Seeking an El Camino 4 Speed center console

[gnvair]

gnvair, By way of further explanation, in looking at several pictures that were posted to this thread, they clearly show the console stopping before the tunnel pocket or opening for the manual shifter, and nothing up under the dash. For lack of a more precise term, I am simply calling what I see in the pictures, the short console. Both interiors look like they belong to Monte's. Re-viewing those pictures, it almost looks like the console has possibly been pushed back and remounted. I don't recall the rear tunnel bracket having multiple drillings for locating holes but haven't really looked at it for that reason. Something to do tomorrow. If the bracket is drilled then all I need to do is remove the "bread basket" and use the alternate set of holes to install what is left; problem solved. There are blank inserts available to cap the hole where the auto shifter would have poked through. Plan B would have been to leave the console out altogether and just go with the bare carpet between the seats. Do-able but leaves things looking sort of bare. It had been my belief that GM offered a version of the console that had been made specifically shorter than the auto version in order to accommodate the four speed access. Being able to disassemble the auto console and adjust its mounting location further back on the tunnel had not occurred to me. Would not be the first time I was wrong.

Same console, just mounted slightly more to the rear. The 78-88 A/G bodies had an unusal set up with the manual transmission because of the position of the seats in relation to the driveline. GM used a special bracket on the Saginaw 3 and 4 speed transmissions that mounted the shifter as far forward as possible on the tail. Typical 3 and 4 speeds in other models mounted the shifter at the back of the tail which is about 6 inches further to the rear. The forward mounting position allowed them to use the same console body and just move it slightly. I think the factory shifter positioning was really to allow clearance with bench seat vehicles.

 

[clean8485]

Here's the setup in my 1980 factory 4 speed Malibu with the console. I hope it will help to clarify the positioning of thing

 

[CopperNick]

Took a peak at those Malibu shots and got a clear sense of how close the console gets to the shifter. Did go out and take a look at the rear console mounting bracket on the Monte's tunnel and found it actually had three (3) sets of holes punched in it. When the car was an autostick, I used the center set of holes and everything lined up okay. If I shift the console rearward so that it's back set of mounting holes line up with the rearmost set of holes in the tunnel bracket, by tape measurement, what I get is 24" from the slotted holes in the bottom of console storage compartment to the front edge. Measuring from the rearmost holes on the tunnel mounting bracket to the shifter, I get 22". The shifter mechanism is physically centered in its opening. I may have to get the console out of the storage and physically set it in place to see if it crashes against the shifter. The one pic from above shows things get tight for clearance. Wonder if there is a second set of holes dimpled in the bottom of that console compartment that were never drilled because if I move the console back two inches and drill two new holes in the bottom of that compartment, then things will line up. Just curious.