At 03:25 PM 8/20/98 -0500, Bill Eastman wrote:
>I was out for a quick spin in the A over lunch and, .... 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.
>....
>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.
To remove the shift lever, start by removing the shift knob (you could skip
this part), then remove the rubber boot which should be tucked under the
carpet and expanded inside of a large hole in the sheet metal tunnel cover
like a big grommet, so just yank it out.
Then using a long nose pliers, remove a large internal snap ring that
retains an inverted flanged cup cover, at which time you may expect to get
smacked in the face with said flanged cover as it was retaining a rather
large spring the holds the shift lever down in its ball socket base.
Having removed the snap ring, the retainer cup and the spring, you may then
lift the shift lever from its spherical nest in the extension housing,
whereupon you may expect to hear a small tinkling on the floor as the
anti-rattle ball detent and spring from the rear remote control lever find
themselves liberated from lifetime service. But don't be too surprised if
this doesn't happen, as these little bits are quite often long since
missing in action anyway.
Later when it comes time to put it all back together, you could just leave
the little ball and spring out without much mechanical upset. At worst you
may occasionally notice a little irritating buzzing in the shift lever at
certain speeds and frequencies, usually those speeds you most prefer to
drive at for long distances on the highway. If you choose to reinstall the
anti-rattle ball and spring, these bits are conveniently retained in an
external hole at the back by a split pin, so you can easily install them
after the shift lever is back in place. Unfortunately, that would mean you
also need to remove the center tunnel carpeting and eight or ten #10 screws
to remove the sheet metal tunnel cover for a little better access for your
people fingers.
And of course the rest of reassemble is the reverse of disassembly, except
you don't have to put the spring retainer cup back in with your teeth.
Here you can easily press it down with two hands as you squeeze the pliers
with one hand and press the big snap ring home with your other hand.
>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.
Uh, make a phone call, write a check, wait for delivery, then follow up on
the instructions above. I installed a new repro lever from Moss several
years ago, just took a good look at it, and it still shines line new, no
rust at all. These heavy steel parts seem to hold the plating better than
the tin bits like the bumpers.
And I have a used lever that could be serviceable in a pinch. It has seen
over 30 years of service, and the chrome is somewhat worn away below the
top of the rubber boot (where you wouldn't notice much anyway). And the
thread on top is stripped for about 1/8" around 1/2" down from the top just
about where the thin jam nut would lock the knob in place. I seem to
recall circumventing this problem by using a standard thick nut as a jam
nut, so it would get a bite in the good threads a little higher or lower.
It isn't worth much in trade, but a couple of beers next time we get
together might be in order.
>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?
Well the threaded bit that broke off is only about 3/4" long, so you aren't
loosing much in height, just enough to give it a little sportier feel. The
large wooden knob works well here because you usually rest you hand on top
rather than grabbing the side like the small original shift knob. But I
don't think you'd make out too well boring out the knob to go over the
larger diameter of the unthreaded portion of the lever. There's a sizable
shoulder it transitions from the 5/16" thread size to about 15/32"
diameter. Probably wouldn't leave much wall thickness in the steel bushing
in the knob for holding threads for a grub screw.
>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?
Ah! Grapes of Wrath time. Been there, done that once years ago with
another car. And it's not too difficult. Come to think of it, I did this
twice with the same shift lever. Really gave it a sporty throw.
In my younger days with limited resources I think I reduced the diameter
with a hand file, although it took about an hour worth of elbow grease and
a young kid's spunk to accomplish it. A pedestal grinder would make the
job much easier. A Gibbonizer may also do the job easy enough, but may
take as long as hand filing. Just keep turning the part as you're grinding
or filing so you keep it mostly round. You need to get it down to 5/16"
diameter for 3/4" length. Keep measuring with a caliper or micrometer as
you go, and take it easy when you're getting close so you don't end up with
it being too small. Then you run a 5/16-24 UNF thread cutting die down the
new cylinder and your done.
>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.
Naw! It's battle scars, Bill. Badges of honor, pure and simple. Gives
the car character. It was a shame I had to go and take the guard rail
marks out of the side of my A this year and disguise it with fresh paint.
Now it just looks like a nice MGA, nothing special.
Cheers,
Barney Gaylord
1958 MGA with an attitude
PS
ALL BRITISH AUTOCROSS SATURDAY, ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL. I didn't get any
cancellation call so IT MUST BE ON !!!
BG
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