Andyinchville1
Veteran Member
HI All,
Was thinking about modding the shifter to make it have shorter throws .....
Maybe even make the height of the shifter adjustable up and down to boot ...
I had seen a video on You Tube about a trucker driving his custom big rig on a normal day to day basis ... his truck was fully pimped out and he had an 18 Speed shifter that was seemingly up to his head level..... it was just Sooooooo tall .... almost like choppers having ape hangers but in a shifter!
While there are Kits out there to do that (at least the short shift part) , they seem pretty high $$ and require alot (well some) underhood surgery.
So, with that in mind I took inspiration from the You Tube Video ....
While you may not want to go THAT tall necessarily , it would be "interesting" to be ABLE to do that.
So without further ado ....
Here are my instructions .
Remove the shift ball from the factory shift "pipe" (the "pipe" being what the "ball" screws into .... The shift "ball" being what is in your hand as you row the gears).
1) Take a length of pipe and on one end have a female threaded collar welded on to accept the male threads from the shift ball pipe and on the other end have a male thread section welded on so you can screw the shift ball onto it (hope that was clear)... and extension piece is what is being made here
By having various lengths of pipe made as described in #1 above, you can effectively vary the height of where the shift ball sits .... from just over factory height to ape hanger / head level high ! ... heck why stop there.... just below ceiling height is possible as well.
If you want to get "fancy" a tube in a tube pipe system can be made to be able to vary the height on the fly by simply twisting and loosening and extending the pipe and locking it in its new location (think shower curtain shower rod and how it adjusts for length).
So THAT takes care of the variable height part of the idea ...
Next here is how to get a short shifter for FREE .... All mods done INSIDE the car for ease of doing.... no underhood work required
1) remove and access the factory shift "pipe" mentioned above.
2) saw the pipe off as close to the shifter mechanism as possible while STILL leaving enough to be able to weld a new threaded male section on (either fixed length , adjustable , or just threads welded on).
3) Take the "pipe" length you jut cut off and cut off a little below the male threaded tip from the pipe .... leave enough metal under he threads so you can weld the threaded section to the "nub" of the left over shifter pipe you just cut off,
4) You should now have a very short shift pipe and threaded section poking up at you.
5) Reinstall the shift boot and screw on the shift ball.
6) You should now be looking at a very short shift ball height and a baggy shift boot.
7) Enjoy your new short throw shifts !! (the shorter the threaded section is from the actual shift mechanism the shorter your shift throws will be ).
I call it the Shar Pei Short shift mod since the shift boot will be very "baggy" with this mod .... like the baggy skin of the Shar Pei dog .
What do you think ? Sounds like a new custom craze in the making ! ..... short shift height and short throws! ;-)
Andrew
FYI - If you go crazy tall with the shift lever, it "may" look cool BUT the length of shift throw will be increased with the increased height
The lower the shift ball is to the actual shift mechanism the shorter your throws will be .... happiness is a short one!
CA warning : You need to be secure in your manhood before performing the short shifter mod !! Caution is advised to keep from feelings of inadequacy.
Was thinking about modding the shifter to make it have shorter throws .....
Maybe even make the height of the shifter adjustable up and down to boot ...
I had seen a video on You Tube about a trucker driving his custom big rig on a normal day to day basis ... his truck was fully pimped out and he had an 18 Speed shifter that was seemingly up to his head level..... it was just Sooooooo tall .... almost like choppers having ape hangers but in a shifter!
While there are Kits out there to do that (at least the short shift part) , they seem pretty high $$ and require alot (well some) underhood surgery.
So, with that in mind I took inspiration from the You Tube Video ....
While you may not want to go THAT tall necessarily , it would be "interesting" to be ABLE to do that.
So without further ado ....
Here are my instructions .
Remove the shift ball from the factory shift "pipe" (the "pipe" being what the "ball" screws into .... The shift "ball" being what is in your hand as you row the gears).
1) Take a length of pipe and on one end have a female threaded collar welded on to accept the male threads from the shift ball pipe and on the other end have a male thread section welded on so you can screw the shift ball onto it (hope that was clear)... and extension piece is what is being made here
By having various lengths of pipe made as described in #1 above, you can effectively vary the height of where the shift ball sits .... from just over factory height to ape hanger / head level high ! ... heck why stop there.... just below ceiling height is possible as well.
If you want to get "fancy" a tube in a tube pipe system can be made to be able to vary the height on the fly by simply twisting and loosening and extending the pipe and locking it in its new location (think shower curtain shower rod and how it adjusts for length).
So THAT takes care of the variable height part of the idea ...
Next here is how to get a short shifter for FREE .... All mods done INSIDE the car for ease of doing.... no underhood work required
1) remove and access the factory shift "pipe" mentioned above.
2) saw the pipe off as close to the shifter mechanism as possible while STILL leaving enough to be able to weld a new threaded male section on (either fixed length , adjustable , or just threads welded on).
3) Take the "pipe" length you jut cut off and cut off a little below the male threaded tip from the pipe .... leave enough metal under he threads so you can weld the threaded section to the "nub" of the left over shifter pipe you just cut off,
4) You should now have a very short shift pipe and threaded section poking up at you.
5) Reinstall the shift boot and screw on the shift ball.
6) You should now be looking at a very short shift ball height and a baggy shift boot.
7) Enjoy your new short throw shifts !! (the shorter the threaded section is from the actual shift mechanism the shorter your shift throws will be ).
I call it the Shar Pei Short shift mod since the shift boot will be very "baggy" with this mod .... like the baggy skin of the Shar Pei dog .
What do you think ? Sounds like a new custom craze in the making ! ..... short shift height and short throws! ;-)
Andrew
FYI - If you go crazy tall with the shift lever, it "may" look cool BUT the length of shift throw will be increased with the increased height
The lower the shift ball is to the actual shift mechanism the shorter your throws will be .... happiness is a short one!
CA warning : You need to be secure in your manhood before performing the short shifter mod !! Caution is advised to keep from feelings of inadequacy.