I have been reading a boat load about how sloppy the stock MR shifter is... some go as far as saying its like driving a bus... i didnt notice til i read all the haters posts... now i cant stop thinking about it...

so today i ripped my counsel out and disassembled the shifter.... took some measurements and after debating whether or not i really wanted to risk it all... i finally started...

I am not shooting to shorten the shifter... the height doesnt bother me. just the shorten the stroke...

so far i have ran into a few minor hurdles... in my test fitting i noticed a increase in resistance in the cable. not so much that it will be a bother. but some. it gave it a very very mechanical feel. also with the new placement of the shifter linkage mount the counsel support under the ashtray has to be modified to make way for the cable... bend notched or removed... no biggy since it doesnt support much... also the reverse lock out plastic will have to be notched to fit the linkage mount. but if you didnt see that coming then you havent read anything at all...

the part is at the shop now being hacked and welded back on... hopefully they dont screw it up... and hopefully i didnt either... I have yet to be able to test counsel clearance... but i am not expecting to have an issue at this time.

if all continues to go well i will post a how to with pics... up to this point its been really simple and anyone with some spare time and a local weld shop should be able to get it done. the guys from the shop and i have a cruise tomorrow and they are closed sunday... so i wont have it back til monday... i'm just so excited i had to tell someone

the stock shift stroke was 4'' dead on. i checked twice... and with the mock up it was reduced to 2.5'' the first time i measure and 2.75'' the second two times... damn that measure twice cut once rule... grrrr... the finally product with show the true length...

wish me luck... or hate if you must...

 

Did you change the angle of the cable sheath anchor?
I'd imagine it would cause some binding which could increase the effort, besides the alteration of the mounting point.
Are you cutting the plastic cover to the cable mount off?

It prevents the metal tab from wearing through the shift boot.

 

"It prevents the metal tab from wearing through the shift boot."

that does seem to make sense... but how many times would you have to shift before it wore through?
i did come up with a back up option. since i havent been able to check clearance of the counsel assembly yet. i planned to raise the base pivot and chop the rod base to compensate in the event i made a mistake... but since i dont mind the height of the shifter i am not gonna go out of my way if i dont have to.

thanks for the input i will keep that in mind and when i have the shifter mounted again i will check all the clearance and report back...

 

ps if you break one of the white linkage bushings... its 11 dollars at your local dealer... or at least it is at mine... and you shifter is now broken for a week... take care with them..

 

so i got the shifter back today... i broke one of the lil plastic cups so i cant finalize the install and drive but with everything bolted in right the shifter feels amazing... the binding feeling is gone.. must have been associated with the mock up... i measured and the shifts are between 2 7/8 inches and 2 5/8. however i did go a tad bit excessive with the adjustment and had to notch the shift boot bezel because of it... however from the outside looking in youd never know anything was touched.

 

Today my shifter linkage bushing came in. Finshed the install and putted around my parking lot. Shifter feels amazing. Perfect transition between gears. I've read guys saying installing shifter cable and base bushing made the shifter feel like a rifle bolt. They have no idea. My first thought was a bolt action rifle. All I did was cut the welds on the upper cable mount move it up 1 3/8 in up and reweld it. I wouldn't suggest moving it up that far to anyone else. I had to modify the underside of the counsel to make it work. With the install complete and everything torqued the final throw measurement is 2 3/4.
The main thing im happy about. Is the reverse lock out is completely intact. Lemme know if anyone is interested in a how to write up

 

I would love to see a how too

 

Yes a write up would be awesome. And pics

 

i think that going to be an uncomfertable reach

 

The reach is the same as 1,3,5 were to begin with. Can't go past the stock retainer. But you did get me thinking. So this weekend im gonna try to adjust everything to shorten the shifter height and move the engagement of 2,4,6 back to stock and 1,3,5 into the stock neutral position.

Ps I posted the write up but wait for the ammendment after the coming modifications
after doing the math the current throw reduction is between 28 and 34.5 % I can't say much shorter is possible but I've got nothing better to do.

 

Since im working with very basic tools im factoring the largest margin of error I can see. That being said. My paper mock up shows that I can get another 1/4 to 5/8s reduction out of the factory shaft however it will not be reversible. I will have to cut a large portion out of the reverse lockouts height and the same from the shaft itself. There is a lot to factor in and calculate in this so please be patient with me. geometry and algebra weren't by top subjects 10 years ago.

