Tube chassis shift rods

[leec]

Hi guys,

I have bought a deluxe Empi shifter box (the nice one with bearings and shaft) and have a type 1 gearbox in my tube chassis Notch I am building.
I am unsure how to build a shift rod that will connect the gearbox to the empi shifter box. Does the shaft need to be perfectly straight or can I use universal joints. Any help/advice would be great

Lee

[dannyboy]

pretty sure the one in fiat isn't straight ill have a look tomorrow

[Basti]

Hi lee,

it depends on the cage...in my car it can´t be straight.

Cheers,
basti

[spanners]

It matters not how direct the shift rod is to the shifter fork connection, but with a T1 or bus nose shift box, believe me you can't go wrong, race quality sealed universals are available, but the stock Porsche item is a nice quality piece, I've done enough T1 installs with the OE German connector at the trans end, even with a set in the rod to pick up on a Porsche box with the very low nose shift attachment and avoid internal cables etc will work just fine, it does not have to be a straight shift rod, a given movement at one end will be the same at the other, the overall shift rod length of stroke is dictated by the height of the hand lever pivot point to the centre of the shift rod pivot, be it a stock type cup and ball, which is disarmingly efficient and reliable, or a through bolt system, I would stick to a stock arrangement as its so well proven, all I do is prep the stock universal carrier with a mig welder and uprate to a proper through bolt and k nut it with decent washers either side. Some more complex 5 speed side shift set ups have needed a tortuous route from a remote shift lever mounting and needed a bell crank system to reverse the shift pattern back to normal but still retain the twisting motion required to select gears across the gait, even a cable can be used for heavily obstructed routs, but may need a mid support or guide bush, the stock rod set up really is very hard to beat and can accommodate an engine "raise by Inclination" of about 6 or 7 degrees and still shift well with the shift rod still in the tunnel, such an inclination gives about a 2" raise at the CV flanges, but body and exhaust clashing needs addressing, together with the bell housing and possibly starter, depending on type, needing parcel shelf indents.

[Udo]

I would say the straighter the better ..

Udo

[leec]

Thanks guys,

Udo do you have any pics of yours, or are you vertigate?

Lee

[Udo]

I have a V-gate , but in my green car i had a raised tranny and the shifter was also raised up to make the rod straighed to the gearbox , i think otherwise it could get problems

Udo