280Z 5-speed in an early 240Z Console Cutting

[pjoe]

I was able to heat and bend my lever enough so all I had to trim was a little bit of sheet metal. Dont try to bend it all at once though. I put a bolt through the pin hole to keep from distorting it. Once it was bent I heated it up and flattend it out with a hammer to give me a little more clearance. With console in place it doesn't hit. In the pictures...the transmission is in 3rd gear. This is a type B 4 speed in place of a type A 4 speed.

Brian

Edited February 8, 2012 by pjoe

[redzedsled]

I was able to heat and bend my lever enough so all I had to trim was a little bit of sheet metal. Dont try to bend it all at once though. I put a bolt through the pin hole to keep from distorting it. Once it was bent I heated it up and flattend it out with a hammer to give me a little more clearance. With console in place it doesn't hit. In the pictures...the transmission is in 3rd gear. This is a type B 4 speed in place of a type A 4 speed.

Brian

Any problems with your shifter popping out of gear on you?

[pjoe]

No problems. Haven't driven it much because Im still trying to get it ready to paint. I dont expect to have any issues since its not hitting anywhere. It stayed in gear the 5 miles Ive driven it so far. You can see in the picture I did have to trim the metal a little but I wont have to trim the console.

Brian

[Diseazd]

It would be nice if someone like Dave (z'sondabrain) or Esprit could work this mod out and manufacture these shifters with the correct bend and angles to make this install a drop in. I own 2 early cars with A transmissions that I would love to be able to convert. I think they would fetch a nice price.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Diseazd

[pjoe]

Guy, when Im back on the road I'll give you a hand bending one up.

[lonetreesteve]

It would be nice if someone like Dave (z'sondabrain) or Esprit could work this mod out and manufacture these shifters with the correct bend and angles to make this install a drop in. I own 2 early cars with A transmissions that I would love to be able to convert. I think they would fetch a nice price.

Hi Guy,

Since I'm chiming in almost a year later, do you know if anyone has started manufacturing the modified shifters yet? I am in need of one and have been looking all over the Internet and haven't found one yet.

Edited January 27, 2013 by lonetreesteve

[siteunseen]

About half way down they show one from Summit, S shaped, Technical Information Page ..... Transmission

[lonetreesteve]

About half way down they show one from Summit, S shaped, Technical Information Page ..... Transmission

Siteunseen, Thanks for the link, I appreciate your response. The only thing is that the picture of the S-shaped shifter on the zcarz.us website is no different than the stock shifter that comes on the Type B transmission (see 1st pic below). It needs to have more of a bend at the lower part of the shifter like the shifter that Brian modified on Post #13 in order for a '70/'71 console to fit (see 2nd & 3rd pics below). I'm hoping that someone manufactures one like this.

[Diseazd]

Steve.....I don't know of anyone modifying the shifter for sale, but I believe Carl Beck has the drawings required to correctly modify your shifter. When you modify the shifter, you must get the center axis right as well as the bend......Brian did it by trial and error. Guy

[lonetreesteve]

Steve.....I don't know of anyone modifying the shifter for sale, but I believe Carl Beck has the drawings required to correctly modify your shifter. When you modify the shifter, you must get the center axis right as well as the bend......Brian did it by trial and error. Guy

That's good to know. Thanks, Guy. Sounds like I will need to drive my car somewhere that can modify the shifter and test it in the car, rather than removing the shifter and then taking it someplace.

[pjoe]

Thats is correct. I heated and bended then tried it. Took me 4 or 5 times to get it right. All together I spent an hour or 2 doing it.

Brian

[pjoe]

I have driven car for about a year now including 10 laps around a road course at gripfest and have had no problems with the shifter. This shifter is for a 4 speed type B transmission. Not a 5 speed. Not sure if there is any difference that would make this shifter not work with a 5 speed. If 5 speed is same as type B transmission except for the extra gear, I would think it would work fine.