[Galimba1]

Just wondering if anyone has taken their shifter apart to try this? Well, I went to PnP today, and just happened to pick up a B12 shifter just for the hell of it. Seems that the pivot ball is just extremely hard plastic pressed onto the shifter. There seems to be some divots on the shifter that hold the pivot ball in place, that's it. A couple good whacks, some cursing, and finally makeshift pressing on the ball finally moved it on the shaft. Now the shaft itself is about 1 ft. long, bent about 15 degrees an inch and a half above the center of the pivot ball. I figure I can hacksaw the shifter there, cut off the bent parts, and have the straight parts welded together. Then drill the pivot ball, and use a set screw to hold the ball in place, where ever I so choose to set it. I should have documented this process a lot better, pics in the future.

Oh yeah, and it took about 30 mins to remove the shifter from the bottom of the B12 in the junkyard. The exhaust and the heat shield are inthe way.

 

[Gsolo]

Just wondering if anyone has taken their shifter apart to try this? Well, I went to PnP today, and just happened to pick up a B12 shifter just for the hell of it. Seems that the pivot ball is just extremely hard plastic pressed onto the shifter. There seems to be some divots on the shifter that hold the pivot ball in place, that's it. A couple good whacks, some cursing, and finally makeshift pressing on the ball finally moved it on the shaft. Now the shaft itself is about 1 ft. long, bent about 15 degrees an inch and a half above the center of the pivot ball. I figure I can hacksaw the shifter there, cut off the bent parts, and have the straight parts welded together. Then drill the pivot ball, and use a set screw to hold the ball in place, where ever I so choose to set it. I should have documented this process a lot better, pics in the future.

Oh yeah, and it took about 30 mins to remove the shifter from the bottom of the B12 in the junkyard. The exhaust and the heat shield are inthe way.

actually this is a common trick but by cutting material out of the metal then welding the stick back together. I suppose if you don't have any access to a welder your way works too. YOu'll have to let us know if it holds up well.

 

[Galimba1]

UPDATE

OK, I actually have an update. I finished cutting, adjusting and welding the short shifter.

^This is the shifter after it was cut and welded. That weld bead needs to be smoothed to the shaft.

^Here, the weld bead has been filed down to match the shaft diameter. Now, I just have to move the pivot ball into place.

^Here, the short throw shifter is on top. Notice that the modified shifter is straight, and several inches shorter.

^Also, the pivot ball center is about 3/4 inch higher than stock position.

^No fitment issues here.
all leading to:

HOLY CRAP THAT'S A SHORT THROW SHIFTER!!!

If anyone actually wants directions on how to do this, I'll post that info, but I doubt that many are. I have run into the same problem as the pacesetter short throw shifters - now my heat shield doesn't fit. I tried just banging the top down to some degree of success - 4th and reverse still scrape the shield. I worked on it from 8 to 10 at night, hopefully, I can finish the install by tomorrow.

 

[Galimba1]

oh yeah, and now I need a new shift boot. My old one now looks all retarded.

 

[astreamk1]

when I installed my shifter, I actually used spacers all the way around the heat shield with slightly longer bolts to drop the whole thing down, but it was so low, I ended up having to cut a hole in it anyways. no big deal. the shifter's benefits outweigh the hassles of making it fit. :thumbup:

 

[Crazy-Mart]

ill get this thread sticky !!... great pics and dawm, this is SO short ! lol

 

[foreverhardcor]

purpose of shifter

What is the purpose of a short throw shifter anyways...sorry im not really that car wise...I mean i love my B12 and know about exhaust intake turbo suspension etc but whats the point of a short shifter?

 

[BII]

It seems like a lot of work to save yourself $70 (more or less what the pacesetter piece goes for, at least where I work). I have the pacesetter, its adjustable, its well-built, feels great.

 

[astreamk1]

What is the purpose of a short throw shifter anyways...sorry im not really that car wise...I mean i love my B12 and know about exhaust intake turbo suspension etc but whats the point of a short shifter?

