The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Making a short-shifter for a T-5 tranny

John Sandoval sent us a real good tech tip last month and we had it all ready to go until the computer crashed.

Well, we are happy to say it's now up there!

John had swapped his T-5 transmission into my ’45 Chevy and just wanted to make the old "one more improvement." Even tho short throw shifters are available, he wanted to do it himself.

Thanks for the tip, John and good job.

(I should have more coming now that we are up and running. I am a happy Stovebolter Lady )

Peggy

Hey, this is a great tip!! However, most of us look at the neat aluminum spacer block and that's where the we hit a snag. If we don't have a machinist friend, how are we going to come up with a 1" spacer???????

Humm, it's a spacer.....why couldn't we use some material that we could substitute for the aluminum that would be tough, but a little easier to fabricate....like maybe 2 layers of 1/2" starboard? Starboard is a synthetic marine product that is easily worked with hand tools, and can be found as scrap around most marinas.
What about Veranda, or Trex (synthetic deck material)? Home Depot may hold just the right material to make this project a little more attractive.

One thing this great tip doesn't cover that is included on the pricey "store-bought" shifters, are the throw limiters. They keep an aggressive operator from bending the internal shift forks. For most of us it wouldn't be an issue, but I'm sure some "fabricators" could sandwich in another little plate that would cover this function.

I've just got a feeling that there are going to be a whole lot of "short-shifter" mods being made this weekend....with hand tools!!!!!!

Once again, Thanks to John and all the "Stovebolters" who take the time to share their terrific ideas, with PICTURES and DOCUMENTATION, with others! It's tips like this that make this site so GREAT!

That's another great tech tip John. I did the same thing to mine. I havn't collected all the parts to install it yet, but it has a short throw shifter.

It's not that hard to do. You do need a drill press to get the hole in the center of the shaft. But that's it for specisl tools.

I used two pieces of 1/2" aluminum (I couldn't find a 1" piece). You can cut the pieces with a good jig saw or a sawsall. I JB welded them to gether and drilled the holes using the base plate of the shifter for a pattern. For the large hole, I used a hole saw (usually used in wood working). I got a cheap set from Harbor Freight for 6 bucks. It took awhile to drill out the big hole but it worked fine. I figured the hole saw would be toast after I finished but it faired pretty good.

The point of this long rant is that you don't need to be a machinist to do this modification. It's easy to do and I think worth the effort.

George

John's idea is a GREAT one.

i guess i'll have to try this idea, but with some hand tools you could do the same w/ a hole saw and drill and block of aluminum or non ferrous material such as UHMW as FLA54 or 46 suggests. even using a (1/2'' or 3/4'' plate and the throw would change the shift length) would work. instead of say 5'' it would be 6-7'' throw. it's what ever you want really.

If you don't have a machinist friend and only a stock one:
I made my shifter by simply removing the stock shifter from the T5. then I welded a 1/2'' short threaded rod or you could use a bolt (1.5''long). That threaded T5 shifter is a 1/2''x course (14tpi ??) for a coupler. I made my own shifter stick w/ a 1/2'' rod about 18'' long. tapered the top end (on my lathe, sorry guys) about 8'' down and drilled it for a 5/16''x24 thread (a typical black plain shift knob thread). brazed a threaded bolt with no head into the end. the other end is threaded 1/2''x(14??) to screw into the coupler. the coupler is loctited to the T5 shifter thread w/ 242. the shift rod was bent to fit the truck and has a pal nut to hold it's position. this coupler is hidded by the shift boot.

shifter photos to follow soon
http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/1951otter/

Great, and I really like the pictures.

cool tech! my truck will be auto and i still love these kind of tech articles. keep them coming.

Does anyone know what size hole to drill?

i mic'd mine last night @ .304
just under 5/16'', but the pin has serrations to help hold it in situ so they are approx. .315

Ps john, i have three shift spring clips w/ my set up. not sure if it makes a harder or easier shift or helps w/ the positive gear location ???

So does that mean you'd use a 5/16" drill bit? Or do you go down to 9/32"?

Ten points and a gold star to John Sandoval for this tip!! I planned to tap the bottom of the shifter and thread in a grade 8 hex bolt with the head rounded to duplicate the original spherical knob, but moving the retainer pin is much easier. Now if we can devise a way to increase spring tension on the shifter so it detents more strongly to neutral, we will be all the way home.

Just another example of why this site is the best.

russell
i have three leaf springs versas what john shows as having two.
this may help.
photos by next weekend

tlorber
always go undersize