Dave's shortshift

[Doug]

algirdas, I think you should definitely find out what AE do to the part before you send it -- I may be wrong but my memory from years ago says they only bend the lever to the left a bit to fit your hand better ? ? ? ?

[F1 LOTUS]

Monty, I think you're correct and this is a KevH mod, Marie's I think may have been a welded extension

[F1 LOTUS]

Yup! KevH it was!

PostPosted: Thu 02.09.2004, 08:29 Post subject: Re: Bill's Isuzuperformance Short Shifter Kit for Reply with quote
Got the extension piece made.

Heres the stock gear shift


This is the extension Kit


Fitted to gearshift


The extension piece is angled to give the same mechanical advantage as extending the vertical section of the shaft below the pivot point.
The top hole gives a 22% reduction in shift travel and the lower hole gives a 35% reduction.
I won't get time to fit and trial it till the weekend.
Kev

[Enright]

While you've got that mechanism out, I believe that AB supply some plastic (possibly delrin) bushes to replace the 4 comparatively squidgy rubber ones that mount the assembly to the chassis.

Apparently they go a long way towards improving the precision and feel of the gearshift.

Have you considered getting some?

[F1 LOTUS]

That's the one BrIAn. You can see from this shot the angle the cable has to go through to get to the new pivot point. Could probably be fixed with a minor 'tweak' to the bracket.
I had similar concerns at the other end but the change in angle proved to be within the cables limits.

Ideally we need to move the spherical bearing up the shaft to leave the cables aligned...maybe a spacer block beneath the gearlever base unit?

I'm not sure the hard plastic bushes would have much effect on the shift as they're not between the lever and the cables I would guess they're there only to cut down on vibe transmission?

I'll post a sketch for us to ponder...

[F1 LOTUS]

[F1 LOTUS]

Actually...the Gearlever Base Unit is probably a stock part from some mass-produced model for which B&M (perhaps?) already makes a 'short shift' alternate part?

Algirdas, if you can find any identifying markings on the Base Unit maybe LEC can cross reference this to something?

[algirdas]

Dear Brian:

I'm all over it. Any markings/numbers/logos will be identified and posted in the next few hours.

Sincerely,

Algirdas

[algirdas]

Dear Brian:

You ain't gonna believe this-there is not a single number/mark/logo on the shifter mechanism.

Sincerely,

Algirdas

[F1 LOTUS]

In the photo's the Gearlever Base Unit looks like diecast aluminum, not something I'd imagine Lotus would tool-up to make? Some numbers might have made the search easier If this is from the parts bin it's probably going to be from a mid-eighties GM related car?...

[F1 LOTUS]

Auto-logged out and double posted

[DeeAitch]

Brian, as ever you are dead right. The best way is to increase the distance from the cables to the spherical bearing on the gearlever. Rose joints would be nice
Not easy to achieve tho' - remember the cross gate is operated from a pin on the centre of the sphere so the bellcrank for that would also need a major revision
I'm not 100% sure on this but I think the basic casting / lever assy is an Isuzu part, possibly the same as that used on Impulse etc?

[F1 LOTUS]

I read today in the M100 Sales Manual: -

'The shifter is a short throw cable operated unit designed
specifically for the Elan.'

[DeeAitch]

So our 'cellery stick' is already a short throw Shorter than my old 3.0L Capri's, otherwise known as a pudding stirrer, so maybe that was the benchmark

[donsladek]

Anxiously awaiting the arrival of my AB cables, changed the oil to Redline MT-90, a short shifter would create shifting nirvana!

Don Sladek

[algirdas]

Dear Don and other interested parties:

I ran across an outfit just down the road in CSprings that has a considerable presence in the Isuzu world (RTR Performance). I e-mailed them and here is the response I received:

Hello,
Unfortunately, the Isuzu Impulse shifter assemble is completely different.
I could modify your existing shifter though or if you have an extra shifter assembly that you can send.

Let me know,
Robie

I will be e-mailing Robie as well as Auto Europe to see what they each do to generate a short shift shifter.

For whatever it is worth, I have driven the silver car with the Auto Europe shifter and I have to say that I did like it.

Sincerely,

Algirdas

[F1 LOTUS]

I believe Robie The Robot (RTR) is an old aquaintance of LEC?

[algirdas]

Dear Brian:

It thought that "Robie the Robot" sounded familiar. I'll keep you all posted on what I learn.

Sincerely,

Algirdas

[Monty]

This is his website
http://www.robietherobot.com/storm/lotus_elan_m100.htm

BTW the AB cables do make a big difference to the feel of the stick + i`ve fitted a Chrome knob which sit lower on the stick than stock and feels great

[Enright]

My AB cables arrived on Monday, and it's true, they make a massive difference!

Due to a delay in manufacture, AB also sent me 4 of the delrin parts to replace the rubber bushes between the base unit and the chassis. Because of these removing further play, the definition of the H pattern is even more improved. I would highly recommend getting a set for the improved feel offered. Alternatively if you can't wait, and if you can obtain some plastic washers, then it's quite feasible to make your own. Now that I've removed the rubber bushes and alloy spacer sleeves, I am quite happy to share their dimensions upon request.

I have also been fortunate in that the previous owner invested in a short throw gear selector mechanism before they were discontinued by isuzuperformance.com.

So now I've got a gear selector mech that feels absolutely perfect (or at least it will when the left/right movement has loosened up a bit!) - minimal movement and dead precise. Groovy.

The installation also gave me chance to study the short throw mechanism compared to the standard one, and there is great news for everyone here: the only difference is the bellcrank arms, as you can see from the pic below. Standard mech is on the left, and short throw mech on the right.
The standard mech's arms are 70mm and 50mm between centres, while the short throw mech's are 35mm and 25mm. So no surprise - the gear lever movement is also halved.
The upper arm is made out of a C shaped piece, and because it's shorter, the pivot pin has to be mounted on the upper face.
This means that the cable ends need to be further apart, so a new abutment bracket is needed (which is different again if you fit AB cables).
Again, I took measurements of the brackets, and can provide these if required.

Upshot is, if you can get the arms cut and welded to the specifications above, and a new abutment bracket made like the one in the bottom right of the pic, you've got a short-throw gear lever.