Oh boy, I LOVE IT!

As some of you might know, one thing that I really miss about White Trash was the shifter placement. I love the shifter on the SA's. When I got the '85, the shifter placement kept bugging me. Shifter too far back, too low, felt too stubby, like flopping a light switch. Plus, the lack of mechanical advantage made it hard to shift sometimes, especially on cold mornings and any time trying to get into 2nd gear. At first I tried putting my Hurst T-handle on it but that made the shifter even lower and the mechanical advantage even worse.

Well, all that has changed!

A few weeks ago I discovered that the threads on the shifter are the same threads as in a 12A dowel pin. I had a couple spare dowel pins laying around tdidn't belong to any engine so I took one, cleaned the threads up, and put it on. Neat. But still, something felt kinda missing. I had been toying with the idea of drilling a spare generic shift **** out and gluing it on to the top of the dowel pin. I don't have any drill bits that size and trying to make a big, round, straight hole with Dremel bits didn't look too enticing.

Then, this morning I realized that the threads - 12x1.50 - are the same as a lug bolt. Heyyyyyy.... I went out to the garage and grabbed a spare lug bolt, threaded it into the other end of the dowel pin, then took the dowel pin off and hacked the head off. While it was off I sanded and polished the pin first with a Scotch-Brite disk, then a finer Scotch-Brite pad, then some steel wool. I threaded the pin back on the shift lever, then threaded the OE shift **** onto that.

It looks great! And it FEELS great! The shift **** is nice and high and close to the steering wheel, perfect for quickly taking a hand off the wheel, flicking into the next gear, and going back to the wheel. Or, with my arm resting on the arm rest, can just casually flick it into the next gear with my fingers on the dowel pin. The added mass on top of the shifter adds a good amount of pendulum weight and it just flies right into the next gear!

Again, I LOVE IT. Hopefully I will have pics to put up on Sunday. It has a nice "industrial" look to it as well.

 

hmm that's interesting, my friend did that in his fd (he had k2rd make one) and its not bad. and you know its been too long since i had an sa22

mike

 

wow, you have the same idea i did. everyone keeps hacking these down for short throws but i like it close to the wheel for that same reason. if i want to change the throw then i'll change the bottom (if possible).

 

Well hombres, on the otherhand, I just installed a new Mazdatrix shortthrow shifter in my 84 GSL-SE this week and it ****** rocks!

The shift **** remains at the same height as the original, but the throw is about half the travel of the stock throw: 3 1/2" vs 6", (and it's tighter than a 16yr old virgin )

The primary difference between the the stock version and the modified one is the distance of the "ball" from the base of the shifter. The short throw shifter has an extended length between the ball and the base compared to the stock model, plus a a spacer, that when mounted provides the change in the fulcrum point, and thus the short throw.



Where it really shines though is while cornering I can now drop a gear w/out the rpms going in the toilet. It also works perfectly w/ my lightweight flywheel

Now the question is.......... can my left foot keep up w/ my right hand!

 

It depends whether your left foot has had all the practice that your right hand gets...

You bunch of pervs, I was only talking about the fact that he maybe drove an automatic before, what did you think he was doing with his right hand?

 

branca- thats what i'm talking about. changing the fulcrum point using the lower end.

 

One disadvantage to the shifter as it is now is I can no longer rest my wrist on the shifter in 5th for when I adjust the radio. BIG DEAL.

Next on my list of neat mods... I was sitting in the car today trying to get my "optimal seat position" back, which is difficult. The GSL has a tilt driver's seat as well as recline. Well, I want it tilted all the way up/back for best thigh bracing esp. when braking hard, but when I have it that high my knee can't fit under the steering column for heel/toe unless the seat is pretty far back. I have to have the seat reclined a fair bit in order to fit comfortably without a helmet. With the proper knee room and helmet room, my arms are too outstretched for proper driving, at least the kind of driving you'd expect when you're somewhere that requires a helmet What I need is to make the seat lower.

It LOOKS like I can eliminate the tilt hardware entirely and bolt the seat straight to the adjuster rails. This would make the seat permanently in the "full tilt" position. Good. The seat would be about an inch lower. Very good. This would simultaneously allow be to move the seat more forward AND reduce the recline of the seatback. This means I get more helmet room, more knee room, the steering wheel is closer to my torso, AND I get to sit in a more upright seating position which is better for "sporting" driving since you get better chassis feedback that way, and jamming on the brakes hard doesn't mean sliding up the seatback.

Seeing if my idea will work will have to wait until next week though... tomorrow I'm going to Cedar Point, and Sunday I'm spending all day with family.

 

peejay, I don't exactly understand what you did in your shifter mod. Can you please post a pic. I have a C's shoft throw, and a cut-down, both ar eok, but what I am really looking for is a short throw (like the C's), but one that places the shift **** right up close to the steering wheel. Not more than 2-3 inches away hopefully. Is this what you have accomplished?

 

yeah mine need some more head room too.
i have an idea, my stock t2 shifter broke, and its actually 2 peices. theres the ball fulcrum part and the lever. the joint is where the boot sits. thats where mine fell apart.

mike

 

High Mounted Rally-Style Shifter.

Courtesy of the 2003 Honda Civic Si

 

The shifter throw is about 6-8 inches. I don't like short throw shifters - I actually seem to shift slower with them vs. a regular shifter. I like a nice, tall shifter.

I'll post pics as soon as I can get someone to take a digital camera to them. (Mine's broke) In a nutshell, I raised the factory shift **** by about 80-90mm on a factory shift lever.

 

Now if you could combine that with a shorter throw you'd have the best of both worlds.

 

Peejay.....

insttead of going through ALL that work to get your seat lower...why not just throw in a 2nd gen seat.....

i just did that today...and im an inch lower at least....

no more hitting head on ceiling..or tilting back just to clear the roof

 

I don't LIKE 2nd-gen seats. Too flat, not enough side bolstering.

I know, I know, I should just get a race seat and be done with it That's in the distant future.

I have another project... let's space the steering wheel back two inches and lower the column a little if possible!

If it sounds like I'm trying to make the car feel like a late 60's/early 70's Ford, you'd be right. My favorite driving position was the one from my first car, an old Ford... sitting on the floor, steering wheel in your lap...

 

everything is electronic these days peejay. just switch over to a force feedback electronic steering wheel.

 

Just shrink a few inches

I'm 5'8", about the size of a tall Asian dude, and I fit my car perfectly

 

6'5 sucks I kinda envy my friends who're under 6' because they can drive anything they want!

Although it's funny... my friend with the ZX2 is, I dunno, 5'7ish or so. I got in his car to do something (feel the brake pedal I think) and I mvoed the seat FORWARD. It's just ingrained in me to sit close to the wheel with my knees bent

 

you want to sit close to the wheel, you have more leverage that way. you need a spacer for you steering wheel, it also sucks you cant go smaller on the wheel, even a 350mm wheel blocks everything.

mike

 

Anyone have a spare SA shift **** (5-speed)?

 

i'm the opposite. i want my arms slightly bent. i feel like i can turn the wheel faster without getting my arms caught up in each other. i have sort of a fighter pilot seating position.

 

I am trying to picture in my head what you did...


tell me if I am correct, you took the sift **** off, stuck a dowel pin without the head on it, then stuck a lug bolt into that?


huh.... Sounds too long, and sloppy....

 

It's exactly what i did. It somewhat approximates what is already in an SA.

Arms slightly bent isn't very good. It's how I have to drive now. It's very tiring, since the seatback angle means the torso flops around a lot and you have to basically hold yourself up using your outstretched arms Better seating position helps in all respects.