I wanted to get a short shifter for my MINI S and did not really wanted to deal with the issues associated with the aftermarket options. The issues of clearance with the aftermarket exhaust, the dust cover that has to be opened and alignment of cables versus the stock shift. I had already installed the exhaust and did not feel like going down there and moving things.

I also wanted the option to use the stock ball and maybe use the Whalen Machine ball. I wanted the Whalen machine when I first hear of it, but did not liked the added height that it introduced to the shifter. It is not much, but I wanted shorter, not longer. I had seen people cut the stock shifter shaft and then did things like added tape to the shaft to keep the stock ball on, but that did not seemed to me a finished project.

How short is short. I wanted to take out about 3" to 4" off the stock shifter. You can breath now..... I was dreaming of a way meet all the requirements mentioned above.

This is how I made it. It should take about 2 hours to do if you have all the parts. You better get ready because this is not a simple operation. It is difficult and there is a real possibility that if you screw up, you will have a non stock, Non Whalen, screw on the sides ball on your very short shifting shaft.

1. You start by removing the stock ball. Pull up. In some it is very easy to pullout, in others it requires some force. Do not hit your face with it, once it comes out.

2. Next we remove the leather piece around the shifting shaft. The leather piece was attached to the plastic ring below. In mine it is attached to the base below with about 6 to 8 clips around the ring. It is a simple job of pulling UP gently, but with enough force. DO NOT try to turn the plastic ring side to side. There are 4 plastic rods that go into 4 small rings that prevent the ring, holding the leather piece, from rotating. If you rotate as you pull, the four plastic rods might/will brake. I did not brake any of the clips or rods. You might use a flat screw driver taking care not to scratch the plastic ring.

3. Pull the leather piece all the way up and now you see a tie rap holding it to the Shifting shaft. Cut it and slide the leather piece out.

4. Please take a moment to look at the plastic pieces exposed on the shifting shaft. You are looking at two pieces, not one. We will call the top piece, with the "U" shape, piece #1. The one below it is where the leather piece was allowed to go up and down, not too high and not too low. That is piece #2. Notice that the shifting shaft has a slight bend angle about 2 inches below the plastic piece #2. We will call that the "Bend".

5. What we are trying to do is to remove the plastic piece #1 and reuse it to allow the stock piece and the Whalen Machine to be used in the stock cut shaft. We will not reuse the #2 piece because the leather piece will not slide down when we are done.

6. Time to get nasty. Using a Hack Saw, not a Dremel tool, to avoid sending metal pieces all over your car at 36,000 RPM, cut the shaft at the height you want. I cut below the plastic piece #2. But, if you cut here, Piece #1 will not be able to go all the way in and the top of the cut shaft will be about an 1/8 of an inch from the plastic top, below the "U" of piece #1. Once I was done, it was not a problem, but if you want to insure that this does not happen, you will have to make your cut 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the bottom of piece #2. It took me about 15 minutes to make the cut with a metal hack saw.

7. Now it is time to test your steady hands. Get the Dremel tool and use a metal cutting blade (black looking) or a metal filing blade (brown looking). It needs to be thin. Do not forget the safety eye protection. I would use some gloves. Either hold the piece in your hands or if you are not used to playing with a Dremel tool, use a clamping tool. We are going to cut along the shaft in a vertical direction. Start with piece #2. You can use it as practice.

8. As you "cut" piece #2 you will notice that you are really melting that part, not cutting. Eye protection - gloves reminder and do not do this in a suit. Once the plastic is melted and cooled in a few seconds, it is easy to break the excess with your finger in a rolling motion on top. Make the "cut" from bottom to top. You will need to cut a little into piece #1, to finish the cut on piece #2. That is OK. Once done, use a thin screw driver to dislodge piece #2 off the cut shift shaft. Notice the texture that kept the molted plastic from rotating, in the middle of piece #2. In piece #1 the texture is deeper and is present from top to bottom of the plastic. This will make it more difficult than piece #1.

9. Now we really have to take a break to study the real important part of this operation. Let me tell you what I was thinking at this point of my operation. My strategy was to do the same as I had done in piece #2. Instead of going from bottom to top, I figure that I could cut half way up and then use my screw driver to dislodge the plastic piece. BUT, I was tired and badly misjudged how thin and weak is the plastic on the sides. As I was separating the plastic and metal, I realized that the texture of the metal was much deeper than in piece #2. This piece was not going to give up easily. I tried to separate the plastic some more, using a thin screw driver, and did too much. At the end of the cut I had made, the plastic rip in a 90 degree direction of the rod, at the middle of the plastic piece. I tried the other side of the cut and was more careful, no luck. I the used oil to try to help it to dislodge. It did not help at this point, but it probably did later. I was desperate, so I not cut from the top, 180 degrees from where I had made the first cut, and meet the ripped line at about the middle of the plastic. Using a screw driver at the "U" and holding the metal shaft with pliers, I was able to turn the plastic, probably with some help from the oil.


