280zx Short throw Shifter?

[AK-Z]

Just do what I did. Find a spare shifter, hack it weld it, and put it in. Have the original one just in case you screw up.

 

Keep in mind that this is a 77 production 280z 5 speed. I cut the bottom of it from the piviot point and measured the maximum amount that the transmission would allow for clearence and subtracted by about 1/4 of an inche. Then Measured the difference of what that was (center of piviot) to the part that I cut off and cut the top part with those measurements and flipped the piviot part ans welded everthing back together.

 

So in short cut the bottom, cut the top leaving a little metal, flipped the center and welded it.

 

the shorter the throw, the more the shifter will (or seem) to vibrate.

 

I can post a pic later.

[evildky]

so how can i be sure i have the t5 transmission? where do i look and what do i look for?

the T5 uses a shifter with a full pivot ball seted in a top plate (held on with 4 screws if memory serves) the other trannies used a steel pin going through the pivot of the shifter, and some others used a nut to retain the shifter (early trannies kinda rare)

[Thumper]

Not in my case.

I put a 78 5 speed in my 72 Z. I tried using my 4 speed shifter and could not engage 5th gear. 1 thru 4 worked great. We pulled the gearbox to inspect and all was perfect. I finally found a 5 speed shifter and saw it was different length below the pivot. I installed it and problem fixed.

 

I am unsure about the early 5-spds. I was talking about the 81-83 5-spds. You can put a 4-spd shifter into it.

 

You cut the shifter right above the pivot point (where the pin goes through to hold the shifter in). You do this on both the 4-spd and 5-spd shifter and you take the 5-spd rod and weld it on the 4-spd pivot point. You only need to do this for the 280zx's to get the shifter in the correct location. In earlier z's you can just take out your shifter and put a 4-spd shifter in its spot. If you look at the two shifters side by side you can see there is a longer fulcrum so that is why it is a short shifter. Good luck

[JMortensen]

I am unsure about the early 5-spds. I was talking about the 81-83 5-spds. You can put a 4-spd shifter into it.

 

You cut the shifter right above the pivot point (where the pin goes through to hold the shifter in). You do this on both the 4-spd and 5-spd shifter and you take the 5-spd rod and weld it on the 4-spd pivot point. You only need to do this for the 280zx's to get the shifter in the correct location. In earlier z's you can just take out your shifter and put a 4-spd shifter in its spot. If you look at the two shifters side by side you can see there is a longer fulcrum so that is why it is a short shifter. Good luck

The truck is the same way but the fulcrum is longer yet. Very short throw.

[FI_JUNKY]

so i basicaly should be able to buy a short throw made for a 5 spd mustang t5 trans and it should work fine right?

[evildky]

so i basicaly should be able to buy a short throw made for a 5 spd mustang t5 trans and it should work fine right?

if you have a T-5 YES! if not then NO

[Gollum]

I just got a nissan truck shifter for 19 bucks. I plan on installing it next week but I want to find another ZX shifter to cut so I can have a spare just in case. I'll try to make sure to take pictures of everything.

[Guest 280kraZ]

So what kind of truck do you have to get the shifter off of? I know nissan truck from 70s or 80s. Does this mean the 720? Does it matter which engine it had? Or whether it had a 5 speed or 4 speed transmission? Does it matter if its 4wd or not? This seems like a really good idea, classic hybridz-ness!

[Gollum]

Well, just test fitted the shifter today. At first I was like "wtf? it's not any different" but after changing them back and forth it seemed the truck shifter was about 30-40% shorter shift. I also noticed it would be near impossible to make it any shorter of a shift. The truck shifter can only drop maybe 1/16 or 1/32 of and inch below the pin to gain any more throw.

 

I got mine out of a 70's truck and I didn't check the model or anything. The back said datsun and I looked inside and notice the shifter was there. Once I took it apart I was positive it was the same srtyle shifter wich was good enough for me. I believe it was a 5 speed. Another odd thing was that the truck was a 6 lug car, kinda weird.

 

I'll hopefully be cut/welding it saterday. I'll make sure to take some pics of it all.

[JMortensen]

6 lug is 4wd. If you test how long the shift is on the truck stick it seems about normal, because the truck stick is like 18" tall. Once you get it cut down you'll really notice the difference. You're right about the stick though. I don't think you can go too much farther because it bottoms on the housing. Glad to see someone else did this. Sure beats a $100 aftermarket short shifter, eh?

[Guest 280kraZ]

So all the trucks came with the same shifter then? Even with different transmissions (4sp and 5sp)? Lookin forward to your pictures Gollum.

[JMortensen]

Any L series variant engined truck will work. I think that pretty much includes anything from the early 70's until at least the mid to late 80s. I'm not sure of any differences between them. I've just looked for shifters from trucks.

[Guest 280kraZ]

Sounds good to me! Now if I can just find some time to go junkin I'll be set.

[Mike C]

I think all the Nissan trucks were 6 lug. All the ones I've seen from the 70's and 80's at least.

