Made a stubby shifter and took some pictures to share

The victim
This is out of an 86 SE

Start by grinding the welds off of the shifter

Then cut the shaft about here

I left some of the bend on it to give it more to weld on.

Then you have to grind the end flat so it will sit flat to weld


Here it is put together to test the fit


Then just weld and paint


Installed

Now you know

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Click here to hear my cars

Very nice...now if I can only talk my wife into a welder????.

Dave

quote Originally posted by dem74: Very nice...now if I can only talk my wife into a welder????. Dave

I had a shifter out of an 84 that is shorter than the 86 but it still felt too tall.
FluxCore Welder was on sale at harborfreight for $110 and the grinder cost me $45 at homedepot
But I used both to rebuild my 86SE and put a V8 in my 86GT
I have probably used over 100 grinding/cutting wheels and 2 spools of wire in 2 years, gator tool is right down the street and I can get grinding wheels pretty cheap.

I just wanted to build something and this was an easy project that I could show off at the swap meet in the morning.

When I built mine I just used a 1/2" fine thread bolt that threaded in to the B&M shifter knob i put on.

Wow, that's the shortest stick I have ever seen.

Nice work, any way to shorten an Automatic shifter?
I'll pull this post if any feel like this is a hijack, I was just wondering if anyone has tried this before.

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Ol' Paint, 88 Base coupe auto.
Turning white on top, like owner.
Leaks a little, like owner.
Doesn't smoke, unlike owner

quote Originally posted by jscott1: Wow, that's the shortest stick I have ever seen.

It worked out nice with the tall knob that I have.

$Rich$ did one for an auto
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...060206-1-049269.html

[This message has been edited by Jake_Dragon (edited 01-20-2007).]

Wow, very nice you made it look so easy.

quote Originally posted by dem74: Very nice...now if I can only talk my wife into a welder????. Dave

You want your wife to become a welder? j/k

quote Originally posted by Gecko: Wow, very nice you made it look so easy. You want your wife to become a welder? j/k

It took longer to write the post and upload the pictures

I would love my wife to be a welder! That would be the coolest thing ever!
Dave

by shortening it that much, How Hard is it to shift now that the mechanical advantage is gone ?? been wanting a shorter shifter but was worried about how hard it would be to shift. Thanks

Its not bad because I have a tall knob, I have another one cut down thats about an inch longer and it is easier to shift but not by much.
My select cable is tight so its tight left to right but not bad. I think a good sized knob over comes how short it is.
I cheated and put a spring return on my select cable but plan on replacing it one day.

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: I had a shifter out of an 84 that is shorter than the 86 but it still felt too tall.

Very Nice!

How much to build me a cut down 84? I have one in my GT and I love it. I prefer having the shifter further over to the left versus straight up in the center.

I have a welder, but I don't trust my ability to weld up a shifter. It would probably snap in half at an inopportune moment.

You should take a good look at the welds on a stock shifter
I put a 1/4 inch bolt through my first cut down shifter because I didn't have a welder yet. Later I welded it up.
The metal wraps around the shaft on three sides so it has a lot of places to weld it up, if you have one laying around you should try it.

I didn't write this post to get into the business, I thought it would inspire people to make them on their own.

jscott1 I will send you a PM in a few minutes.

that was the first thing i did to my fiero when i got it. I got a spare shifter out of an 84 at a junk yard, it makes the shifter stright up instead of angled. nice write up. hey jscott i got a spare 84 shifter out of my parts car, if ya wanted i could weld one up for ya at work if ya wanted

how tall is the shifter with out the knob??
i this thing is awesome

quote Originally posted by Jake_Dragon: I think a good sized knob over comes how short it is.

Walking out of here laughing my head off.

quote Originally posted by AusFiero: Walking out of here laughing my head off.

LOL thanks I needed that

Great work Jake.

Hope all is well.

I need tp stop by & see your ride since you installed the V 8.

John

quote Originally posted by jscott1: Wow, that's the shortest stick I have ever seen.

How about this one

I have to ask
Cause its so short, does it really help selecting the gears or is it just for the looks

quote Originally posted by proff: I have to ask Cause its so short, does it really help selecting the gears or is it just for the looks

Its a lot to do with looks but the short shifter just feels right for me. I have long arms and the taller shifter just seems out of place.
Its not really any help selecting gears. I want to try and lower the bottom select cable attachment so there isn't as much travel front to back. But haven't had the time or energy.