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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Short Shift

Posted by: rdauenhauer May 12 2003, 06:46 PM

Over the weekend had the opertunity to intall a short shift kit that I had purchased ..OH so long ago.
It is one of the plate and replacement shaft ..jobbies (Weltmiester ?) Anyway, I had heard differing stories about the usefullness and the potential problems with using, and decided to give it a shot.
Some history, recently while driving I had the misfortune to have my stock shifter rod , BREAK LOOSE!
Apparently these are just epoxed in and 30 yrs of abuse took it toll. I could still drive the damn thing just kept spinning around.
So I was a little apprehensive about how this would work, but shouldnt have been
SWEET!! It now has very short precise throws with a quasi snick snick engagement. & thats w/o replaceing any of the bushings!
The only down was that the OD of the replacement shaft is just a smidge to small so the spring thingie for the shift knob is a little on the loose side.

But I recomend heartily

Posted by: rhodyguy May 12 2003, 07:50 PM

wait until you do your bushings. the diff is incredible. i had one in the 72' prior to ss swap. i intend to put one in the 73. i did the bushings/cup but will wait until i see how the car shifts before changing. if the big plastic cover where the rod inters the tranny is shot, spring for a new one, the boot that seals the rod too. or take the linkage apart twice. because you will want to protect your clean new setup.

kevin

Posted by: Aaron Cox May 12 2003, 08:25 PM

super! how precise? sounds like a good deal!

Posted by: rhodyguy May 13 2003, 06:42 AM

did you replace the plastic bushings that live in the shifter or just throw the old ones back in? one thing i did not like were the hd springs in the shifter housing i installed. too stif against the 1st/r lock out plate. a real hassle to install, see tiny spring flying across garage, and 45 mins spent looking for it.

kevin

Posted by: rdauenhauer May 13 2003, 09:34 AM

Kev, I took it apart, looked to be no "significant" wear so I lubed it back up and put it back together.
I recall that it either came with, or as a seperate kit, those HD springs your refering too? But my recolection is that you end up drilling parallel holes in the guide plate and intall suplementery springs & pins (ends up being 4) to cure nicking reverse?
My plate is drilled for them but I must have lost them over the years.
Anyway as installed I havent seen any need.
I will do the rest of the bushes soon. I noticed that the bush at the shifter housing is shot (as usual) and plan on trying the Bronzite setup.