this discussion began in the thread entitled "Cam Cover Brain storm"

The goal is to design a gated shift plate for the 5-speed cars, similar to this:



My car will the the gunnie pig for the prototype. What I need to know is whether a universal plate will fit all YM 928s or will several designs be necessary. I'm wondering if the footprint of the shift pattern changed significantly in any given MY. Also, before we cut the prototype, I'll need to make sure the shift linkages in my car are adjusted properly. Any help on how to do that is appreciated.

Once we figure out how to map the prototype, I'll post the method so other model years can be checked, if anyone is interested.

As far as mounting the thing, i was looking at the stock leather boot. The plastic piece on the bottom uses clips to stay secure. We could go with clips on the shift plate similar to the stock one.

One thing I did notice was that there was about an inch more room on the right side of the boot than on the left. This could allow for retaining clips on the right side and recessed bolts on the left. Or, we could try recessed bolts in the four corners.

As for cosmetics, were are talking stainless for the prototype. A polished finish probably. The extra space on the right could allow room for laser engraving, maybe "928" vertically from top to bottom?

Any ideas welcome. This isn't a profit venture, but if it works out then maybe we can do some for others at cost only. Might need a little extra for machine time, but that's really up to the shop owner and my brother.

 

Nice one! I've been contemplating this myself for a long time.

One thing to consider is how the current rubber surround for the lower lever would be integrated. Borrowing from your picture, it looks like it could be cut at the top of the ribbed section for the same effect, but it seems to be useful to insulate the cabin from some noise and air.

Secondly, the gating would be a lot easier if the current rectangular lever were replaced with a tubular design. Maybe look into machining one of these as well?

Keep us - or at least me - posted.

Thx.

 

Oh man,
I love those things.
Dammit, i have an auto but my fiero's a stick. I would love to have a setup for that.

Good luck, looking forward to seeing the finished product.

BTW - could you include a manual transmission with every purchase - hehehehe

Cheers
Bernie

 

James, I was thinking the same thing about the rectangular stick. Replacing it with a round one shouldn't prove too much of a problem. Would need to fabricate an adapter to connect the round stick to the shift linkage.

I need a new rubber boot to play with. anybody got a good one I can buy?

 

I like the looks, but wouldn't the sticks movemnt cause a rattlingsound while driving since the gear vibrates?

 

Shift plate w/ gate looks nice. Consider this though - some of the Pantera guys have the fingers machined off in an effort to shift faster. <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

 

One thing to consider, HEAT AND SMELL. There is no airtight seal between the torque tube, shifter linkage, and interior. There is some rubbery stuff that may still be intact in your car. So the boot kind of acts as a seal for this. But if you remove the boot to install the shifter gate you'll be opening the area up.

You also need to consider the different amounts of "slop" in shifter linkages. The 928 linkage is designed as follows:

There is a ball socket on the bell housing that holds the "front" end in place. There is the shifter mechanism. The rod from the shifter goes to a coupler ("U-Joint type thing) that then attaches to a rod that comes out of the front of the transmission. Depending upon the age of your 928 and condition of wear, there can be quite a bit of side to side slop.

I don't know if you could machine a "one size fits all" gate or if you'd have to customize it for each car's current condition. You may also get rattle as the lever moves side to side.

Good luck,

 

KBlair - I'd be willing to be the second test mule. When you get specs, lemme know. Or, lemme know cost to machine another.

Being single, rattle, heat & smell don't bother me and I'll work on the sealing problem, if there is one.

 

I like those things!

If one can be manufactured and fitted that looks like part of the car I'd be very interested.

Keep us posted.

 

I am in.......keep me advised! <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

 

Thanks for the response guys!

Rich, good points. I will keep those in mind.

Speaking with my prother this weekend, we examined my car pretty closely, came up with a way to map the footprint of the shift pattern. Also figured on making a round shifter to replace the rectangular one.

I had also thought of the shifter vibrating against the plate. A couple of ideas that were tossed out to prevent that, such as rubber gaskets, etc. The most interesting was fitting the round shifter with a bearing of some sort and using the plate as a race. That wold be a challenge to get right, but would be interesting.

Once I get the pattern mapped, the prototype will be cut on a from a flat sheet of stainless with a water jet. There is some curvature from front to back in the factory boot, but for the prototype we'll just go with flat the see if it'll even work.

 

I was planning of designing one of these too. Hopefully you'll be able to save me some time.

I was first going to have it raised a bit to clear the stock rubber boot to keep the car sealed.

I was thinking about attaching with maybe 3 screws top and 3 screws bottom into the plastic piece where the boot attached.

I was going to use billet aluminum so the part could be thicker, and also anodized or polished. Imagine a black anodized plate. That would look nice. I don't want any single piece drawing my eyes in the cockpit. They should all balance each other.

The shifter could be fitted with a delrin sleve to eliminate any rattling if that seems to be a problem. You will want the bushing to be a little loose and rub against the thickest material possible, so billet would once again be advantagous.

I was wondering about the positioning as the different cars consols may not line up exactly. Maybe the consols will have to be moved around until the plate was positioned correctly?

good luck.

 

chris,

The problem I see with attachment is the left side. On my car, there isn't any room between the edge of the cutout and the vertical wall of the console. I thought that maybe attaching a couple of retaining clips to the left side and using bolts on the right side where there is room. If you pull the leather boot off your car, how much room is available on the right side?

billet will be used for the final version, but we'll use whatever for the prototype.

 

I gotta look at my car. It's been awhile since I thought about this.

I'm suprised Jager hadn't thought of this yet.

 

I guess it probably has to do with there not being that many 5-speeds out there.