for reverse, who knows how to put it in neutral or what the button is for. Arrrghh!
I’m surprised no one has mentioned FCA’s latest experimentation with alternate style automatic shifters. There’s the T-handle in the console which always springs back to an upright, centered position, regardless of the selection.
Then there’s the new dial that’s making its appearance on the dash of the latest multi-gear automatics in pickups and minivans. That one sure seems to harken back to the push-button automatics of the late fifties. It’s worth noting that the ‘Park’ selection on many new vehicles is now, in fact, a push-button.
I don’t mind the rotary dial, at least it’s clear and intuitive.
A lot of these other stick ones are simply atrocious. Everybody seems to want to reinvent something that was never broken to begin with. I still blame Apple’s glass-backed phones for the modern trend of form over function. I see it all over the place, it seems.
Cadillac has a 6 1/2 minute video on how to get the XT5 from Park into gear. Maybe I’m just getting old- but that’s ridiculous.
Not very classic, but I always liked Mitsubishi’s 1990s pistol grip shifters. They integrated the shiftlock button better than most on the top of the shifter. I can’t think of specifics, but others did similar in the 90s. Honda, maybe?
Also, the first-gen Lexus IS had a neat cue ball shifter knob on the automatic, attached to a thin metal rod. Wouldn’t look out of place in many 1960s cars.
Finally, in the here and now, the Volvo XC90 Excellence has a crystal shift knob that feels like a piece of artwork in your hands. Not sure about on a hot day though…
First series Aurora. I always liked the look of it.
So in the Chevy II in the lead photo, was all of that ribbed metal on the floor (ahead of the shifter) just there for decoration, or did it cover something?
Decoration. What else is a console for? 🙂
For carrying junk? (I found a whole collection of parking and highway receipt in centre armrest and ashtray)
Lightning rods are the only ones that beat the Chevy II. Olds kept trying long after everyone else gave up.
Facel Vega II.
The exterior is not as nice as the HK500 (which had pushbutton auto inside) but that interior! Ooh la la. And le grand console automatique to end them all. In my unarguably correct opinion (IMUCO?).
I wonder if I’d think the same if it was fitted to a posh Ford or the like? For there’s nothing, nothing about the Facel Vega, from the name to the interior price to the clientele, that is not drippingly glamourous.
I’ll put my vote for what would be the least considered setup in this competition. The original Mustang with Cruise-O-Matic. Why? Because, unlike cheap ass GM who made you pay extra for the floor shifter (looking at you, Camaro), Ford gave it to you standard. Three speed, four speed, automatic. For a car with sporting pretensions, they all shifted from the same spot.
Although I really like the Avanti’s console, I have to vote for my sentimental favorite: the one I spent so many years with in my childhood, our 1964 Cutlass. A decent interior shot was hard to find online, but all that chrome really popped with our car’s dark green interior.
The buff magazines always snarked on it, but I liked the J-gate shifters in the two Jaguar XJs I had.
That one came to mind as well. Pretty nice design. I forget, though; what was the purpose of the “J-Gate?” Easier manual shifting?
My favorite would be the 1967 Mustang console with automatic transmission. I love the shifter setup with its jewelled-looking indicator lights — red and green. The later consoles seemed to just have a cut-out for Ford’s generic floor shifter.
The compartment below the radio is actually quite large and its door is on a track and operates like a roll-up desk door. What’s also nice is that this compartment is also lighted. Speaking of lighting, the rear of the console has two external courtesy lights for the rear seat passengers — a nice touch.
The metal T-shifter feels good too. In 1968 Ford covered up most of the ribbed die-cast console body with padded vinyl for safety reasons I suppose. Too bad the Thunderbirds didn’t offer a floor shift with their consoles….they’d probably be my favorite instead.
I like the stirrup shifters in the pre-1973 Chevrolets, early LTD/XL cars, Buicks, and Ninety-Eight Touring Sedans almost as much…
1969 Buick Skylark Special (was that a gs?). I used to think that was the most impressive centre console shifter (automatic) ever