As you know may know, the generic Chinese short shifters do not come with a bolt. These use roller bearings (what you find in skateboards) and the factory bolt is too large to pass through...


I was looking for a budget short shifter so I bought one from China: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Short...107425073.html
Not bad for $24 delivered. It feels solid and the throw is way nicer than stock.

I searched around quite a bit to find the right bolt... Finally found some stainless steel bolts through ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/171362024708 The same seller also has nylon locking nuts: http://www.ebay.com/itm/171314374094

Now, the important thing with this bolt is that the smooth shaft is the right diameter and length to fit into the roller bearings of the new shifter... The rest can be modified from here... See the pic for description.

The rounding of the hex part is necessary for the bolt to sit snugly in the factory bracket, see the 2 bolts side by side.
I used a dremel type tool to round off the portion of the hex head. It helps to use a new cut off wheel as it's edges are nice and square and not rounded.

The bolt actually has a round indentation which I used as a guide while grinding.


You'll need some washers to fill the space as the new shifter is not as wide as the original. Buy a few various thickness washers and see what fits best.
Oh, and use a washer before the nut as well.
Important: DO NOT TIGHTEN THE NUT TOO MUCH OR SHIFTING WILL BE STIFF! Just tighten it till it's snug, then back it off about a 1/2 turn or so. The nylon locking nut will stay in place.


Hope it helps some of the guys who don't have the cash to buy a brand name shifter with all the complete parts but want it done cheap and right...

 

Yellow_Cake you are the man. Great article and CONGRATULATIONS!

 

Nice work!

 

I bought that same shifter. It broke at the bottom weld after the 3rd day. Jammed the car in 3rd and drove it light to light with a stage 3 clutch. It was a horrible day. Now I have a fidanza. It's great.

 

Nice writeup and pics. Hope it's not all for nothing though as there have been many documented cases here showing how this shifter fails and breaks.

 

Dang, I didn't know about this. I sure hope it doesn't break. It felt very sturdy though, we'll see how the bottom weld lasts.

Lol, had I known, I would have sanded the bottom of the shaft and reinforced the area with JB-Weld...

 

I have that same shifter now for YEARS lol never had any issues knock on wood