DIY Full Bearing Short Shifter
 

Since Ben said that he isn't making them anymore, I thought I'd try my hand at it. :cool:

I bought a precision metal lathe, a short shifter and some bearings.
The main shaft has a roller bearing and the others have 2 SKF ball bearings each for stability (6801Z, 21mm x 12mm x 5mm).
At about $8 each, they are a bit pricey, but I didn't want to cheap out and end up with something with excessive play or that would fall apart after little use.
They are butter smooth! :)

The small shafts must be turned down to 12mm. I suggest stopping at 12.1mm and test fitting. You can then finish off with fine grit sandpaper and polish for a tight and smooth fit.

The cups need to be widened to 21mm, but I stopped at 20.9 for a tight press fit. I did this so that the bearings could be semi-permanently mounted in the cups and the shafts can slide into them. The bearings can still be driven out of the cups using the bolt at the rear in case they ever need replacing, but they should outlast the car.

Fun stuff! :)

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Cool!
how the hell did you manage to hold the shaft centered in the lathe?
4 jaws chuck?
and just out of curiosity, what lathe did you get?

What Meir said! Does the lathe have a fixture to hold the lever still while the cutting tool spins to bore the hole for the roller bearing? Is the bolt that goes through the roller bearing threaded all the way down or does it have a smooth unthreaded section to ride on the rollers? That is really cool, thanks for sharing!

I did not bore the roller bearing hole on the lathe. :D
The shaft surface that the roller bearing rides on is smooth (polished) with threads on the ends only.

The lathe I bought is the Shop Fox mini metal lathe from Northern Tools ($600).
It was a bit more than I wanted to invest in this project, but I hope I can use it for other things. I'm going to make a few of these (at least) to try to help lessen the wallet dent.

I'll have 3 shifters ready to ship next Friday if anyone wants one. I think $135 shipped in the US is probably the lowest I can go. I'm not looking to turn a profit, so if that seems high, let me know.

I have one of Ben's but I don't know if it has the roller bearing on the main shaft, how hard is that to retrofit, did you have to do any turning/sanding or was it a direct fit?

I'm interested. PM sent!

..........

You would definitely have to drill a larger hole to add one.

I have one of Ben's kits and it does have the roller bearing in the shaft.

It does have a roller bearing ;)

Nice one!

I'm gonna make more, that's for sure, but I have to save for a lathe first and I'm not fully settled in my new place yet (Have to make a proper workshop!).

Ben

I have one left, then I'm done for about a month.

I'm moving on the 15th, so will be packing until then and unpacking after that. I may make more then if Ben isn't up and running yet, but I'm not sure. It's really finicky and a lot of work, so I don't know if I want to make any more. :(

If anyone wants this last one, let me know before the week is over. After that, it will be packed up and possibly lost forever. :D

I have one more that had some cosmetic damage on the shifter body (scratches). I wasn't going to sell it because it looked bad, but I guess it won't be seen anyway.

I'll take $15 off for the scratches if someone wants it. $120 shipped, CONUS.

I'll post a picture or two of the scratches later today.

Here it is.

And the scratches...

PMd

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