building short throw

[saturnspeed_12]

well ive finally decided to get started on my short throw. ive already got a "short throw" but you know it was the usually hack the stick down and call it a short throw. i have decided i have to make a true one then, and just felt like building one. so here is the progress, i will update whenever changes come along.......


before


here it is after a quick little grinding, cutting, and drilling. need to remove some more rust.


here is the arm in which im adding 1/2" to compensate for the riser pad which also will be 1/2"


shift lever cut down 2 3/4" and im putting the flat spot back in for the stock shifter. might cut the lever down more.

the gear selector (part below stick) will be lowered as much as i can which i was going for 5/8" but seemed too close to a thin spot, so thats why its 1/2" as with everything else.

one question i have, has anybody else stuck a rise pad in before? im thinking of going with a plastic or lexan polycarbonate riser thats 1/2" thick but not having much luck. i dont want to use metal because i have nothing to cut something that thick with. ive thought about using multiple layers of sheet metal then decided it be stupid, also came up with cylindrical spacers over the bolts with a like 1/8 thick metal on the pivit base (in order to hold pivit ball in place) but thought that would be too cheap.

[skatbox]

ah do it yourselfer sounds good. think i've seen someone do one simaliar many years ago but it came out good and working a lot better than a expense short thrower kit or whatever its called. good luck

[chuck norris]

Looks cool to me. good luck with that and let us know how it turns out for sheeezy.

[saturnspeed_12]

a little update............

after much trouble deciding what to do with the riser, i finally decided to just get some 1/8" inch aluminum plate and stack it 4x to make it 1/2". ive got it drilled but found out my blade on my jigsaw was too thick to fit in the hole to cut out the center section, so that waits another day to finish. i did cut out the extension on the arm which is ready to be welded in place then grinded down. hopefully it will be complete by the end of this week, probably not painted, so i can test it out. better be awesome. ive spent $60 or more on materials and some cutting wheels, grinding wheel, and bits.

[AC66Bronco]

get a hole saw

price ranges from 3-25 bucks

comes in all sizes. and you get a PERFECT hole [img]{SMILIES_PATH}/wink.gif[/img]

[Jeremy]

I would use plastic ABS sheets. Easy to cut and pretty strong.

[AC66Bronco]

i also just had a thought. my dad had these 1/16" thick teflon sheets that he had laying around. idk where he got them but they might work. altho they would ware down over time. we used them on cabnit drawers as a surface to slide on. just a thought

[saturnspeed_12]

yeah i was looking for abs but couldnt find any. i found a perfect 1/2" polycarbonate 6"x12" piece for $9 but i would have to wait to get it. so i just picked up the aluminum. jigsaw ate right through it.

but i didnt feel like buying a holesaw since i already had everything needed at hand but thought my jisaw blades were thinner and i wasnt making another trip to the hardware store. machine shop is cutting it out for me right now and welding in that new piece on the arm. if more people want these things then i will get a bigger bit or a holesaw, and probably a new drill. i think the one i got, i kind of burned the motor a bit drilling those plates. piece of shit drill hardly even used. suppose to be strong.

[saturnspeed_12]

well here we go......

i have it almost finished. im testing it right now, but finding that coming out of 2, 4, and reverse takes some force. its getting stuck, but seems like its up at the trans where its getting stuck. ive inspected the shifter and found no problems there. 1, 3, and 5th are so easy. actually looking at the throws and going slow doesnt seem to be much of a difference, but when i was throwing through each gear quick, it was short. now i have even more space to shorten it even more, which i might if i build another. right now im just going to mess with this one and make sure all is good.


here it is. just testing her out right now.


notice the cut out. i didnt need to go that far but didnt want to pull out my grinder, so i just it the entire side out. and all that would actually be left is just that little side stamped edge, so i cut it all out.

[John97sc]

Why not bend the lever 20 deg forward and 15 deg left.

[saturnspeed_12]

wouldnt be the same, and doing that would probably mean cutting other things. im probably going to leave this one the way it is, but i still have space to shorten it even more. i dont know how many people would like it the way it is, its a stiff little sucker. just more fun ramming through the gears, cant pussy the thing around.

[Plastic Fury]

Looks like you are goin in the right direction. I too am building my own. I have three prototypes now. One shorter top shaft, extended bottom and arm, the other two are same on bottom but one top shaft is cut forward and the other is cut forward and to the left. I will decide wich I like best soon. I am also adding the ball bearings as they take away alot of the play that stock Saturn shifers suffer from.

Lookin good man.

[Apollo96SL2]

If you're going for ball bearings, see if there are some for rollerblades or skateboards that'll work. I read about some people on the MR2 forum having good luck with them, and they're dirt cheap.

These days I'm really wishing I'd kept my shifter that Chris Heywood built, one of the last he ever made. I sold it separately when I sold my last 96 SL2. That was by far the best shifter I've ever used in a Saturn. I might've been able to take a close look at it and reverse engineer a thing or two for ya.

[saturnspeed_12]

yeah, most of the play is gone in mine. went it gets in gear, you can feel the play (havent put the retainer all the way on). i could practically eliminate all the play with what i got, but doubt it will go far enough for me to do so.

its been working great, i will cut the shaft down more and im dropping the gear selector cable even more. i would drop the side arm more, but ive already got a piece welded in place for it so next one will.

[John97sc]

These days I'm really wishing I'd kept my shifter that Chris Heywood built, one of the last he ever made. I sold it separately when I sold my last 96 SL2. That was by far the best shifter I've ever used in a Saturn. I might've been able to take a close look at it and reverse engineer a thing or two for ya.

The shifter in my car is reverse engineered off one of his. Was yours the one with the angled lever?