Author Topic: DIY Short Shifter. (and Oil Cap) (Read 10929 times)

Mr Crowley · « **on:** February 27, 2014, 05:13:03 pm »

Firsts things first. Sorry if this is the wrong sub forum. I wasn't sure which sub forum as a search or two never really nailed exactly which forum this belongs on. So I apologize in advance.

DIY Short Shifter, Right away I am going to mention that I have access to a professional quality manual engine lathe and a vertical mill. I'm in school right now at SAIT taking a Millwrighting course. So this project isn't necessarily for the home garage guys. Unless you have some sweet tools! In that case can I please come to your place when I no longer have access to these sweet tools?

1. First remove old shifter and measure. (Or have a look at the measurements I took)

2. Then download Draftsight for free and lay it out. Change the dimensions so the pivot placement is higher from the ball so that the throw changes. Base this somewhere between a Kartboy shifter and an Subaru SPT version. I made the pivot to centre of the ball measurement about 0.5" longer and took the total length of the whole shifter down by only 0.5". Theoretically this should give me much shifter throw as well as lowering the shifter just a bit.

3. Get a 12" x 2" Diameter Cold Rolled Mild Steel Tube stock and get it in the Lathe. I basically made chips out of most of the piece. Originally I had planned on using the Lathe to make the ball at the end as wel however an instructor and a machinist buddy warned me that it would be much easier to use the existing plastic ball on the stock shifter.

3. Be sure to botch at least one of the cuts on the lathe to get some more practice redesigning your part in Draftsight. Draftsight is FREE. Also, after a few youtube videos it became fairly simple to layout a basic drawing of my part. I originally drew the part with a ruler and a pencil but it was hard to make changes and took a long time. Draftsight turned out to be faster and easier even with no experience. I think cutting a thread for the very first time was the most stressful part. I was using an imperial lathe and once you start cutting you basically have to slam on the brakes on the lathe then put it in reverse then go a little deeper then brakes then.........bla. Either way the threads turned out mint.

4. Use a Vertical Mill to Face of one side of the part. Drill a hole with and imperial drill then find an adjustable boring tool and bore that baby to size. Make it about 0.001" tighter so you don't have to order new bushings for it too.

5. Once all the scary stuff is over. Grab a torch and heat it up to red hot where you want put the bend. Give it a little push and viola a short throw shifter for a Subaru.

All in all I am excited. I have some poly bushings for the rest of the assembly on the way. I wish I had access to this shop all the time. I always have to be asked to leave by one instuctor or another. LOL

GrantC · « **Reply #1 on:** February 28, 2014, 09:48:22 am »

While this is more machining-porn than a DIY that the rest of us can copy I'm still very happy to see it!

Finally I have something else I can point people to to explain that their adjustable "short shifter" is adjusted wrong & that they want the length between the pivot & ball to be longer!

So you chickened out on machining the ball for the bottom?

(That's probably the right call, if only for the lubricity/finish of the plastic)

Asstuna · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2014, 10:20:44 am »

I'm interested in the logic behind the bend on the top section, above the pivot, rather than the tail section. Will this give you more room between the pivot point and the front edge of the boot housing? Have you attempted to re-install yet?

You can push it down the lane to my place if you need a nearly warm garage this weekend (brrr, uckfay).

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2014, 11:50:16 am »

Thanks Grant. I agree that it's not a true DIY but I just wasn't sure where to put it.

(Asstuna)Not a bunch of thought behind that. Everything from the piviot down to the ball seemed like critical dimensions. Everything above was just attempting to have the knob located reasonably close to the stock position of the old one. I wanted this to be a lathe heavy project as that's what's going on in school. I had to turn it all concentric then bend it as the last step.

As far as using your garage. I don't get my bushings until next week. So the car shall sit shifterless over the weekend. Let me know when you get going on that Supercharger. I'd love to give you a hand, I'm pretty interested in that project.

seat safety switch · « **Reply #4 on:** March 05, 2014, 02:58:06 pm »

I would be so happy if every thread on WSC made me as jealous as this one does.

rith · « **Reply #5 on:** March 05, 2014, 04:40:45 pm »

$200,000 worth of lathe/machining tools vs ... $150 for a short shifter..

brb running over to acklands grainger now.

lackluster · « **Reply #6 on:** March 05, 2014, 05:17:09 pm »

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #7 on:** March 05, 2014, 09:35:42 pm »

More like $20,000. It's still pretty expensive but I could see someone picking up old manual equipment now that shops are getting rid of them for CNC.

seat safety switch · « **Reply #8 on:** March 06, 2014, 08:52:17 pm »

Quote from: Mr Crowley on March 05, 2014, 09:35:42 pm

More like $20,000. It's still pretty expensive but I could see someone picking up old manual equipment now that shops are getting rid of them for CNC.

Dude I know got a Bridgeport mill and a manual lathe for free because he was able to move them. I hate him.

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #9 on:** March 07, 2014, 07:36:30 am »

Quote from: seat safety switch on March 06, 2014, 08:52:17 pm

Dude I know got a Bridgeport mill and a manual lathe for free because he was able to move them. I hate him.

You have no Idea how unbelievably jealous that makes me. I have also heard stories of this. There a bunch of old factory towns on the eastern seaboard that roll like that!

Update. The shifter is amazing. Got some KartBoy bushings to go with it. Disappointed in the fitment of those. The two round ones very loosely slid into the arm diameter. One so loose it falls out when it wasn't bolted in. Also when tightened down I can slide it from side to side on the shaft a bit. The outside plate only goes on so far and it bottoms out on the shaft. I made a couple different thickness 2" diameter washers to take up the slack. I'll put the correct thickness one in when it's warmer. Then the back bushing that the rod goes through had holes that were about 1/8" to 1/4" to narrow and didn't line up with my mounting holes. Using a small pry bar I was able to thread one of the bolts in most of the way then flex the bushing enough to line up the second bolt. Maybe the issue was a cold co-efficient of expansion problem. It was -20? Maybe polymer shrinks a lot?

