Poweglide shifter install info

The Lowe Powerglide shifter is designed for center steer cars to mount on the right side where the brake handle would go if the car had a clutch. Ultra slim design takes up very little cockpit space. Also, the reverse lock out and neutral gate is located near the shifter handle and in the driver’s peripheral vision area making the shifter easier to see and operate. On some other types of shifters the reverse lock out is located near the pivot and often this puts the reverse lock out adjacent to the drivers legs and in a crowded cockpit this can often make it difficult to select reverse gear after the burnout.

Low gear - Pulling the cockpit shift lever handle all the way to the back puts the transmission in low gear.

High gear - Clicking the cockpit shift lever handle one notch forward to the high gear gate stop puts the transmission in high gear.

Neutral - Selecting neutral is done by simply pulling the cockpit shift lever handle to the right and forward one notch against the neutral gate stop.

Park -To place the transmission in reverse or park, pull the cockpit shift lever handle back to the rear position (low gear) with the right hand and use the left hand to raise the lock out gate. Then push the cockpit shift lever handle straight forward with the right hand to the desired position. If the shifter is in park or reverse, forward is selected by just pulling the cockpit shift lever handle all the way to the rear.

Note: The shift handle only moves straight forward and backwards except for neutral gear selection.

Installing the LOWE Powerglide shifter

The LOWE shifter is a little more difficult to install than most shifters but the trouble is worth it on the racetrack. As you can see the shifter does not come as one assembly ready to bolt in the car. Review the photos included for a typical installation. Familiarize yourself with the hardware. Plan your shifter cable route carefully away from high heat sources such as headers. Make the fewest turns possible with the cable and keep all turns as largest possible arc.

Shifter body and cockpit shift lever mounting

The shifter body must be attached to the upper chassis rail with the weld tabs provided and the handle must be attached to a lower rail or diagonal with the weld tab provided. When positioning the handle and the shifter body you must be sure to install them at less than 90 degrees to each other measured in the front and/or more than 90 degrees in the rear. This is to insure the handle does not try to raise the lock out flap on the shifter body on the low to high gear change. If, after installation, because the angle of installation is not sufficent the lock out gate does raise on the low to high gear change then a small notch must be cut in the cockpit shift lever to catch the lockout gate. The standard shifter handle is 19.75 " long but a 25.5 " long handle is available for the situations where you need a longer lever to reach a chassis rail or cross member. An 18.75" long handle is available special order. All shift handles have the same top profile so the any of the optional grips will fit any of the shifter handles. In some cases the shift lever may have to be bent slightly towards the driver for ease of operation or clearance for the drivers hand. Bend the lever only above where the shifter body and the lockout gate intersects with the handle. If you are going to install grips on the handle the bend must be below the the grip mounting position.

Transmission shift lever

Measure the outside diameter of the factory shift lever shaft and drill through the pilot hole in the new lever to this diameter so the new shift lever will fit over the factory shift lever shaft. Rotate the original factory shift lever counterclockwise until it stops in low gear. Click the lever two notches clockwise to the neutral position. Position the new shift lever with the lever pointing at the 12 o’clock position and clamp in place. Tack weld the new lever to the original factory lever. Remove the tack-welded assembly and fully weld. Trim away any of the excess original factory lever that is not needed. Reinstall the shifter transmission lever in the transmission. Before you do this, now is a good time to inspect and replace if necessary the shifter shaft seal in the side of the transmission.

Mounting the shifter cable

Measure the distance the shift lever moves between notches. If you are using our transmission lever the travel distance is ?quot;. After you have mounted the shifter body assembly and the cockpit shift lever correctly measure the travel the lever has between low gear and high gear. This is the rear position on the shifter (low gear) and the first notch forward (high gear). Usually this is about 10 1/8" from the pivot on the cockpit shift lever. Drill a 3/16" hole in the cockpit shift lever to mount our standard shift cable quick release ball joint. Mount the cable to the transmission shift lever and the cockpit shift levers with the quick release ball joints. Put the cockpit shift lever in low gear and the transmission shift lever in low gear. Attach the quick release cable clip to the shift cable housing at the transmission. While the quick release cable clip is on the cable housing move the assembly to the rear and mark the point on the transmission safety cover plate to mount the quick release cable clip to. Keep the mounting point in a place where the cable has a straight push / pull to operate the lever and the cable is at a right angle (90 degrees) to the transmission shift lever. Drill and mount the quick release cable. Locate the shifter cable at the cockpit shift lever end keeping the shifter cable at a near right angle to the cockpit shift lever. Mounting the shift lever to a weld on bracket can be done with another quick release clip or a cable clamp. Usually this end of the cable will not need to be removed quickly therefore a cable clamp is used here.

Checking the operation of the shifter

Operate the shifter through its normal range of operation without the engine operating and confirm the correct operation of the shifter. Jack the race car up and put it on stands and start the engine and reconfirm the correct operation of the shifter by cycling the shifter thorough each gear and confirming the rear wheels are doing what they are supposed to. Minor cable adjustments may be necessary by adjusting the screw on quick release ball joint cable ends. Ocassionally repositioning the QD cable clamp clip on the transmission cover may be necessary.

Lockout gate spring adjustment

The lockout gate comes with the spring adjusted from the factory. If further adjustment is necessary loosen the locknut on the rear and then loosen the lock screw on the front and rotate the lockout hinge button in the direction required and retighten the lock screws and nuts. The lockout gate spring must always rotate the gate closed when the cockpit shift lever is moved to the rear. It does not readjust until it does.

Note: Keep the unit clean and occasionally spray with some Inox lube.

LOWE Powerglide shifter
Includes shifter body assembly, shifter handle(w/o grips)and shifter
mounting weld tabs - 32648-10000 KLRC shifter kit.

LOWE Powerglide shifter accessories
32648-22616 KLRC Shifter handle grips.
Shift handle grips Available in black, red, blue, gold.

32648-10002 Powerglide shifter weld on lever.
Welds to Powerglide shift shaft to connect the shift cable ball
joint to.
Powerglide weld on shift arm

32648-10001 Powerglide shifter cable and mounting kit- Includes cable (standard shifter cable 53140-00300 118" long + Includes cable mounting kit 2 ea 3/16" ball joint, 1 ea QD cable housing clamp, 1 ea Cable, housing clamp (half clamp) with screw and nut, 1 ea Chassis weld tab.
Shift cable transmission mount Cable mount at transmission end.

Shift cable shifter mount
Cable mount at shifter end.

32090-31040 Powerglide shifter park start switch kit. Includes switch, switch mounting bracket, switch spacer and all mounting screws.
Park Start switch and mounting

32648-10009 CO2 shift kit (less cyl and regulator)Includes push pull cylinder, solenoid control valve and line kit with quick release fittings.
CO2 shifter kit

53702-00016 CO2 cylinder
53702-00017 Cylinder mount clamp (billet cnc)
53702-00018 Cylinder regulator
53702-00019 Cylinder regulator nipple and nut
CO2 cylinder, regulator, nipple and mount bracket

32350-00050-Powerglide electric shift solenoid kit with relay

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Have you flowed your fuel system ? Flowing your fuel system will create a "map" of the fuel curve and assist you in making good tuning decisions.

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Other literature available.
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99253-00005 KLRC car features
99253-20001 Modified Dragster Prices
99253-30001 Modified Altered Prices
99253-40001 Modified Roadster Prices

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