10. If I had to do it again, I would recommend either two cuts along the shaft, 180 degrees apart, on opposite sides of the rod, to make it easier to remove piece #1. Another option is to make 3 cuts at 120 degrees apart. You pick your poison here. Just be careful and remove piece #1.

11. Clean Piece #1 to make the final installation. If you used oil, clean it carefully.

12. Reinstall the leather piece - plastic ring and make sure that the leather is low enough to not get in the way of the piece #1 installation.

13. Take a Q-tip and Gorilla Glue. Coat the inside of piece #1. Do not leave a whole lot of excess because Gorilla Glue will grow 40% of the volume applied. In my case, because the "Bend" I was not able to slide piece #1 all the way to the top of the cut stock shifting shaft. Make sure that the "U" is set right for the stock ball. The "U" will determine how the text on top of the ball reads. If you do it wrong, you will have text looking to the side or randomly angled. Using Tie Wraps, I held in place piece #1. I used 6 Tie Wraps to make sure that it made good contact. I left it overnight to dry. I did not used Super Glue, because it sets very quickly and I wanted to be able to adjust the angle of the plastic a little. It also allows you to control the contact area that you glue.

14. In the morning, 8 hours later, I removed the tie wraps by cutting them on the side.

15. Slide the stock ball on and it felt rock solid. Pulled up the leather to meet the ball. Done

Shifting to reverse is very hard. I do it by putting my hand about 8 to 12 inches away from the ball and with a swift motion, not needing a lot of force, I put it in reverse (using the momentum to get it done). The short shifts from 1 to 6 are great. It does take some getting used to and a little more effort than before, but it is very precise. The distance from 1 to 3 or 4 to 6 feels larger now, so no missed shifts when you down shift. Shifts 1 to 2, 2 to 3, etc are very quick and easier than reverse. I like it, but it might not be for everybody. If you drive in a lot of traffic, you might want to think about it.


Options. The Whalen Machine sees a perfect fit for this mod. The added height that it introduces is a bonus in this case. The extra weight that is adds, is very welcomed. I have not tried it on because I do not have one. Now I hope to get one. If you have one for sale, cheap, let me know. I am really interested to see how it will work with it. The stock ball looks great also and I might just keep it that way.

It has been 4 days since I made the mod and it still feels rock solid.

Bomboasy

 

correct me if I am wrong but a short shift kit is designed to reduce the throws and has no relationship to hieght.

 

The main thing that an aftermaket short shift kit does is add lenght to the bottom part of the shifting arm. That is what actually makes the "short" shifting. They also give you the option to decrease the height of the top of the arm that holds the shifting ball. That is not only for looks, but it also decreases the time it takes to make a shift, since it takes a shorter time to travel the distance to the next gear. It does require more effort.

The aftermarket kits have created some problems with the cables that make the shifts, because of the added lenght below. Not many, but enought to make me not want to go in that directions. The added lenght at the bottom also can have some issues with the aftermaket exhausts. I have read of cases where this was an issue.

I wanted to take advantage of the shorter distance to make the shift that this mod gives you.

The look is just great and I love the feeling of the shifting. It is crisp and precise. It also makes the space under the AC control much more accessible.

Bomboasy

 

I understand that some of the aftermarket kits are a pain to install. The work you did does look great.

 

Wow, that was ambitious of you!

If I tried that, I wouldv'e ended up buying a whole new tranny, I fear!

Your shifter **** is so low, it looks like a Miata shifter now. I've always liked how short those Miata shifters are. In this case, I'd have to try yours out before I decided on doing something that drastic though...

I'm glad you like it. You're a pioneer of sorts! Good luck with your mod!

 

Funny you mentioned the Miata, because I was thinking of that shifter when I made the cut. If you want to know something funny, I did not know that this shaft was made of metal. I had this idea that it was plastic. It was night time and it was dark. I had seen the top part that has molded plastic before, so I was assuming that it was all plastic. I was cutting and cutting and wondering why it was so hard to cut. :impatient

Bomboasy

PS. For the purist, I admit that it is not a true Short Shift mod. But you get half of the benefit. I am very happy with the look and feel.

 

bomber

[applause smiley] i applaud your VERY clever reuse of the molded plastic; i wish i'd thought of that.

what year is your car? i could be wrong, but i thought the 2005/2006 shaft and platistic molding looked different.

i continue to love the crisp, low slop feel this mod gives. ( one for each speed in the box )

i recently test drove a 6 speed nc miata; my cut down mcs shifter felt MUCH, MUCH better. but i suspect that a cut down nc miata might feel better than a cut down mcs because it doesn't have cables/rods in the mechanism. (i must add that it was a cut down older miata shifter that inspired me to cut my mcs.)

 

Flyboy, my car, as is shown in my signature, is an 03. Sounds like you trashed the piece that you cut. My brother in law had two miata, different generations. He was trying my mod today, in my car, and he liked it. He thinks that it is a little harder to shift than in the Miata, but that it feels fine. The reverse is a challenge.

Bomboasy