dante kester Posted July 27, 2010 Share Posted July 27, 2010 im about to put a '81 zx n/a 5 speed transmission in my '78 280z. the 280 originally had a four speed in it and was wondering if i could use the 4 speed's shifter in the 5 speed? would a shifter from a '76 5 speed work or do i need to hunt down a 280zx shifter lever? ive tried to search the forums and i havent really found the answer i need to get working on this project. i dont have the tranny in my posession yet so im just trying to make sure i have everything that i need to get this thing rolling when the tranny arrives. thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted July 31, 2010 Share Posted July 31, 2010 I tried this when I swapped a ZX 5 speed into my 240. It did NOT work with the transmissions I had. The distance from the pivot to the ball the plastic piece fits on that goes in the tranny was different. The 4 speed shifter would not engage all the gears. First thing I did was heat and bend a 5 speed shifter to the shape of the 4 speed shifter. But the ball barely came out of the console! Talk about short throw... I wound up cutting the 5 speed pivot off and TIG welding it to the 4 speed handle. Now I have a T5 with a Hurst shifter. :thumbs up: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letitsnow Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 I used the 4 speed shifter from my '77 4 speed transmission in my 280zx(not sure of the year) N/A transmission, it was a direct swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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