Cable shift set-up DONE!, How I did it & lived to tell about it. Options

[wbergtho]

I have been in my cold garage for over a week and have come up with a cable shift design that I feel is very effective. It took a little extra work to get it this far... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/screwy.gif) but it always takes that extra effort if you want something nice. There is more than one way to "skin a cat", so by no means do I believe this is the final answer to cable shifting. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

I studied the cable shifting set ups here on this site and elsewhere and found that many people running cable shifters have found that the side to side cable hookup at the transaxle should be oriented 90 degrees to the lever arm it is attached to. I agree 100% with this. However, that cable still moves alot when the other fore/aft cable is selected. This can cause cable bind resulting in a vague feeling at the shifter. Another theme I've seen on a lot of cars is that the shifter itself doesn't have the fore/aft cable attached above the pivot point of the shifter necessitating a "see-saw" lever to reverse the motion...either at the shifter or back at the trans. I wanted a shifter that has this cable attachment point above the pivot point of the shifter to eliminate complexity and extra moving parts (rod ends, etc). Keep it simple.

I started with a 94 Mitsubishi 3000 GT shifter (all metal) and re-fabricated the fore/aft attchment point above the pivot point. This took a bit of massaging...but since the shifter is all metal construction...it lends itself well to fabrication. Also, I chose the Mitsubishi shifter because it has no slop and can be rebuilt w/ new bushings for $24. I realize there are very nice high dollar shifters that have this feature...but I didn't want to shell out hundreds for one. I then fabbed the brackets for cables, poked two holes through the firewall (welded tubes in) and went to the rear.

I used McMaster-Carr 5/16-24 cables in lengths of 84" and 96".

At the rear, I decided to try something different. I machined a 6" splined section of a drive shaft to slide onto the shift shaft. I secured it with a set screw. I fabricated the side to side collar out of the female splined hub. Note, I made slots on the lever arm for infinite adjustibility. I did the same up front. I fabbed up a "cage" to keep the side to side collar in place when the shift shaft is selected fore/aft. My next step is to make a rubber boot to cover the splined section so FOD doesn't clog up my system. This effectively eliminates cable bind or competition between both cables. It shifts very well indeed. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif) I can feel the internals of the gearbox well. The familiar "pop" when it finally snaps into gear is definititely felt. When selecting reverse, I can feel the "reverse detent spring" engage and the gear snapping into position. I never had much luck with the hard linkage I used to run. Now all I have to do is pretty everything up and send all the bits to the powder coater...and wait for the damn snow to melt so I can drive it. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wacko.gif)

Bill

[wbergtho]

more pics

[wbergtho]

more

[wbergtho]

more

[Root_Werks]

Impressive! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

[wbergtho]

how do you do more than 1 pic at a time???

[TonyAKAVW]

Very nice! Both Bondo and I are working on cable shifters at the moment as well. We are both doing them for the 901 transmission though.

A few weeks ago at Joe's BBQ I saw a couple of cable shifter setups similar to yours, though I think they were from Patrick Motorsports (??).
Anyway, looks like a solid design. Good to hear that it shifts nicely.

The 901 is a different animal because the shift rod faces the ground, so anything that extends outwards in the axis of the shift rod decreases ground clearance. Bondo and I have come up with different solutions to the problem. Mine ought to be mostly done this week sometime, not sure about Bondo.

-Tony

[Mugs914]

Awsome job Bill!! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

Neat set-up, I really like the splined shaft idea... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/mueba.gif)

[jsteele22]

Looks really nice. One of the first cable shifter setups that I can understand by looking at the pictures !

What kind of drive shaft/hub was that that you used ?

Also, where did you get a hold of the Mitsu 3000 GT shifter ? How much was it ?

[Aaron Cox]

the splined shaft idea rocks.. that way the lateral movement never changes.. its always in the same place. too cool!

[736conver]

Bill,

That looks great, cant wait to see it this summer when you come down.

[Kerrys914]

Nice fab work and the hitch is cool. Hook da boat up boys (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/aktion035.gif)

[wbergtho]

The splined shaft came from a Suzuki Samarai drive shaft. My collar was just machined off the Suzuki hub and a simple lever arm was welded on. The only trick was to have the driveshaft parts annealed (softened) for $30 so I could drill and tap holes in it. It was case hardened before and was a bitch to work with.

The Mitsubishi 3000 shifter was just a lucky find at the local boneyard. The guys there let me roam around and look at all their cars to see if i could find something I liked. I pulled the shift boot covers up on a lot of different cars and the Mitsubishi 3000GT struck me right away as being a superior design & made of all metal parts (ease of fabricating). I like the fact that it had 136K on the car and the shifter had no slop. Other designs looked and felt shitty & "plasticky". I plunked it on the counter and the guy there said "how about $30 for that?". (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) Not bad. Then I called Mitzubishi and asked if they still have replacement bushings and they sold me a whole handful of bushings for $24. So I have $54 and some time into that shifter. A couple of cables, rod ends, annealing, etc...and I have less than $400 into it.

As far as the trailer hitch goes...don't you guys pull your 36' boat behind your 914 like I do? People think I'm crazy to drive a 914 with a boat behind it...but w/ a 500HP LS6 you can pull a dump truck if you like. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/rolleyes.gif) JUST KIDDING GUYS! That is a central jack point to lift the rear of the car off the ground...and nothing more. With my bodywork covering up my rocker jack points...I decided to incorporate a new jack point into the trans mount I fabbed up. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif) It does look like a reciever hitch though...and get plenty of comments like that. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/poke.gif)

[Jeroen]

awesome job!

[Rand]

Cool stuff wbergtho! You should start putting stuff in your Blog. Your car is one of those standout projects that will always be interesting to refer to. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

[Mueller]

looks nice....so what brand are the cables?

[drive-ability]

Nice design, you are so so correct to keep the side to side action stationary. Really nice job harvesting the parts and redirecting them to suit your needs.. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beer.gif)

[tat2dphreak]

that looks awesome!!! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smiley_notworthy.gif)

[rick 918-S]

Really nice work Bill! I like the splined shaft idea. Way to gather up your resources. You, me and Chappy are going to have to meet up and scare the S#!T out of some metro Euro trash! That would be some serious HP all in the same place!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif)

[wbergtho]

Hey Rick,

That would be fun to get together and thrash Eurotrash or Riceburnertrash for that matter. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif) My driving record is almost perfectly clean at the moment...but I'm afraid of what will happen to my license when the snow melts. There's alot of pent up aggression I need to unleash on the asphalt. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/happy11.gif)