I am putting together a 65 Belvedere with a factory console and shifter. I am looking for opinions on the Imperial Services 1962-1965 Shifter Conversion Cable Kits. I see a lot of people recommending them, but I also heard some people had problems. I would like to hear from people who actually used a 66 and up 727 with the kit. Would you recommend it? Any problems?

Email me at dmorgan@alumni.fdu.edu

i installed one on my 62 dart it took a little adusting but it seems to work ,i havnt driven the car yet so i cant coment on the street operation yet.

My dad and I installed this kit into his '65 coronet with '66 transmission last year.

Compared to the B&M ratchet shifter/cable setup I have in my Dart, my dad's conversion cable was very hard to adjust. You are supposed to be able to lift the cable out easily in any gear, meaning the shift lever is fully seated in any gear so there is no pressure on the cable. On my car with the B&M I can do that no problem.

On my dad's car though, we could not adjust it to be able to pull the cable out in any gear. We put it "in between" and it's close enough, the only problem is it has to be caressed into 3rd gear (we used a manual valve body). So far my dad has learned how to shift it into 3rd consistently, so it hasn't been much of a problem, but this is just a casual street car. I would probably be more annoyed with it than he is, but he manages with it as is.

I don't know what part of the system is to blame, but it could be the way the cable is twisted internally in order for the attachments at the shifter and transmission to fit. That's what my dad thinks it is.

I think if we had to do it again, I'd try to cobble my own "kit" together. It appeared to be a standard shifter cable with certain ends on it, a very lightweight spring to make it shift easier, and a standard shifter cable bracket that comes with universal shifters like B&M and Hurst. Perhaps the bracket is specially made for this transmission? I'm not sure, but it sure looked like the one that came with my B&M.

i believe your right coz i have a 60's b&m that basically is a shifter mechanism from a stocker with a chrome cover over it. it uses a double nut ends with a eye on one end and a threaded end on the other, i believe these were recalled by b&m for safty reasons.

I recently installed the Imperial services cable conversion on my 65 coronet and It does not work well with the stock counsel shifter as advertised.
I have tried to get a hold of them for advice on how to resolve my issues with the shifter.
I can find no adjustment to change the way it works with the late model 727 without modifying the shifter itself.
I would not recommend this company' services or components.

Other than the later front pump allowing more convertor choices, is there any reason to go to a later trans? I know that the input can be changed on the early trans to allow later convertors, as I actually have one set up that way as well as a stocker with a slightly higher stall from Pat Blais.

Does that really matter if you claim to be able to supply something that is not compatible? I just wanted to use my already built transmission from my 68 and was assured I could by Steve at Imperial.
If I had the information to modify my shifter to work with there set up I would be satisfied.
I can't even get a return email or phone call.

steve is a nice guy but his conversion kit sucks after pulling my hair out for many hours i decided to put a b$m shifter in it so i can drive it ,now i have a 250 dollar conversation piece.it took them almost a year and a half to get the job done now i cant use it becauseit sucks,i think the problem is with the tranny arm they supply it did not give the correct angle for proper cable opperation. when i switched to a b&m and used the same lever i got the same problem sow i switched to a b&m lever and it works great. I havnt tried the buttons yet to see if this was the problem but im interested to hear if anyone has tried this fix

Nice info on the conversion and customer relations. MoparSquid, I know you didn't just fall off the hay truck and are mechanically minded, so I will use yours and the others info and not waste my money on the conversion. I will purchase something else. See you sometime at Signorellis or MATS.

My dad is still having issues with his.

Do you think if we kept the rest of the conversion kit, and switched the lever to a B&M lever that would work? Or does the B&M lever only work with the spacing of the detents in the B&M shifter?

The trans lever supplied from Imperial Services is shorter than the B&M. The Imperial Services console shifter conversions that I've installed had interference problems with the lever pinch bolt contacting the case, other than that they worked OK.

John,

How did you adjust it to work with the shifter?Im all the way out and I have no more adjustment left.
It would seem the cable is to long or the braket is incorrect.

I'm very interested in this thread as well. I just installed an imperial services kit to keep my push buttons on my 56 plymouth with a 66 torqueflite. I installed it and it seems fine so far but I haven't been able to drive the car yet. When i had a helper push the buttons it looked like it wasn't moving the lever very far.

the angle of the supplied trans arm and the cable(it seems like it flex's i the sheeth)I think are the problem it took along time for him to retrofit mine ,I was told several times that they incountered problems in manufactureing I personally believe that they never worked out the bogs ive talked to several persons who had the conversion and all had complaints also.

Going to the 3 too! I'll be looking for some FMJ spindles and lower 73- b body arms.

9 out of 10 problems with the kits are related to the manual valve detent lever spring. Failure to use the spring supplied with the kit results in deflection of the pan rail bracket and leads to cable failure and potential transmission damage. No matter how much we stress the need for the correct spring(similar tension to the '62-65 spring), some "expert" decides it's not needed and uses a '66-later spring.

The 10th of ten problems involves the pan rail bracket - the bracket has two specific bends that position the cable housing properly so that the throws are correct. Imagine the cable coming to the transmission at a 90 degree angle - the distance the cable moves will be nowhere close to moving the manual valve lever the correct distance. Now imagine that the bracket gets bent to clear exhaust or cooling tubes - the precise alignment has been changed, and the throws are no longer correct.

Due to differences in the early and later transmissions, the conversion kit pan rail bracket will deflect slightly when the transmission is shifted to park - not a problem unless you're looking for one.

Building the short shift lever arm did require the pinch bolt nut to run very close to the case - it clears some cases but not all, due to variances in the machining relative to the case. We grind the edge of the nut for clearance and instruct the installer to check the clearance before driving the car. It's a simple matter to clearance the case if needed.

There is no real magic to this kit... we simply moved the '62-65 valve body shift geometry to the outside of the case. There are minor increases in effort due to the cable and linkage now being outside the transmission and not bathed in nice warm Dextron, but not enough to cause problems.

The biggest sources of trouble seem to be either well meaning transmission shops who don't want to use the wimpy spring (probably due to fear of transmission failure), or frustrated do-it-yourselfers who are more interested in seeing why the kit works than in driving the car. If the directions are followed and the kit is installed complete, without modification, it works.

There are literally hundreds of these kits out and about working just as they should. The problems we've had are nearly always a result of failure to follow the instructions or the installer adjusting the kit to fit an installation.

Steve

Ok simple question. I am building a 1957 Plymouth Suburban wagon and will be installing a 1965 vintage 727 changing from the current 2 speed shifter to a 3 speed version. Where can I buy a cable kit right now?