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Sat Nov 05, 2005 4:08 pm

I'm going to replace the 63 stock shifter in my buggy with a T handle. Does anyone have suggestions as to which are good or ones to avoid? I don't want to spend hundreds for a Berg shifter, but I don't want crap either.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Sat Nov 05, 2005 4:11 pm

I have a rail with a super shifter so no help there unless you've converted to IRS and your running a T-2 tranny. Just watch the quality of the material. I would imagine ones with aluminum would wear fairly quick.

Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:23 pm

Get a Berg shifter, it will be the last one you need to buy.

Sat Nov 05, 2005 6:06 pm

I also concur with the Berg shifter. They are pricey, but they are clearly the best that I have ever used. I think the last one I bought two years ago was around $175... worth every penny. We had one in our Funco desert car for almost 20 years and it just needed some graphite every couple of years. Pretty minimal maintenance.

On the flip side, T handles in general can really be a pain in the knees if you have long legs (I am 6'1"). I prefer round knob shifter handles, but Berg doesn't make one. So a little pain goes with the pleasure (sometimes a fine line! :twisted: )

Sat Nov 05, 2005 6:20 pm

Is the Gene Berg shifter your talking about a T Handle Gene Berg? , I heard the Gene Berg shifter was among the best of Gene Berg type shifters, so a Gene Berg shifter is a must, did I say Gene Berg? sorry couldn't help myself :lol:

Sun Nov 06, 2005 6:34 am

Scat if your not going to fork out the cheese for the Berg. All others are problematic! Plus its a "T" shifter but no button in the handle so you can unscrew the handle for round one when your knee starts hurting.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 6:52 am

Go with a good brand shifter like an EMPI t or ball trigger shifter. Do not buy a knock off. I had two knock off t shifters and after about 2 months the reverse button would pop out. They are chinese junk. You can feel the quality on the better. And with all due respect to eveyone else on the Samba, you do not have to go Gene Berg everything to build a quality ride.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 6:56 am

route62 wrote: Go with a good brand shifter like an EMPI ball trigger shifter. Do not buy a knock off.

:roll:

The EMPI "ball" shifter IS A KNOCK OFF of the Hurst.

BTW... EMPI is Chinese for CRAP. (just m $0.02)

The real deal.

After 20 years of flawless service it as good as new.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 7:10 am

route62 wrote: Go with a good brand shifter like an EMPI t or ball trigger shifter. Do not buy a knock off. I had two knock off t shifters and after about 2 months the reverse button would pop out. They are chinese junk. You can feel the quality on the better. And with all due respect to eveyone else on the Samba, you do not have to go Gene Berg everything to build a quality ride.

He he, Thats an oxymoron "good brand shifter like EMPI" The Empi's are the knock-offs. The bugpacks are knock-offs of the Empi's :) Theres a Brand new Bugpack T shifter (they're "good" one) installed in the '60 I recently bought. it still has pieces of the vacuumed sealed plastic stuck to it and the "made in Tiawan" sticker. It would not shift the gears without holding the reverse lockout button in. Needless to say first thing I did was grind into reverse trying to find second gear :( I had to take it apart and modifiy the supplied base plate to get it to function right. Sure some of it was poor installation by the previous owner i'm sure, but the base plate fit inside the housing makeing it non adjustable from the start so it was mostly the manufactures fault.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 10:57 am

USMCord1 wrote: "Is the Gene Berg shifter your talking about a T Handle Gene Berg? , I heard the Gene Berg shifter was among the best of Gene Berg type shifters, so a Gene Berg shifter is a must, did I say Gene Berg? sorry couldn't help myself "
_________________

What kind of shifter is that again? As an owner of four different vehicles that I have installed Berg shifters in (beetle convertible, baywindow bus, vanagon,dune buggy), I add my voice to the chorus. Everyone has their limit$, but keep in mind that the shifter is one of your physical contact points with your vehicle. Would you abide by a sticky gas pedal, or brakes? Loose steering wheel?
I have recently installed one in a Manx clone project. It's shifts like a Indy car. The best feature is the clean reverse lockout button. I also spend the extra dough for the dust n'grime proof version, as mine will see some dust.
Believe me when I say that each time I have bought one of these I felt a bit bent over. I feel your pain. You do "get what you pay for," however. Case in point: take a look in the parts want ads. Without looking myself, I can say with a reasonable amount of certainty that you won't find a Berg shifter listed there for more than a New York minute, if you can find one listed at all. People buy them, and keep them forever.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:04 am

Glenn wrote: route62 wrote: Go with a good brand shifter like an EMPI ball trigger shifter. Do not buy a knock off.

:roll:

The EMPI "ball" shifter IS A KNOCK OFF of the Hurst.

BTW... EMPI is Chinese for CRAP. (just m $0.02)

The real deal.

After 20 years of flawless service it as good as new.

I have that shifter in my rail no problems at all. How can you tell if a T shifter is a gene berg? I have a couple old aluminum ones I have pulled out of cars at the yard.

I'm running the Jamar super shifter in the Baja. My only complaint is the handle could be a little longer....

Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:17 am

If you can't justify the bucks for a Berg unit, the Scat Drag-Fast is a decent unit. Also, a good original Hurst shifts well.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 11:51 am

Jowlz wrote: I'm running the Jamar super shifter in the Baja. My only complaint is the handle could be a little longer....
exactly. and the reverse lockout could have been designed a little better. but it's still a great operating shifter once you get it dialed in.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:02 pm

Jowlz wrote:
How can you tell if a T shifter is a gene berg?

A Berg shifter will say Berg on the handle.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:39 pm

nice try glenn, but this is more along the lines of what a standard berg shifter would look like

Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:14 pm

HamburgerBrad wrote: nice try glenn, but this is more along the lines of what a standard berg shifter would look like

Now thats an ugly assed shifter. I guess if it works good it might be worth having a big name across the top..but not my taste.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:33 pm

I've always been kind of partial to the el cheapo $30 T handle shifters.

Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:43 pm

Jowlz wrote: HamburgerBrad wrote: nice try glenn, but this is more along the lines of what a standard berg shifter would look like

Now thats an ugly assed shifter. I guess if it works good it might be worth having a big name across the top..but not my taste.
if i'm not mistaken, you can pay a bit extra and get a custom logo on top

Sun Nov 06, 2005 1:45 pm

I can see a pattern here. I've heard Empi=Crap, so I intend to avoid them.

What about the Flat 4 Shifter? Anyone use these? They seem to be middle of the road for price so hopefully better than Empi. Not a Berg of course, but may be fine for daily operations.

I close to just getting a Berg 6730, an 11" curved shaft, or a 6710EB, a 12" with an extra bend. May not be too bad on the knees as the seats in the buggy are a bit lower and further back than a stock bug. I'm only 5'7", so not a lot of leg length to spare in reaching the gas pedel.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll let you know what I end up with.

Mon Jan 04, 2010 7:31 pm

I realize this topic is a bit dated, but Berg does offer a ball-handle shifter... for an extra $89.