So i did a little modding over this past weekend and attacked my shifter.

New Mods:

1.) B&M Short throw Shifter
2.) Custom engraved Whalen shift ****
3.) Cravenspeed shift gate
4.) MINI shift **** cover (for the hot summer days. )

So...here are the pics after the install, hope you like. (sorry for the bad pics, my digi cam battery died so i had to take pics with my phone, and the sun was starting to go down.)











This setup, ROCKS!!! i absolutely LOVE my whalen shift **** and B&M shifter!!!

 

Looks great!

 

That shift-gate looks awesome!

 

That really looks great now im gonna have to go and start saving money for those mods

 

Hey Mini Mizer,

Nice job! Would you mind answering a couple of really dumb SSK questions?

B&M short throw Shifter: these components are under the car? And are the ones that probably won't work with a JCW exhaust, right?

Whalen shift ****: Just the ****, or does it come with the "arm" or "shaft" (or whatever the post is called that it's attached to)?

Cravenspeed shift gate: Is the gate merely the "bowl" that the lever and **** come up out of... or is it actually a notched gate below the "bowl". I haven't pulled the vinyl boot off my OEM set-up... maybe this "bowl" is on all OEM 6 spds, hidden beneath the vinyl cover?

What's the basic cost for the above goodies? DIY or pro install? Looks Fab, but I think I'd rather have a shorter shift lever/arm/shaft/whatever. Are shorter ones available? Again, which part of this 3 brand, 3piece mod does the lever belong to?

 

that looks awesome!! regarding the shift gate from Cravenspeed, is it reversible or do the new holes prevent a return to stock?

 

As far as the cravenspeed shift gate, it is reversible, as it uses the holes that are merely for alignment. Screws screw into these holes where prevous plastic studs went. The stock ring snaps on and the holes are just for alignment.

The shift gate is only the aluminum bowl with a sliding disk that moves with the shifter shaft as you shift. No actual gate under the bowl.

The Whalen **** is just a **** however its the best **** i have ever seen, and the finish and craftsman ship on my custom engraving is GREAT! If you ever get a Whalen **** you will instantly know it is a fine piece as soon as you pick it up. The locking mechinisim is great!!! and it weighs 18oz. thats just over a pound! i think the stock **** is like .5oz?

The B&M short throw shifter is the aluminum shaft that is sticking up through the shift gate. It has the Whalen **** ontop of it. However the part that makes it a shorter shift is the longer portion of the shaft that is underneith the car. It comes with a new dust cover for the underside of the shift box. This box is what most likely will interfer with the JCW exhaust as it sticks down about 1-1/2 inches more than stock. This longer bottom portion is what allows the B&M shifter to keep its stock height. The B&M also comes with aluminum bushings that replace the rubber ones, which other SSK's do not come with.

I dont like having to reach way down low in order to get a shorter throw, and witht he B&M the shifter is in the stock height closer to the steering wheel and still provides a shorter shift.

I ordered everything from Outmotoring, except my Whalen ****, which i got from Whalen Shift Machine.

I did all the work on a sunday afternoon, it took about 2 hours. Im still learning about the MINI, only had mine for about 2-1/2 months

 

that shat is pimp

 

Mini Mizer
Looks GREAT! How about a little more of your impressions on the B&M shifter. Does the B&M make the shifting gates a little more pronounced? I seem to miss a shift ounce in a while (I.E. downshifting when the intension is to up shift). Does the B&M seem to make that a little more precise? Please do tell. Thanks Steve

 

Well i have only had my B&M shifter on since last sunday. But i can tell you that right after installation i could tell the shifter seemed alot more stiff and solid. It no longer felt flemsy and cheap. As soon as everything was installed i gave it a few shifts without my shift **** on it and it felt alot stiffer than stock and alot more percise. Once i put my 18oz Whalen **** ontop of it, the added weight gave it just the right feeling. It made it so it wasnt too stiff but it wasnt flismy either. The aluminum bushings in the kit also help make it alot more solid feel also. All the parts in the kit are very nice and fit great!


Although the shifter is stock height the travel is much less. It really does give a whole new feel to the car. IMHO i think this is the way the car should have come from the factory. After switching mine, it really makes the stock shifter feel cheap.

Also...you might think im full of it, but the Whalen **** really does help, and it is extremely nice! For those who own one, they know what i am talking about, and for those who dont, may not understand until they get one.
It is like the little gem of the shifting system. Not your average shift ****.

Plus It works extremely well with the B&M kit. There is a noticable differance when shifting it without the **** on and with it.

Also...you can get it custom engraved so your **** doesnt look like everyone else. Im pretty sure no one has a **** like me, as mine was custom engraved. Just adds a little more you'ification to your MINI.

 

MINI MIZER, that is very cool, and very unique!

 

Hey Mini Mizer,

Thanks for all the info and enthusiasm. I appreciate the answers and insight to my remedial questions.

 

Looking nice, more reason why I want a MCSm.

 

So how difficult was it to install the B&M? Is this a job for the pros or can anyone do it?

 

very clean!

 

It can be done by anyone. There aren't any exotic tools or anything needed. All you need to do is lift the car, drop the front half of the exhaust, remove the center console area in the cabin of the car. Then you pop out the old shift housing, remove the stock shaft and replace it with the new shaft.

I helped with the installation of mine, although I had it done professionally. Be aware the instructions that come with the new version for late 04 and on cars combines pictures of both the old style shift housing and the new one. It tends to make things extra confusing as the color of the housing goes from white to black between pictures.

The two most difficult parts of the installation would be popping the shift cables off the old mechanism and getting the stock shaft out of the housing. You will also have to be very careful as the knuckle that holds the shift shaft in the housing is plastic and if you break it (or the little tabs that hold it in place) you can leave yourself SOL.

 

The hardest part i had was re-molding the underside aluminum heat shield back into postion. Because the new B&M dust plate cover sticks down about 1-1/2 inches, the aluminum heat shield doesnt want to fit the way it use to.

So i took a 2x4 piece of wood about 6 inches long and banged/massaged the heat sheild back into place.

everything else was simple and the intructions were dead-on. If by some reason you have to do something that the instructions do not mention, you are probably doing something wrong.

The only other hard part was breaking the exhaust bolts loose from their flange. The strongest man in the UK must have been used to tighten those bad boys!!!

other than these two things, it was very simple, i did all the work in the driveway with the car on jack stands, and it took about 2 hours. (i was taking my time, because im still learning alot about the mini as i mod it )

hope this helps.

 

Finally got this finished up. The B&M was hard to find since its now out of production for later R53s. The height is about the same, just a little stiffer with a shorter throw. The weight of the whalen helps you not notice the increase in stiffness.

~sorry for crappy phone pic