advantage of in car gear change remote?
Turbo Mini Forums

Hi,
I am wondering what the advantage of moving the gear selector remote inside the car, as I have seen on a few minis, Jimsters springs to mind. Is this an easy mod to do, and more importantly is it worth it?
Cheers
Sam :cool:

Apart from it looking the business it gives you more clearance underneath for the exhaust, and takes away a rather non-aerodynamic feature from under the car.

I've had some info on this from a chap and it does seem straight forward although its important to get stuff lined up really well, use a pair of gearbox steadies, and also you need 2 universal joints for the selector linkage, I think you might be able to get away with 1 universal joint but I couldn't say for definite as I haven't done my conversion yet! So probably best to talk to someone that has actually done it!!

Also the universal joints aren't particularly cheap either, i'm sure merlin motorsport sell them at about £60 each!

Edited by dan on 7th Sep, 2004.

for universal joints try the snap on 1/2 size 3/8 drive chrome universal socket ,about 20 quid ea they last for ages , also you wont need a quick shift if the change is in the car as the gearstick will be much shorter and closer
mount the engine as solid as poss because movement can make it jump out of gear

I think the gear change on mine now is awesome! a twat to setup initially, but good now. You have to solid mount your engine, or it will jump out of gear. I used two universal joints on mine.

Team Racing

Socket set UJ's are the go, I agree. You can't underestimate the force which the selector mounts experience. I ditched the steady rod, turned the hanging bracket upside-down and bolted the whole thing to the floor using big plates to reinforce the floor. It still bent the floor locally. When I am going to do it again. I will be keeping the steady bar as well. You also cant cut and shut gearsticks as they don't weld back together (high sulphur steel). I found mine a huge learning curve, quite frustrating and realised that this was one thing where you couldn't even cut a micro corner. You've got to lock it all right up. Mounting the selector solidly is the name of the game. Mine wobbles a bit even though I have been so careful in setting it up. Also, watch the back throw of the rod as you might not give yourself enough clearance between that and the handbrake. I had to shorten mine. Total nightmare but not as much as trying to mount an exhaust in the tunnel with the selector. s

Bugger off, I'm getting there.

you can cut and weld the gear stick , cut ends grind at 45 ' to leave a large vee to be filled pre heat with blow torch and use a 150 mig ,it worked for me

Well I went a completly different route on this one. I essentially fitted an Allegro selector, moving the whole selector back still inside the tunnel. I still managed to get the exhaust to fit down the tunnel too. Works a treat

wil

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

for universal joints is there anything stopping you from using the joints that go onto the gearbox as they are really simple and no messing. All you would require is a piece of bar the same diameter as the selector rod an a hole at each end?
As for the welding of gearlevers, I had no problem. Again grind an angle on each end and mig it up, worked a treat
cheers
Sam :cool:

I don't think the std ones have enoigh movement in them

Team Racing

Jim's right, if you are using a shorter rod or a rad angle, it won't bend enough. You could possibly cant the engine forward using an extra long engine steady but this has knock on effects. I rush welded my stick up, broke it and then went preparation mad and it still broke. That was probably because third was virtually impossible to engage and I was swinging on it. Seriously, I found that this is one thing you can't cut corners with. Curious about the welding thing. Someone explained it to me and another guy had snapped sticks as well. My welding is pretty good as well. The metal just wouldn't stick that well. There was always a boundary, regardless of the current used. I have got used to my present gearstick but it is still a shock to someone seeing it the first time. (Old tent pole pressed onto the stump!!!) Surprisingly, it is a beautiful thing to use and looks right too.

What's the deal with the leggy remote? Ideally I would like one complete but a tad shorter.

s

Bugger off, I'm getting there.

All kinds of FWD a-series motors used the rod change selector. The allagro was one I just happened to have, the Metro one might be a bit shorter but still longer than the Mini. Best to get down the scrapyard with a tape measure.

Wil

Fastest 998 mini in the world? 13.05 1/4 mile 106mph

iam interested any body willing to share their info on rod length and so on garry

How solid have you mounted the lower end of the engine, at present the top half of my engine is mounted very solid, but the bottom is still using the original stanrdard mounts

I was thinking of rose jointing (a solid steady) the diff to the subframe, as my gear lever rattles about a bit at lower rpm,

Or have you just used solid engine mounts, are these alittle over the top, I've read that you shouldnt use them in the mini magazines?

Cheers
Phil

one of the best things ive done moving the gear lever right back where I can reach it!