I heard that in 83 they made shifters have shorter throw? Is that true? If so, could an 84 shifter fit in a 79/80 rx? I dont care if I have to bend back the handle, as long as it bolts in THANX LATERZ,
Andrew

 

Hey, thanks for posting my question. I was also wondering about this... what would be the best swap for an SA22C? I saw the T2 tranny swap thread but that looks a little beyond what I want. I'd like to retain the same driveshaft if possible, but I'm not completley attached to it. So what are our options...thanks guys. -George

Edit: Is an 84 GSL-SE a possibility cuz there's one sitting at the junkyard, just begging me to steal from her (again)

 

Any tranny swap into an SA is going to be difficult.

 

Ive done a 85 trans into an 80... You have to chop back about 1 1/2 inches of metal. You have to make a custom gromet to cover the now bigger hole, you have a hell of a time with shifter boots etc. And the consoles dont line up. I thought when I did mine, I just swap the center console section right? Wrong, the metal dash structure is different too. In the end I had to swap the entire metal structure, and all the panels, of course the dash was the same And it went ok, but its not a simple swap

 

Ooops I re-read it, I think you wanna know about the shifter itself, not the whole tranny

I think it will work.. I got a couple shifters around here somewhere from 83's or 85's hell cant remember but they're the same

 

the 81-85 have a remote gear box, while the 79-80 donot.. because of that alone, i donot think that it will be able to just bolt up.

but if it does work, please let me know. i would love to have a shorter stick in my 79.

 

I think he wants to know if he can just pull the old shifter out and place an 81 up shifter in there, I dont see why it wouldnt work except for the shifter maybe hitting the console or the boot not working on it...

 

it is going to be really close to the consol, but i donot thin kthat it will fit.
i am just not sure if you can simply bolt it up inplace of the origional.

 

The shifters are both angled backwards, however the locating dowel for the shifter pivot is in a different place, so the later model shifter will angle forward. Combine that with the shifter pivot being about 4" further forward than in an FB, and basically the shifter will hit the dashboard in anything but 2nd, 4th, or reverse.

I'm contemplating the exact opposite swap... re-bending my '80 shifter so I can put it in the '85 trans. The shift action of the '80 was MUCH lighter and faster than the '85, and I think that's because of the incredibly short (poor leverage) shifter that came in FBs. A nice tall shifter would put it up high and close to the steering wheel and will make shifting much faster. The alternative is putting the whole '80 trans in...


I dunno what the deal is with short shifters, personally... some people like 'em but you can shift quicker and cleaner when you have more leverage.

 

With a short shifter there's less side to side play which makes it feel much more precise. Also less chance of missing a gear.

 

Short shifters suck. Short throw shifters rule.

 

I'm with peejay. I'm going to elongate my '79 stick (I've got an SA tranny in my REPU and the shifter is shorter than the stocker and too low to the floor).

 

i am actually thinking about changing the angle in the stick, so that it is not as far of a reach.

 

Yeah, the forward reach sucks, however the fact that it's up so high is great - it's about a hand's width away from the steering wheel so it's right there when you need it.

I maintain showrt throw shifters suck I loved the shifter in the '80, and it had a little slop but it was "hard slop" and not mushy. When I shift I gently hold the shift lever back, then snap in the clutch, and the lever just falls into place. You have to be a lot more forceful on a short throw shifter and you end up actually shifting slower.

Shifting 2-3 was even better. I'd hold the shifter to the right and forward, then pop in the clutch, and it would fall right into 3rd gear That little bit of slop at the end was beneficial, helped prevent the infamous missed 3rd gear, which is when you get hung up in the gate, right between 3rd and 5th.

 

What kind of short throw shifters have you used? I've never used one that you had to be forecful with. It was no different than stock in the shifting effort, only a dramatically reduced throw.