Bill,
You've just got to watch those hard shifts.
I mean, come on, trying to ram the poor defensless shifter knob through
the dash is just a bit over board, don't you think.
Seriously, there is another alternative, if you are willing to do a bit
more machine work.
Remove the shifter, and cut it down to a reasonable point slightly below
the break. Have it re threaded ( the chrome should be safe, if the
threads are cut carefully. Then have a short extension, male thread one
end, female the other, made to add back the length you've lost. You could
also have a couple of varying lengths made, to expemiment with the
shorter shift throughs.
Rick Morrison
72 MGBGT
74 Midget
On Thu, 20 Aug 1998 15:25:38 -0500 Bill Eastman
<william.eastman@medtronic.com> writes:
>I was out for a quick spin in the A over lunch and, on a 2-3 upshift,
>the
>shift knob decided that it wanted to be a rebel and explore new
>territory
>outside of its traditional H pattern. So I now have a shift knob that
>is
>free of its worldly shackles and a shift lever that's about an inch
>short
>of its original stature.
>
>Working at a high tech company has to have some advantages so I took
>the
>shift knob with the broken end of the lever still in its clutches over
>to
>the people in metallurgy research. They were unwilling to put it on
>the
>scanning electron microscope but cursory visual inspection identified
>the
>failure as a fatigue fracture due to shear stresses- probably ductile
>in
>nature. Oh well, we all have to go some time. Let's hope the front
>stub
>axles or brake pedal isn't next.
>
>So the problem is how do I fix this? Memory of past threads is that
>the
>MGA shift lever doesn't just pop out on its own accord because of some
>pin
>or another. I also have heard the reproduction shift levers leave a
>bit to
>be desired. I am in a quandary and am looking for advice. Should I:
>
>1) Replace the lever? If so how tough is it to do? Any first person
>experience with repro levers or offers of used levers would be
>appreciated.
>
>2) Just cut off the end of the lever, bore out the Moss Wooden shift
>knob
>to fit over the stub and use a grub screw and/or epoxy to hold the
>mess
>together. I shorter shift pattern would be kind of neat. How short
>should
>I go?
>
>3) Take the old lever out and find a way to get new threads cut to
>hold the
>shift knob. How tough is the lever? Will the chrome chip at the
>shoulder?
> Again, how short should I go?
>
>For now I will use the angle grinder to knock off the sharp edges plus
>maybe a little duct tape to keep my palm in one piece but I would like
>to
>have this solved by Wings and Wheels on 12 September. Having a bent
>bonnet
>will be bad enough but a broken shift lever too will make it look like
>I
>don't maintain the poor thing.
>
>Regards,
>Bill Eastman
>61 MGA loosing another small skirmish to Father Time.
>
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