[Goldenblack440]

HI all- i have just worked out that what i thought was a standard shifter is actually a Slapstik shifter- it just doesn't work! Luckily i have another slapstick out of a 71 Challenger that works perfectly, to compare it to. The 71 had a T handle with "Slapstik" written on the selector- the 73 has a stubby stick and press button and does not say Slapstik, which is why i thought it was standard. They both are identical with the part number 45690.

So, if the ratchet mechanism is worn, is there anything that can be done with it? Are there places in the USA that sell parts for them? I had a look at Dave's link to the SHIFT-R-GATE- looks good but it is only the gate- it relies on the rest of the shifter, ratchet and springs etc to be in good condition.

My other question is for the parts shown in the pictures. I got them from PA Classic, on EBay, doing a search for "Slapstick". I have no idea where that spring fits in, he calls it the long winded name of "Slapstick Automatic Floor Center Console Gearshifter Control Linkage Rod Return Spring".

The other part, i know where it goes but does anyone know what the function of that weird hook shape is (arrowed) ??

Thanks! Steve

[christer]

Both of your cars (I assume that you have a 71 and a 73 Challenger) shall have t-handle shifters unless someone have done something homemade. Right?

At the moment I could only find these two scans. I do not think they will be of any help though. I will be in my garage on Tuesday. I can take a look then.

[Goldenblack440]

Hi Christer. Thanks for the pics- although they don't help me with the slapstick- but they are interesting in that they both don't have the hook on the forward linkage shifter bracket like mine do. Does anyone know if this is something to do with the slapstick? It looks like some spring is meant to go there (see picture in first post). I always thought it was just a buffer or locator to stop the console moving to the left, but that would not make much sense.

Christer, it also shows a standard shifter- it is very similar to our Australian Valiant standard shifter. I have done some reasearch and have found out that the stubby stick that is in my 73 is non standard (that car is a factory manual) and is actually a 70 only (one year only) AAR/TA slapstick handle. Someone has put that in with a selector screen from a non slapstick car.

Well see the disassembled pics of both slapsticks. They are both identical in every way- all parts have same part numbers. I am just wondering where the RATCHET is? I have included a pic of the only thing that could possibly be the ratchet, but it is only the rod and spring that releases the gate when you press the button. Does anyone have any idea? I might just have to work it out for myself.

Well i have just bought some 5mm hex head bolts to reassemble them (they wee held in by rivets) and some light Lithium grease.

[christer]

It feels like the mystery has been solved, or what do you think (see pic´s below).

[christer]

Slapstick but inside a non-slapstick selector quadrant- confused?- i was.

Maybe a repro glass?

[jh27n0b]

Why do you say that the 70 is not a slap stick? My original 70 slap stick shifter does not say slap stick anywhere on it. Is there something that I am missing?

Bob

[Moparman1972]

I dont think the "selector screen" was different between any of the shifters/model years. And mine also does not say slapstick anywhere on it.

Also, yes, there is supposed to be a notched plate that goes into the shifter assembly that is pulled upwards by a spring towards a tab on the shifter. This notched plate locks the shifter until you click it back and the spring pulls it up, providing the slapstick action.

[christer]

My original 70 slap stick shifter does not say slap stick anywhere on it.

I thought all of them were marked "slap-stick".

[Goldenblack440]

Christer thanks for your photos of the spring location- you are a life saver! Both my slapstick cars had this hook shaped pivot bracket but no spring- i wonder where they went to? Well i have assembled both slapsticks- i made sure i kept all the parts for their respective shifter that they came from and then just swapped the handles around to see if i could get the 70 stubby stick slapstick to work which was not working before. Now it is trying to work but only sometimes- the T handle still works perfectly, so i am going to juggle around a few more parts. I cannot see any wear on any of the parts, so who knows. I can see what is supposed to happen to lock it out but not why it is not doing it.

