Has anyone converted a column to console auto?

[MoparMotel]

I've got a 68 Charger with a column shift auto. I was planning on converting it to a 4 speed but after a couple months of pricing out parts/labor needed to do the job I have decided against it. My second plan is to convert my car from a column auto to a console auto.

What else would I need besides a column, shift linkage, and console? Also I have the buddy seat, does the console mount in the same mounts that the buddy seat bolts into?


Thank you!

[doctor4766]

To do this to a factory style you will need the brackets for the transmission hump to fit the shifter and the console.
The buddy seat uses a different bracket.

Having said that, here is what I did. As woeful as it may appear to some, it works. But my car was a plain Jane 318 car.

I removed the column shifter and ground off the un-needed parts. ie the gear indicator and the shift lever receiver.
I used body filler to fill in the holes, then sanded and painted the column so you couldn't see it wasn't a factory floor shift version.

I originally fitted a B&M Quicksilver shifter right in front of the buddy seat and that works very well.

Recently I scored a factory console after having seen another member's car with both the B&M AND a console.
Fortunately the B&M shifter was virtually in the perfect location already so I just slid the console back and forth til I found the best position for it.
I marked and drilled the two holes for securing the console to the buddy seat brackets. I did use a spacer between the console and the bracket though as they weren't exactly the same width.

Then I made an extra bracket to raise the front of the console over the shifters bracketry and bring it up to the right height.

And that's about it.

I will say though that the shifter lines up nicely in Park, but by the time you're in 1st gear the shifter lines up more with the Drive location on the gear indicator.
This is probably because of the ratchet action of the shifter.

[MRCHARGER]

You can buy all of the necessary parts to convert to a console. Save your buddy seat and bracket just in case you want to go back someday. I converted mine back in '98. In those days (sorry to sound like an old timer) you had to find a donor car. The one that I scavenged from was a nice '69 Charger a guy was parting out. I removed all of the pieces myself which came in handy when installing on my '68. Got the console, wiring, brackets, shifter linkage, and the rest of the light group package. It worked out perfect.  The guys on this site (myself included) can give you the correct locations to weld in the brackets and shifter. The only thing I didn't know then that I know now is; 68 auto/floor shifts had the reverse light switch on the shifter and 69 had it on the trans. This was one of my best upgrades back in the day, it's worth it.