Console and Shifter Issues

If there was a way to record and measure the amount of time expended on highly modified projects such as my ’56 Plymouth, I think it would reveal that it required at least ten times as much time to plan and to contemplate, as to do the actual work. Simple restorations are lots of physical labor, but factory parts are available by part number and the non-production time is mostly spent trying to locate those parts.

When we choose instead to restructure and modify a car for whatever reason, it’s a constant challenge to find substitute parts to replace or improve upon the OEM version. When we also choose a project vehicle that is not among the enthusiast’s favorite models, there is virtually no aftermarket support for parts and materials, and the option is often to make them yourself, or have someone make them to your design.  

While designing and fabricating some parts is a simple job, others require extensive planning, are labor intensive and often require testing several iterations before it works properly and/or looks right. Since my fixation is to emulate a style that “might” have been created in a factory design studio, I often go overboard in building, changing and then changing again, before I’m satisfied with the results. The center console is my latest frustration.

If your read some of my earlier posts, you know that my original intent was to modify a two speed pushbutton shifter pod without a Park feature, to operate a later three speed version of a A-727 transmission that is shifted with various lever designs, and to incorporate a Park lever adjacent to the shifter pod. I was successful in creating a shifter that does the job, but I’ve not been able to get it to operate with moderate enough finger-force to make it practical. I could have used an earlier transmission that used a cable to shift, but it didn’t meet my desire to create something totally different. Now that I’ve spent many, many days to design, test, redesign and test some more, I’m faced with the possibility that I don’t have enough time to resolve the remaining problems and get the car on the road by this time next year. That means that the console design I had originally planned must be modified to allow a ’65 Valiant floor shifter to be used…if I decide to go that way.  I’ve spent the better part of two days figuring out how to incorporate the shifter housing into the console design, yet be pseudo-stock appearing either with the shifter installed, or without…if I find the time and talent to resolve the pushbutton force issues.

I made a rough cardboard mockup of the basic console design, and incorporated the ductwork needed to add a third A/C vent below the dash. From that crude design, I’m able to determine accurate dimensions, so now I’m waiting for the 20 and 22 gage sheet metal to arrive so I can begin work on the real console.