Dave's shortshift

[Candles]

Cool. Can't wait....

[Enright]

I've been in discussion with Dave.

Recently fitting my AB cables gave me chance to study my discontinued IsuzuPerformance shortshift, and I wanted to try to get the modification back out there so that it could benefit LEC members at a reasonable cost.

Browsing this shortshift thread I mistakenly thought Dave's & KevH's mod were the same. This would have been my preferred route for modifying the assembly. But now that I know Dave is doing something different, I would like to develop KevH's idea further. I have therefore PM'd Dave to ensure that I wasn't upsetting him, and he has cleared this announcement:

I have managed to obtain a gear lever mech to have a play with (thanks Monty), and so have been fabricating a bracket modification along the lines of the KevH mod.

Pics will be posted and interest gauged in a seperate thread. This is not to undermine all the work Dave's done so far or to steal his potential market, but just to get something out into the LEC community that can benefit all.

[Dico]

Nice one Neil. Looking forward to more info.

[F1 LOTUS]

In an earlier post you pointed-out the problem with extending the lower part of the gearlever and the corresponding angle of the cables passing through the chassis? Is it not possible to put spacers beneath some part of the lever pivot housing to bring the cable run back inline?

[DeeAitch]

Finally I have the price confirmed at £48 inc UK postage The full set weighs in at just under 900g so you can estimate what the cost would be to send outside the UK.
For this price you would get the fore / aft shift lever adapter with new clevis pin, counterweight and fasteners, Cross gate adapter plate with new clevis pin, together with fitting instructions and a template for the Dia 8mm hole you would need to drill in the OE cross gate bellcrank lever.

Ideally to make these, even in low volumes, I would need to get some basic jigs knocked up. However, following recent discussions with Enright and his subsequent post on his new design study I am reluctant to proceed with these until we have some conclusive results.
As I have said all along, it is my opinion that the most effective design would involve a change to the gear lever end rather than the gearbox end, if only to avoid additional strain on the cable ends. However, to my knowledge, no one as yet has made it work effectively, cue KevH, so good luck to Enright!

Understandably, people will want to get the best option available to improve their car without compromise. I have therefore agreed in principal with Enright to wait for the test results of his design. All of us can then take a rational view on the best way to achieve the desired result i.e. a decent shift quality.
Unfortunately I have committed to the purchase of materials for the initial 10 sets I mentioned in an earlier post. Therefore if anyone is still interested and can’t wait for the result of Enrights study, please put your name down here. Once I get 10 names I will get them made up – should take about 2 weeks once I give the go ahead.

Please remember that no warranty for these parts, or liability for any damage caused by their use, is implied or given - they are intended for track day use only

Cheers,

Dave

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

[Fubar1764]

I'm interested.

[F1 LOTUS]

F1 lotus wrote

I thought I read in one of your recent post that something related to this broke?

Not sure what you refer to Brian but nothing has broke on mine or Alan's - yet Maybe you mean Alan's report that his initial install stuck in gear? Can't get my head around that one tho' and can only think that either the shift box was damaged or that the cables needed adjustment.

Please disregard my reference to "...something broke?" - I'm afraid I've got lines crossed somewhere and confused which 'Dave' is posting here?

On a related matter, is there a supply similar to AB-quality cables here in the States?

[Candles]

I'm interested!

[algirdas]

Dear Dave and Others:

I finally received a response from AutoEurope in Michigan. Here is the response I received:

Sir,
We remove the existing shifter assembly, cut it down and reweld on an angle.
That is all we do when we install a short shifter.
Bob

Not quite as detailed a response as I had been hoping for, but such is life. I have driven a car (Ralph's silver car in Florida) with it installed and must say that I liked the way it worked.

I'm not sure this adds much to the discussion, but it does address Dave's question from earlier this year.

Sincerely,

Algirdas

[John_W]

I have the price confirmed at £48 inc UK postage ... I have committed to the purchase of materials for the initial 10 sets
1. Fubar1764
2. Candles
3. John_W
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

I don't know - it's like waiting for a no 14 bus. You hang around for ages with nothing in sight, then two come along at once.

I'm in Dave (good luck to you too Neil), and I've taken the liberty to add previous "I'm interested"s.

John

[F1 LOTUS]

Stick my name on there please

[DeeAitch]

Thanks John
Lets see if I can make this work:

1. Fubar1764
2. Candles
3. John_W
4. F1 Lotus
5. ESM
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Half way there, now I'm getting worried

[Ekapol]

Would it work with Lotus shifter cable? Will it add up extra stress to the stock line?

[ESM]

It works with the Lotus cables but it does add more stress. I think Dave talked about this back in the thread a bit...

[Matt RI]

I would not mind being added as well, Dave...

Thanks for your efforts.

[DeeAitch]

Yes, it does add more stress to the cables. Think of it like a spanner (or wrench ). A short spanner takes more effort & less distance to move than a long one to gain the same rotary movement, Force x distance and all that.
My mod (& the extinct Bill's one, amongst others I have seen ) effectively shortens the shift lever length. Therefore you need a higher force to achieve the required Torque (but, critically, less movement, which is what we are after ). Nothing for nowt in this world .
This higher force has to be transmitted by the cables, whereas if the mod is made to the gearlever end it has to be transmitted by the gearlever itself. The increased effort on your arm remains the same whichever way you go.

1. Fubar1764
2. Candles
3. John_W
4. F1 Lotus
5. ESM
6. Matt RI
7.
8.
9.
10.

[Robie]

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

Hi Algridas,
Here is what I am proposing for the M100 Short throw shifter modifications:

1. Standard shortening of the shaft by ~1" or more and changing the angle:


2. This is where things get interesting as I am unsure of the amount of clearance under the shifter. Based on that bolt-on bracket in the previous post, I could lengthen the other attachment points to that same level assuming that there is the same clearance across the entire bottom area.
It would be 10x easier if I had an M100 (someday I will ) so I could modify on the fly to make sure that everything alines properly.

The above modifications work great on the Isuzu shifter so I se no reason why they wouldn't work on the M100.

Please give me any comments on the above-- good/bad, I'll take them all.

BTW, the above pictures are all photoshopped and not actual modified product.

[davidjt]

I've added my name to the list - there must be 3 more takers out there, surely?

1. Fubar1764
2. Candles
3. John_W
4. F1 Lotus
5. ESM
6. Matt RI
7. Davidjt
8.
9.
10.

[DeeAitch]

Please note that I have also shortened the gearlever as shown in Robie's impressive pic - IMHO no need for the bend on RHD cars. This does reduce the throw but it does mean that the handbrake interferes with your elbow when engaged.
You will need to remove the lever assembly to do this properly as the shaft needs machining down to Dia 10mm and threading to suit your knob

[Ekapol]

there must be 3 more takers out there

Please count me in