As for the selector quadrant saying "SLAPSTIK" i thought all slapstick optioned cars had this, but it seems maybe at the factory they might have run out of them or made a mistake or forgot or whatever.

[Goldenblack440]

Why do you say that the 70 is not a slap stick? My original 70 slap stick shifter does not say slap stick anywhere on it. Is there something that I am missing?

Bob

Bob, you might have misread my post- i only assumed the 70 shifter i had (which was in my 73 Challenger) was not a slapstick because, 1. it did not have "SLAPSTIK" on the slector screen like other do, and 2. it did not seem to function with the slapstick ratchet action. It was only until i found a slapstick in my next 71 Chall that i could compare the both of them and realise that it was a 70 Slapstick- it just didn't work. That's what i am trying to fix now, as i prefer the look and feel of the 70 stubby stick shifter rather than the T handle.

[Goldenblack440]

Also, yes, there is supposed to be a notched plate that goes into the shifter assembly that is pulled upwards by a spring towards a tab on the shifter. This notched plate locks the shifter until you click it back and the spring pulls it up, providing the slapstick action.

This notched plate actually roughly pivots around handle pivot pin, this is what i can see is supposed to lock it- it does in my 71 but only sometimes in the 70. It might be just a matter of tolerances and a bit more lube and exercising it. The green arrow is the tab that gets moved with the handle and is supposed to lock it against the gate until the handle has no tension on it or is pulled back slightly, I think the spring that Christer showed above helps this action a lot too.

[Goldenblack440]

I just bought the Slapstick Shifter linkage Rod Return Spring off PA Classics on Ebay. This is the spring shown above and Christer has shown where it goes. This guy knows a lot about Mopar. I told him what you guys said here and showd him Christer's picture from the manual and this is his reply:

I said: On a related point, speaking with guys on the forum , it seems some of them who have factory slapstick cars did not get the "SLAPSTIK" on the selector screen. Also a picture from the 70 workshop manual shows the standard non-slapstick setup with no hook/spring on bracket.

HE replied: Steve, That is correct not all indicators have slapstick on them. Yes i know the manual does not show a spring and if you look at the pic in the 70 Plymouth manual for Barracuda they are not even showing an e-body shifter that is why there is no hook for a spring. Those manuals are totally incorrect with some of the pictures so don't use them as a guide they are for reference only. I have no clue why so many of the pics in the service manual are so incorrect. Many people make the same mistake they buy parts using those pics and then wonder why they will not fit or function correctly. Even the Chrysler part number books are full of mistakes; my parts books have a lot of highlighted areas marked with mistakes i have found over the years. I have owned and documented hundreds of Mopars and worked in a Chrysler dealership when these cars were new that along with hundreds of hours spent on research and documentation, that is how i know what i do. We will get an invoice to you shortly
Don

[christer]

At first I thought the "Slapstick" badge was a ´70 only thing and that the ´71-´74 Challengers did not get this badge. Due to the fact that Bob´s ´70 does not have this badge, then this can´t be true.

My only theory right now is that Chrysler had two different suppliers of shift indicators - one of them had been instructed to add a "Slapstick" badge and the other one did apparently not get this instruction. Yes, it is a long shot, I know, but things like this do happen from time to time. Maybe Chrysler did not think it would matter so they did not do anything to stop this small variation between the cars.

[Moparman1972]

This notched plate actually roughly pivots around handle pivot pin, this is what i can see is supposed to lock it- it does in my 71 but only sometimes in the 70. It might be just a matter of tolerances and a bit more lube and exercising it. The green arrow is the tab that gets moved with the handle and is supposed to lock it against the gate until the handle has no tension on it or is pulled back slightly, I think the spring that Christer showed above helps this action a lot too.

Be careful in how you lube it, you might goop it up and the plate will move like molasses!

