Slothness Side Shift Linkage Build Options

[slothness]

First off I just want to disclaimer, JWest doesn’t make these anymore and this is nowhere near the quality of a JWest part, however I figured I’d try my cheap ass hand at one. This is for a V8 car so parts listed are for a straight rod, I suppose you can cut your existing bent rod for a -4 but I have not tried it, and cannot comment on it. Also, I wanted to build this with new parts, you can source old parts but I wanted to see how much this would cost me in the end. Tangerine Racing makes aftermarket linkages for -4 and -6 cars, which use the u-joint design as well. I highly recommend checking them out if you are interested.

Tools needed:
Welder, vice, cobalt bits, drill, sawzall or metal chop saw, dremel, grinder, c-clamp, round and flat metal file, black sharpie, center punch, a good attitude and some god damn patience.

Parts list:
SandParts.com (w/ discount code)
5/8 steering u-joints $23.53 x2 47.06
5/8 36 spline 2” shaft $4.72 x3 14.16

Lowes
Bronze 5/8 x 3/4 bushing $4.52 x2 9.04
3/4 weld steel tube $8.99 x1 8.99
A33 3” Angle $2.57 x1 2.57

Osh
Bronze 3/4 x 7/8 bushing $5.69 x1 5.69
M8-1.25x30 Flange Bolts $1.69 x2 3.38
8mm lock washers 0.11 x4 0.44
5/8 C-Clip $0.20 x2 0.40
1/4-20 Bolts $0.15 x2 0.30
1/4-20 Washers $0.11 x4 0.44
1/4-20 split washer $0.16 x2 0.32

Total Parts 92.79
Tax 8.75% 8.12
SandParts Shipping 8.70

Amazon.com (no tax)
12” 5/8 8620 Chromoly $7.81 x1 7.81

Grand Total: 117.42
(Yes I'm very specific)

Here's my order from SandParts. First off ignore the 12” 5/8 shaft in the pic, I had hoped to use it on the shift console instead of welding one together but it turns out its smaller than 5/8, it measures at 15mm. Which actually may not be terrible because my stock rod measured in close at 14.80mm. So instead of getting the bronze bushings in my parts list you might be able to substitute those for the sexy oilite shift console bushing Jonathan at GPR sells. However I did not want to risk buying 2 of them and finding there was still slop so I went ahead with 5/8 chromoly and the 5/8 bushing instead.



The u-joints don’t come with bolts, so you’ll have to pick some up, those are the M8-1.25x30mm. Here are some more parts, the bronze bushing, lock washer for M8 bolts and the steel builders angle (A33) I found in lumber.




Cut the corners of the A33 and grind out a lip so it can sit flat in the console and you can get the proper height measurement.






Once its flat against console draw your circle with the sharpie through the existing hole.




Center punch the hole and drill with your cobalt bit to 5/8”




Draw your line around the bushing with it installed in the A33, then dremel a groove.





Make sure it all fits, refine the A33 by grinding off the excess top and smoothing out the edges. Also drill out 2 1/4” holes for bolts.




Now follow Rick Ollah's method to get the bronze shift bushing in the front of the console.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...c=99331&hl=

I followed his method, drilled out the console hole to 7/8” inserted the larger bushing sharpie’d where it needed to be flush against the console and cut it a mm short to not protrude out the other side. Then I measured the smaller 5/8” bushing with my micrometer and marked where it extended just past 7/8” bushing so I could cut a groove to add the c-clip (micrometer is used because the bushings are press fit together so measure uninstalled). If it doesn’t make sense then look at the finished pic (I did not take progress pics because I didn’t have my phone handy at the time).





HERE IS WHERE I GOT LAZY AND STOPPED TAKING PICTURES. I can always disassemble and take pictures later if necessary.

Now insert the chromoly rod, through the new bushing and through the A33 piece you modified. Move it through back and forth rotating it to make sure it does not bind and then mark your holes, punch, drill 1/4”, install and check for binding, adjust as needed.

Hone the shift coupler with the dremel so the 5/8 rod fits through, install it all on the console and measure forward and back shifts and mark where the convex hole needs to be drilled (I used a cobalt bit). I also took a mm off of the backside of the shift coupler with a grinder so it did not interfere with the rear bronze bushing.

Cut an inch off of your 3/4 weld steel tube, insert a steering shaft on one end and the chromoly on the other, weld together.

Disconnect the shift rod from the shifter and pull it out through the firewall bushing. take a small rounded file and file the convex hole so there is a groove in it. Test fit the u-joint and bolt, if the bolt fits great, if not then file a little more, you want as little play in this as possible, almost snug. Once the bolt fits, tighten it up and install the rod back in the car. Attach it to the shifter, but keep in mind how far in you pushed the rod into the shifter, you need a little room for play because the u-joint will not allow you to pull the rod all the way back, so before tightening pull the rod all the way back to allow the rod to pull out of the connecter a little so the u-joint does not hit the firewall and mangle your bushing.

Once tightened install another 2” shift shaft in one end of the 3/4 steel tube, tack weld it together, and install it on the u-joint attached to the front rod. Go into the car and rest the shifter to the left against the reverse lockout and center the shifter so it is straight up. DONT MOVE IT. Get under the car and by hand on the shift console select 2nd gear, then move it to neutral from second leaving the shift fork in neutral alignment with 2nd and 3rd gear (ie if you were to push the shift selector forward it would select 2nd, back it would select 3rd).

Insert your last shift shaft into the u-joint which should be attached to the rod in the shift console, align the rod and shaft, mark with a sharpie, cut, weld. done.

Now enjoy the CLICK you get when you select a gear, incredible! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)