Otherwise I had a minor fitment issue with first gear. The rod coming from the transmission U-joint is higher so it rubbed when I first installed it. A file fixed that and now it's got clearance. All in all shifting performance is amazing. I can very much feel the distinct thump when it goes into gear and the positive feed back makes releasing the clutch much more confident that is actually in gear. Everything is also much closer together it was a little weird not so much front to back but I had to go way less side to side! Haha. The old setup was getting pretty sloppy.

Asstuna · « **Reply #10 on:** March 07, 2014, 09:08:53 am »

Quote from: Mr Crowley on March 07, 2014, 07:36:30 am

Then the back bushing that the rod goes through had holes that were about 1/8" to 1/4" to narrow and didn't line up with my mounting holes. Using a small pry bar I was able to thread one of the bolts in most of the way then flex the bushing enough to line up the second bolt. Maybe the issue was a cold co-efficient of expansion problem. It was -20? Maybe polymer shrinks a lot?

Excellent work.

Those rear stay bolts go in at a weird angle anyway. That complaint is all over the forums.

GrantC · « **Reply #11 on:** March 07, 2014, 09:59:24 am »

Quote from: Mr Crowley on March 07, 2014, 07:36:30 am

Then the back bushing that the rod goes through had holes that were about 1/8" to 1/4" to narrow and didn't line up with my mounting holes. Using a small pry bar I was able to thread one of the bolts in most of the way then flex the bushing enough to line up the second bolt. Maybe the issue was a cold co-efficient of expansion problem. It was -20? Maybe polymer shrinks a lot?

That's normal. The angle the bolts go through the mount aren't parallel, despite how people mould them. This isn't an issue with the flat metal part of the OEM mount, but the thicker portion of the all poly aftermarket ones...

Quote from: Mr Crowley on March 07, 2014, 07:36:30 am

Otherwise I had a minor fitment issue with first gear. The rod coming from the transmission U-joint is higher so it rubbed when I first installed it. A file fixed that and now it's got clearance.

Again, normal for a short shifter on a GD. That's my most HOWTO's either show grinding out that corner, or rotating the metal plate 180*.

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #12 on:** March 12, 2014, 04:06:16 pm »

Rather than make an entirely new thread I'll just put the next project here too. Aluminium Oil Cap day 1!

Asstuna · « **Reply #13 on:** March 12, 2014, 04:08:10 pm »

Quote from: Mr Crowley on March 12, 2014, 04:06:16 pm

Rather than make an entirely new thread I'll just put the next project here too. Aluminium Oil Cap day 1!

Good lad.

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #14 on:** March 15, 2014, 07:41:50 am »

Almost done the Cap. It's a little top heavy so i still need to take away some material but you get the picture!

RallyX · « **Reply #15 on:** March 15, 2014, 10:34:45 am »

Nice oil cap! I hope you're going to wetsand and polish it?

Brianmachinist · « **Reply #16 on:** March 15, 2014, 12:39:33 pm »

Nice work man, that cap needs scotch brite

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #17 on:** March 15, 2014, 01:45:33 pm »

Quote from: Brianmachinist on March 15, 2014, 12:39:33 pm

Nice work man, that cap needs scotch brite

Quote from: RallyX on March 15, 2014, 10:34:45 am

Nice oil cap! I hope you're going to wetsand and polish it?

Agreed. I still have to take material off. Scotch bright is the way to go with Aluminum?? Can't help notice your name.

Brianmachinist · « **Reply #18 on:** March 15, 2014, 02:00:03 pm »

Quote from: Mr Crowley on March 15, 2014, 01:45:33 pm

Agreed. I still have to take material off. Scotch bright is the way to go with Aluminum?? Can't help notice your name.

Yea just get the fine stuff, it'll work good and some wd-40. There's always going to be lines, just minimize the pressure. If you don't have the grey stuff, a grocery store with the green/sponge will work too.

A.J. · « **Reply #19 on:** March 15, 2014, 03:53:48 pm »

That oil cap looks awesome!

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #20 on:** March 17, 2014, 04:43:27 pm »

Made some plugs for my Perrin inlet hose. I always thought the plastic ones that you zip tie a rubber cap over the top seemed pretty iffy. I'll be checking for vacuum leaks from these.

Also attempted and failed on trying to cut a 1/8 x 28 BSP thread for a pipe plug. It doesn't fit right. Also proper pipe plugs for the Evap nipple are hard to find.

LilDrunkenSmurf · « **Reply #21 on:** March 17, 2014, 05:07:01 pm »

I'd be interested in one of those plugs if they work.

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #22 on:** March 18, 2014, 01:56:21 pm »

Quote from: LilDrunkenSmurf on March 17, 2014, 05:07:01 pm

I'd be interested in one of those plugs if they work.

Mine seem to be working well. Deleted the Valve part of the Evap system so I now only have the solenoid part. The two plugs fit very nice and I have noticed my some overall improvement from my rich condition. Likely due to leaky evap hoses coming off the manifold. Or at least that's my theory. I may have to move all these posts in to my build thread.

seat safety switch · « **Reply #23 on:** April 25, 2014, 11:32:30 am »

Man, I have so many things I want to get built. I was talking with a buddy about doing a brass insert for a billiards ball to use as a shift knob just now.

Mr Crowley · « **Reply #24 on:** July 25, 2014, 01:09:52 pm »

Intercooler block off plate for another member. Last day of free time before I start work.

Author Topic: DIY Short Shifter. (and Oil Cap) (Read 10929 times)

rith