 

today i pulled out my shifter after work and checked my model against my actually assembly. there is a tad bit of room for improvement. but more to the low side of my mock up. do to the shift boot and the location of where i project the linkage tab would be any extreme modifications would yield undesirable results. if you dont mine a large hump under your shift boot and you can modify it down to 1 7/8 inches. again this is heavily modifying the stock shaft and requires the use of a torch welder and some way to chop the shaft be it band saw, cut off wheel or other...

like i said i can modify everything and shave another 1/4 inch off the stroke... it still requires the torch welder and cutter... and like my first post you have to cut a large section out of the reverse lockout and glue it all back together. the end result being a 2.5ish stroke with my shift knob 2.0 inches from the top of the shaft w/o a shift knob and a 1 inch reduction in height. my shift knob sits one inch above the top of the shaft and thats why the stroke difference.

I sat up last night and worked out about 10 different ways to modify the shifter using various heights and linkage movements trying to work out the best. shortening the shaft 1 inch and raising the linkage 1 inch get the most results. you can shorten the shaft more but it works against you on the linkage which actually lengthens the stroke. the height of the shifter didnt bother me to start with so i shot for the minimum stroke and maximum height.

the way i went about modifying the shifter so far has made the shifter orient to the front gears more and i have devised a fix to bring it back to the rear side of the shifter making 2,4,6,R engage like stock and 1,3,5 engage in the stock neutral position. i will be attempting that no later then sunday with any bit of luck. and if its not obvious yet, i have no life so as i figure out more i'll keep this updated...

additionally, in the picture posted above... i eyeballed the short shifter versus the normal one. lined up certain section of the short versus stock and measured those distances on mine... granted there is no way for me to be completely accurate but it looks like its a 2 1/4 reduction in height... that versus the stock mock up i've made would yield a 1'' reduction in stroke making it 3''...

 

well judging by the lack of comments and replies this isnt a popular subject... this weekend didnt go as planned. i couldnt get ahold of my welder... tomorrow i drop off the shifter for the final revision...
stock the throw is 4inches. place the car in 3rd gear... place the back of a measuring tape to the ebrake handle... stretch it out... should be about 9inches. line up the end of the tape with the center line of your shifter... hold it firm so it wont move... shift to 4th. read the measurement... TADA!!! you have your shifter throw.

so far this is what i've done... removed the stock linkage tab, cut back the reverse lockout, rewelded the stock linkage tab 1 3/8 inches higher this left me with a 2 5/8s throw. in order for this to work you have to modify the forward portion of the shift boot ring and the center cousel front support. also the height of the linkage pulls the shift slight forward more so you have to shave the front carrier wall about 1/8s.

then i installed shifter carrier bushings but only the top side.. so it would lower the carrier... this firmed it up and dropped the shifter height by 1/4 inches... somehow my shift dropped to 2 3/8s... its beyond me... no modification needed and actually lowers the shifter enough the center counsel doesnt appear to need to be modified, however since mine is... i cant be certain.

tomorrow i'm going to attempt to have the base pivot raised by 3/4s of an inch.. this is as far as you can chop the shaft without countering the effect of the raised linkage point... with that i have the entire stock linkage removed. the pivot on the linkage is cut free and is going to be welded to a new tab 3/4s inch longer then stock on the same centerline. this will make the engagement point of the forward gears where neutral is stock and the rear gears where they are stock. and since i'm chopping the shaft height i need to weld the linkage 3/4s inch higher...


after further review of my previous mock ups cable length or counsel pieces or something ends up getting in the way. to include the lock out which is the thing i'm trying hardest to keep intact... so all that being said... i think i'm maxing out the limit of the shifter without reducing height and increasing the length of the shift again....

please keep in mind that this last modification is really extreme and i'm expecting to see under a 2'' shift if something crazy doesnt happen... streetability is questionable at this point but hell i have nothing better to do

 

interesting...moar pics!

 

I only have a few pics of the first mod... I cut it apart last night to prep for today. Ill post plenty of pics once its complete. I do have a write with the same title as this thread