The spring that Christer posted about above will not affect the slapstick action. I have marked one of your pictures to show the spring I was talking about. This spring, the one on the shifter, is the one that pulls the plate up and locks the shifter handle from moving. I had to use a stronger spring in mine, because the plate would stick and not come up. Try replacing the spring if you cannot get it to lock consistently by lubrication alone. Hope this helps!

[Goldenblack440]

Thanks Moparman- you are right- sort of. I did try this, i added a second spring as well temporarily (you can see it in the third picture)- it made it "feel" more positive but didn't fix the problem. No doubt on a sticky plate it would work, but i have since learned some more through observation. Please refer to pics below. The whole problem i had was related to the ratchet ( i now know where it is!!). The tiny piece of hardened metal that the plate locks into has a half "V" notch. My 70 slapstick was worn whereas the 71 was not as worn, so it enabled the plate to lock it. It took me hours to swap this block of metal over, i had to make my own tools- a small cradle to support the rod and a tiny pin punch to knock out the small roll pin. Now it works!! YAY.

Christer, the picture of the 74 slapstick is the same as mine. I have learned that it is a one-year only 1970 unit (TA, AAR, SE, RT), 71 onwards they went to the T handle. Was that original equipment on the 74 car?

Also, regarding the "SLAPSTIK" lettering- you may be right, they may have had a few manufacturers, i also think they may have not made enough. BUt i am still not sure if this selector quadrant is only for slapsticks of if they used it on the standard floor shift as well (the taller bent stick with press button)

[Moparman1972]

Hey thanks for the follow-up GoldenBlack, mine was probably worn a bit less than yours! I will certainly take a look at it, knowing that the spring is only a temporary fix. Did you happen to measure the height of that step before you put it back together? I'd like to know what a minimal-wear plate measures.

[Goldenblack440]

No probs MoparMan- i have put them both back together but they are still out of the car so will try measuring them. Might be a bit difficult though as the wear would be fractions of a mm- ie, thousandths of an inch. I will try pressing Blu-Tak (plasticine) into the groove and then measuring the deformation. BUt the best way to tell for somew=one is to see how far that vertical tooth on the slide plate goes up into the V cutout on that steel block. They are both hardened, i think the block wears quicker though, as both my plates, when compared against each other were identical and no visible wear.

[dave-r]

This is a great thread. Thanks for putting so much input and detail into it. I am sure this is goingto help a lot of people for years to come.

[Moparman1972]

No probs MoparMan- i have put them both back together but they are still out of the car so will try measuring them. Might be a bit difficult though as the wear would be fractions of a mm- ie, thousandths of an inch. I will try pressing Blu-Tak (plasticine) into the groove and then measuring the deformation. BUt the best way to tell for somew=one is to see how far that vertical tooth on the slide plate goes up into the V cutout on that steel block. They are both hardened, i think the block wears quicker though, as both my plates, when compared against each other were identical and no visible wear.

In your pictures it looks like the plates are the wear pieces, and as the step becomes smaller in the ratchet plate, it has less material to grab the block, keeping the shifter from stopping. Or is this true of the block, too, in that it only goes down to a certain point, and once it loses material off of the bottom, it doesnt catch as well?

Like you said, these are going to be small variations measured with calipers, so I dont trust my eyes.

[Goldenblack440]

This is a great thread. Thanks for putting so much input and detail into it. I am sure this is goingto help a lot of people for years to come.

Thanks Dave- yes, Richard Ehrenberg (editor of US Mopar Action) asked me if i wanted to do a tech article on them, although i have a feeling he was half joking. Still, even half joking its a compliment from him. I have his tech articles on CD-ROM and told him there was nothing at all on the slapstick.