 

I put a 5 speed in my 240 from a ZX, 79 I think but maybe not! Junkyard ya' know. But the 4 speed shifter would not work. In some gears yes, but others no. The length from the center of the pivot to the bottom bushing was different. About 1/8" if I remember. I cut the ZX pivot off and welded the 4 speed shifter to it. This worked pretty good. This was my second one. The first ZX shifter I heated and bent to the shape of the 4 speed shifter. But the ball barely came up above the console! Talk about short throw...

[JMortensen]

I think all the Nissan trucks were 6 lug. All the ones I've seen from the 70's and 80's at least.

I guess I'm wrong on that one. I must be thinking Chevy...

I put a 5 speed in my 240 from a ZX' date=' 79 I think but maybe not! Junkyard ya' know. But the 4 speed shifter would not work. In some gears yes, but others no. The length from the center of the pivot to the bottom bushing was different. About 1/8" if I remember. I cut the ZX pivot off and welded the 4 speed shifter to it. This worked pretty good. This was my second one. The first ZX shifter I heated and bent to the shape of the 4 speed shifter. But the ball barely came up above the console! Talk about short throw...[/quote']

Not sure what the problem was that one time Mike, but the pivot to the bottom cup shaped bushing is what determines the throw. I've used car 4 speed shifters in 5 speeds and the truck shifter (don't remember if it was 4 or 5 speed) in the ZX trans and never had a problem. I've got friends who have used 4 speed shifters in 280Z 5 speeds, and one guy using a truck shifter in a Roadster tranny.

 

The thing about the truck shifter is that it has the longest distance from the pivot to the cup bushing. When you cut it down to a reasonable size you get a very short throw.

[tec280zx]

Jon, I just did this mod yesterday and posted it over at zcar.com if ya don't mind. Worked like a charm!

 

http://www.zcar.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=620578&t=620578

[JMortensen]

Sweet!

[JMortensen]

In reading this whole thread thru again it seems that there are several people who had trouble using a 4 speed shifter in a 5 speed, not just MikeC. Sorry Mike for just dismissing your comment. So it seems that at least SOME of the 4 speed shifters don't work in SOME of the 5 speeds.

 

I am very confident that any truck shifter will work in any non-turbo 5 speed. Like I said I've seen it with my own eyes on a 280Z 5 speed, running it currently in a ZX 5 speed, and I have a friend who uses the truck shifter in a roadster trans.

[Mike C]

I need to work on describing skills I think. LIke you say, length of the shaft from the pivot into the bushing in the transmission. The 5 speeds from the boneyard had different lengths than the 4 speed shifters I had. Maybe the 75-78 4 speeds and the later 5 speeds can use the same one? But my 240 4 speed shifter was definitely different length.

[Tony D]

The pivot height doesn't determine the shift throw. The distance from the pivot to the ball (or the cup shaped bushing) at the end of the shifter does. The distance between the pivot and the ball is longer on the truck shifter.

What I do know is that the truck shifter works' date=' and that it is a lot longer between the pivot and the ball than the regular Z shifter. I learned about the truck shifter from a Nissan Master tech, and I've used one since I got my ZX 5 speed ~8 years ago. All of my friends use this same shifter in 510s and Z's as well. So that's probably 12 transmissions over the years (Z, ZX, 4 speed, 5 speed) using this shifter. None has moved the pivot.[/quote']

 

While the above is almost totally correct, it's a bit short of the truth when discussing a real "Short Throw" shifter.

 

The MSA unit discussed above is a direct ripoff of the design Steve Christensen of Nissan Motorsports (SCM Shifters, the brand they sold BEFORE they came out with "their own kit") and positions the pivot almost 2" HIGHER than the stock shifter pivot location. The resultant linkage amounts into a throw that is at most 3/4" from N to any gear up or down.

 

Any "short shift" advantages of a truck rod that utilized the stock shifter geometry---while probably noticable---is miniscule when compared to a real relocation of the pivot geometry.

 

Additionally, if you are cutting the TOP LEVER above the pivot, unless you keep the same legnth, you are also shortening the linear distance from gear to gear. More than likely any noticable decrease in shift distance is noticable from the application of THIS phenomenon as opposed to a pivot point fulcrum relocation of less than 1/2".

 

I cut down many a shifter over the years, and the "short" throw of them is always raved about. But until I took one of Steve's kits for a drive, I didn't know what a real short shifter kit was really like. It does not increas shifting effort nearly as much as cutting down the lever length does, as it is relocating the "short end of the teeter-totter" in the equation.

 

I won't buy the MSA kit because of what happened with Steve and his product. I don't think it's right. But if you can find an original SCM (or whatever the letters were besides MSA) short shifter kit, I heartily recommend you snatch it up, you will be in for a treat!

 

EDIT: Oh, I also want to add that problems with the plastic cup "Binding" in the shift linkage in the tailshaft is usually caused by debris down inside the hole. Like JM Said, there is depth there---about enough for ANOTHER plastic cup that fell off 20 years ago to get down inside there and bind it up! I had this happen one time, and was amazed by how deep that hole really is---but it still will only accomodate about 1/2 to 3/4" longer pivot rod. Nothing like the SMC rod with almost 2" more in legnth!