Originally posted by bishir So what's the advantage of this? Isn't it better just to race in D instead of manual shifting? Or is the a manual valve body car?
Okay Mark Guisti (MG8T7GN) has sent my the info on the revised install.
Here it is:
Hurst Quarter Stick installation- revisited.
After installing a Quarter Stick shifter a few years ago in my GN, I wasn=t satisfied with the way it looked sitting in the console. I wanted a much cleaner look without as much of the shifter mechanism visible above the top of the console. Review the original Quarter Stick installation article at www.turbobuicknewsletter.com/shifterarticles/ for how to install a Quarter Stick shifter. This would involve lowering the shifter into the console. The easy way to do it would be to mount the shifter directly to the floor pan of the car, but I try not to drill any holes anywhere in my car unless absolutely necessary. The one exception I made to my Ano holes drilled@ policy was for the shift cable to go through the floor since the factory hole is too far to the left to route the cable into without the cable binding. The new location of the shifter onto the factory shifter base will require the removal of the ashtray since the shifter handle hits the ashtray lid when in first gear. If you really want the ashtray and don=t mind drilling holes in your floor pan, mount the shifter directly to the floor in a location that the handle will go into the first gear detent without contacting the ashtray lid. Make sure also there is enough room around the front of the trigger handle at the front of the console or the trigger handle may need to be shortened.
After removing the factory shifter mechanism from the base, remove the raised half moon piece so the Quarter Stick sits flush into the GM shifter base. You will have bend out the sides of the GM base because the Quarter Stick is a little wider, but it makes for a snug fit. Locate the Quarter Stick as far forward as possible, mark the four holes to be drilled in the GM part and secure the Quarter Stick with nuts and bolts. I used some Loctite to keep the nuts from loosening. Mount the shifter and console in the car.
Modify the console top plate by first removing the ashtray lid. This can be done by drilling out the rivets that act as the pivot for the lid. Remove the chrome rib that goes from side to side and then smooth the area where the rib used to be. Be careful near the edge so as not to nick the chrome finish. I used some chrome paint I got from the hobby shop to touch up the area where the piece was removed. Photo 1. I then mounted a piece of 7/16 inch aluminum bar stock onto the support where the ashtray used to be. This will be used to secure the rear of the trim plate. I mounted it by using two 8-32 button head cap screws. Use a #29 (0.136") drill bit for the correct size hole for the tap. Photo 2. Lay the piece of bar stock onto the brace and drill the brace and bar stock. Then use a 8-32 tap to put the threads into the piece of bar stock. The reason I did this was to have some support for the rear of the new trim plate. Cut the console plate as shown to allow enough clearance for the Quarter Stick handle to move throughout all the gears. I also trimmed the factory shifter handle black plastic piece to work with the Quarter Stick. Photo 3.
After mounting the chrome trim plate to the console using the two screws from under where the ashtray was, again verify that the shifter can move through all of its= detents without hitting the console plate. Trim the console itself as needed for clearance. At the front of the console, bevel the piece of black plastic so the shifter handle seal goes under in when the shifter is in park. I then filed a horizontal slot into what used to be the front wall of the ashtray opening so the black shifter opening piece would not bind as the shifter handle was mover towards first gear. Remove the trigger handle and chrome support from the Quarter Stick handle, slide the modified black shifter seal down, re assemble the shifter and install the chrome trim piece, making sure the black handle seal slides into the slot you just made and goes under the piece in the console at the front of the console. Again, move the shifter through all of its detents and check for any interference with of the console. Clearance as needed.
Here is where you need to make a decision: either stick the new top trim plate to the chrome piece with the supplied two sided tape or make it so the trim piece is removable from the chrome piece. If you=re sure you wont be dis-assembling the console again, use the tape to hold the trim plate on- I don=t know if the plate can be removed without bending it once it is installed using the tape. That=s why I bolted mine on. Again, remove the chrome plate, and while holding the new top plate to it, from underneath, mark where the bar stock rests against the plate. Drill two holes into the trim plate. Put the trim plate onto the chrome piece and drill through the top plate into the piece of bar stock and the tap the bar stock for the 8-32 button head screws. Photo 4. Mine worked out to be 7/8" from the sides and 5/8" from each end of the plate. I then temporarily mounted the plate to the chrome piece. See photo 5. I drilled the two holes in the top plate at the front and tapped the chrome trim plate so all four button head screws were symmetrical from side to side and front to back. Remove the trim, install the chrome plate, install the trim and again check for any interference. Don=t tighten the front screws too tight, they can strip out the threads in the plate. Now, enjoy the positive gear selection that the Hurst Quarter Stick offers!