Moparman- you are quite correct on the second point i feel. I fully expected the tooth on the plate to wear but under close inspection they both seem unworn. However when new, i would assume that this tooth fits perfectly into the V notch on the steel block. As you can see from the pics of this, even my least worn one does not fully reach up, however it does more so than the other one, meaning that it may also not be long till its beyond hope. It is actually the metal block that gets thinner, making the V less pronounced, therefore giving less "meat" for the tooth to grip into. These could be manufactured by a competant machinist but i dread the cost- you would have to supply him with a new one to go off. In the years of operation, i dare say the 'ol slapsticks got a fair workout on the street- getting banged (no pun intended) in the heat of the street race. In this situations its quite possible that the tooth Moparman is talking about did get worn as it takes all the force from 1st to 2nd gear. So i can only go on the two i have, looking at a dozen or so would give a better indication of what wears and what doesn't. But anyone with a dozen slapstick mechanisms would be a wealthy man for sure.

I am just adding this bit now, after looking at the Slap in operation: i see what you mean about the top of the tooth getting worn shorter but in my ones this does not happen as the steel block springs up away from that plateau as soon as the tension eases of the tooth, so it rides over the top by about 3-4mm

[Moparman1972]

Thanks goldenblack440, really valuable info for when everyone's slapsticks wear out.

[walkAbout]

Hi peeps,

still a really great thread. Just have my shifter here and was searching for "disassemble auto floor shifter" as my trigger button cannot be removed. Also the shifter did not shift right last summer, so I thought I will take a look at it. Later I like to exchange the shifter ball with a pistol grip.

Only useful information here, so I just registered.

Hello from Germany.

CU

walkAbout

[christer]

Hello from Germany.

CU

walkAbout

Welcome from Sweden.

[fal308]

Hi from USA

[walkAbout]

Hi,

I'd like to add my ratchet, and I think it doesn't look so bad.

What is a bit worn is the underside of the metal block with the half"V" notch.

I put the shifter full of grease last summer, as everything was so dry and not greased over 40 years.

Now I'm struggling with the trigger knob on top. Mine is metal and I don't get it off.

I can screw and screw, even not pull it off. I grabbed the rod that goes down at the end, and hold it with a pincer. Nothing. Now the end of the rod is bent and the trigger won't trigger right. The metal knob seems to be rusted to the rod. I will destroy the trigger button to get it off.

Does somebody know, if the metal trigger was stock? The one I've seen are all black plastic.

CU

walkAbout

[redgum78]

Welcom from Australia

[walkAbout]

Hi,

mystery solved...

The metal trigger button is self-made and was glued to the rod. Didn't destroy something.

Thanks to quapman, who enlighted me with removing a very small cross pin near the bottom of the
shaft. So it was easy to remove the whole rod with the (non stock) button.

If somebody wants to know more about it, I can also help from now on.

CU

walkAbout

[quapman]

Glad I could help! Hopefully, you can get your shaft straightened out.

We'll get you hooked up with an Auto-Grip ASAP.

[CaCuda]

Hello, I have 1970 slapstick shifter that is in need of repair. This is the slapstick shifter with the wood grain knob and the black plastic button located on top. The rod that the black plastic button screws on to, has fallen out of the shifter. I read a post that mentioned that there is a small press pin that needs to be removed from the rod to replace the plastic button.

I can see the small press pin but I think it is broken. It appears to be sheared off on both sides. There is just a small bit of the press pin still remaining in the rod. This is why the I believe the rod has fallen out of the shifter. Please assist:

1.) Do you have a picture of this press pin installed in the rod in the shifter? I am trying to see how a proper press pin looks and what I need to get to properly replace this press pin

2.) Are there any other components attached to the press pin? I think this press pin also assists in pressing down other components when shifting

3.) Do you know where I can purchase Slapstick parts? Ebay seems to be a bit lacking right now in regards to this right now.

Thank You!

[walkAbout]

Hi CaCuda,

I replaced that pin completely when I rebuild mine this spring. Got the advice here and mostly from quapman.

The pin should be out on both or at least on one end otherwise you can take out the plastic push button on top. I think it also presses down the spring that is around the rod. I got a replacement pin and this works so far.
The pin is a half inch long.

HTH

walkAbout