mad_machine said:
so the precursor to paddle shifters? I would have rather had a single stick with a "pattern"
It's more like a shifter conversion to look/work like a Lenco shifter, as pointed out in the first post.
Look at the shifter assembly on the car Ranger50 posted above. Unless that is a REALLY good fake that is what a Lenco shifter looks like. Lencos are basically multiple 2-speed transmissions that get stacked inline to make however many gears the transmission needed, and each transmission had its own shifter. You keep pulling each one back until you're out of gears 
The small lever would be the shifter for the reverser box. These were used up to the 90s in Pro Stock until they figured out how to make a clutchless dogbox work and live.
The thing with Lencos is they are PLANETARY gearsets, and they were pretty lossy, which is why Pro Stock moved away as soon as they could. They also (apparently, I never got to drive one) shifted as fast or as slowly as you moved the lever, so they weren't unstreetable. In the Pro Street era you used to see cars with a gaggle of shifters sticking out of the center console because the guy had a Lenco in it to further look like a Pro Stock car.
That equates to a theft deterrent (like a manual transmission) nowadays.
Woody
MegaDork
1/23/20 7:16 a.m.
Lightning Rods on FM, $500. Not mine, etc...
From ad:
for sale a complete lighting rod shifter, it was made to look like a lenco in the car ,, and also parts to make it a factory one,, 500 buck with shipping to lower 48, PM me with any questions. comes with all parts .
In reply to Woody :
Damn those kilduff version is same money roughly. And that's brand new!
Knurled. said:
Lencos are basically multiple 2-speed transmissions that get stacked inline to make however many gears the transmission needed, and each transmission had its own shifter.
Isn't this basically what an automatic is? Instead of a manual shifter though, there are automatic ways to engaging the clutches to switch the gear in each planetary set?
As I posted earlier though, the trans you have shown there has 4 planetary gearsets in it, so technically it has 16 forward speeds, right? Yes, a bunch of them may overlap or be too close to have value.
kb58 said:
That picture at the top, ugh. I guess we're supposed to believe that she's thinking, "Oooo, he's got three shafts!"
Whoever took that photo was an amateur. MG knew how to imply interest in shafts.
ProDarwin said:
Knurled. said:
Lencos are basically multiple 2-speed transmissions that get stacked inline to make however many gears the transmission needed, and each transmission had its own shifter.
Isn't this basically what an automatic is? Instead of a manual shifter though, there are automatic ways to engaging the clutches to switch the gear in each planetary set?
As I posted earlier though, the trans you have shown there has 4 planetary gearsets in it, so technically it has 16 forward speeds, right? Yes, a bunch of them may overlap or be too close to have value.
That one is a five speed.
You probably could do something goofy like have a 1.2 ratio box here and a 1.3 ratio box there and a 1.4 ratio box there and do some serious gear splitting, but the point of the device is to get a 7 second car down the quarter mile with no chance of missing a shift. Grab the first lever and pull. Grab the next lever and pull. Etc.
Incidentally, one of the big names in race transmissions (Jerico?) got its start from an inventive racer in the 70s who had mobility issues and could not shift forward with his right arm but he could pull back good. He modified a 4 speed to have dogs instead of synchros and rigged a bungee cord to pull the shifter into 3rd. He'd start in 1st, pull to shift to 2nd, let the bungee grab 3rd for him, and then he'd pull back to 4th.
Datsun310Guy said:
Intimidating car stuff when average folks get in your car.
"Don't touch these - I'm highly skilled in operating this".
Also perhaps a good anti theft device in today’s world?
I always thought that those were both stupid and cool at the same time.
In reply to APEowner :
I can't think of any reason why these would ever be better than a ratchet shifter, so stupid, yes. But definitely way cooler.
The story about the start of Jerico is correct, and the guy's name was Jerry. http://jericoperformance.com/about.html
