Due to the changes in the powertrain and driveline, several other changes had to occur inside the car as well.  The car now has an automatic and consequently required an entirely different shifter than we are used to.  The shifter was purchased from PPP (precision Performance Products).  We went with their Powershift I model, which is essentially an air-shifted version of their Kwikshift I.  The shifter is very simple in design and of very high quality.  We went with a forward shift version so each gear change could be made by simply pushing forward. This way there is no need to grab for a different lever instead of the handle that was used for the 1-2 shift.  If we want, we can just hook up the CO2 and controller, and worry about driving instead of shifting. 

Since the new shifter wasn't going to work in the factory opening of the console, we had to fabricate a new console that would house the shifter properly.  This was done using the existing attachment points for the center insert of the console and giving the old skeleton some structure with .032" thick aluminum.  Once the aluminum was shaped and fixed to the skeleton, it was then covered with the same light-weight carpet found throughout the car.  An aluminum plate was made to fit in place of the stock shifter bezel to hold switches or anything else that may need to be mounted within reach of the driver.  The plate was then painted with satin black to fit the rest of the interior.

We also decided to relocate the line lock button to the streering wheel as well as the trans-brake button.  This will allow for easy access to the line lock button located on the left of the wheel while performing the burnout and free shifting with the right hand.  The tran-brake button mounted on the right side of the wheel is also in a very comfortable position for the driver during launches. 

This is the original mock-up to get the rough posistioning for the shifter.  We knew at this point the shifter was too high, but the fore-aft position was correct, so now all we needed to do was modify the console to fit the shifter.

Here the air-cylinder can be seen. 

Just another view of the covered console and shifter

Here you can see the console plate in place (Holes for switches not yet cut out)

The dual rocker switches on the left are for the power windows and the toggle switch with safety cover on the right is for activating the trans-brake to get reverse.

Here you can see the sheet aluminum shaped and in place to form the new console for the shifter

The covered console looks clean and simple.

Here are the line lock and trans-brake buttons

Here's the completed console.  The finish on the plate turned out almost identical to the factory plastic panels.