Basically it tightens up the shift pattern by making the distance you move the shifter from gear to gear less. Whether you make your own, or buy the Pacesetter, it definitely makes the car more fun to drive and if your looking to improve the feel of you car, this is the way to go. :thumbup:

 

[Gsolo]

Basically it tightens up the shift pattern by making the distance you move the shifter from gear to gear less. Whether you make your own, or buy the Pacesetter, it definitely makes the car more fun to drive and if your looking to improve the feel of you car, this is the way to go. :thumbup:

Exactly...it's all about feel. Personally, I don't have a problem with finding the right shifting holes...but I can understand where some people do. i do like moderately short throws though cause the tighter feel is more confident. And regardless of what you call it it doesn't make you shifting quicker...thats all dependant on the driver skill. I could shift my stanza wagon just as quick as my pulsar.

 

[Galimba1]

OK, compared to my 1999 Sentra, the throw is WAAAAAAY shorter. The only problem I now have (besides the slight scrape on the heat shield in reverse) is that I physycally have to lean foreward slightly to reach and shift. Anyone have that problem or is it more just personal feeling? I dunno, I'll have to drive the car some more.

 

[Galimba1]

It seems like a lot of work to save yourself $70 (more or less what the pacesetter piece goes for, at least where I work). I have the pacesetter, its adjustable, its well-built, feels great.

Its not the fact that I could save 70 bones, its the fact that I made this shifter myself, and it actually works properly too. My shifter is also adjustable, feels good, and well, the question of well-built is still in testing. If my weld holds for the life of my car, then it was well-built.

 

[Biscuit]

I seen the pacesetter short throw shifter in the JC Whitney catalog. Pretty good price and is adjustable. I would like to know how to make my own short shifter too. You need to get the directions up fast. I can goto school and work on it at the career center.

 

[Galimba1]

OK, a little update on the DIY Short Throw Shifter:

Maybe I cut the shifter too short. I thought I only took out about 1 1/2 inches from the total shifter length. After install, the shifter looks like its 4 inches shorter than stock. Consequently, I have to reach a little more than I would have liked to shift. Not good.

The spacers worked like a charm. They allowed a 1/4" extra drop, clearing the shifter arm so I don't scrape the heat shield any more.

I dunno, of anyone that has installed their own short shifter, anyone have that "too short" problem? Was your shifter straight or did it have a little bend in it?

 

[Galimba1]

oh yeah, still working on directions. I'm building another short shifter as we speak just cuz I want to work on my welding.

 

[Sixways]

ummm, I"m pretty sure hacking off the top 2 inches of your shifter has about the same affect (this is the way my crx was when I bought it, felt great). I think that a short shifter and and exhaust make just about any car fun to drive.

 

[Galimba1]

ummm, I"m pretty sure hacking off the top 2 inches of your shifter has about the same affect (this is the way my crx was when I bought it, felt great). I think that a short shifter and and exhaust make just about any car fun to drive.

hack off the top?? What did you do, krazy glue the shift knob back on?

 

[Crazy-Mart]

did that too but it wont make a "real short shifter"... well it is short but doesnt have the short travelling. you got to try one to feel de difference. Galimba, you on the right way taught!.. IMO you should have left the "crooked" the shifter arm... would have helped a bit too.

 

[Sixways]

No I had an aftermarket shift knob that had these little plastic threaded tubes to fit on different size shifters and it had 3 alen bolts to secure the knob on the plastic threads. So I took out the plastic threads, to fit over the larger lower section, and used the 3 bolts to hold it on the shifter. it worked great up untill I lost all but 1 bolt to it.

I think that it dose make it a short shifter. on normal B&M style SS's they normaly just extend the bottom of the shifter (right?) so the leverage is more 50/50 then factory 25/75. so if you cut off the top it make the ratio closer and making for shorter thow. I know I didn't explain that good, sorry.

 

[Nissan300ZXZ31Turbo]

I do not see the point of adding a shortened shifter into a B12. The stock shifter is so close it seems almost pointless. Compared to my 300ZX, my Sentra uses very little effort to shift to the next gear, 1st pops right down into 2nd, and so forth. It just seems to me like you are wasting time and effort. Are you guys using the stock GA16i or E16 engines, or do you have something more advanced? I could understand shortening the throws on a GA16DE, SR20, or CA18, but not on the bone-stock B12 engines.