After we completed the 6MT swap, I lost one of my favorite custom mods, the Tall Boi shifter. I thought about how to recreate the Tall Boi with the 6MT, but the reverse lockout system was a problem that I needed to solve. I took a break from the custom lip to work on this little mini project. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos of this process.
A while back, I cut up a spare 6MT shifter. I had to separate the upper portion from the lower. This gave me the reverse lockout and shift knob threads. The 6MT shifter stay is a different design from the 5MT, so I also needed to keep the 6MT lower section. I punched out the pin holding the pivot ball in place and removed it. I didn’t want any heat from the angle grinder or welder destroying the ball.
I had some spare round stock that I used as a transition piece/spacer. And I cut off the selection fork mount so we can slip the Perrin adapter over the WRX shifter. Once we weld the STi upper piece, it will be impossible to install the adapter.
The last thing to do was make another drop link from the Perrin adapter to the shift linkage. The higher up we make the connection point, the shorter the shifts. However, once I cut this part up, there is no going back. I don’t have a spare part, and this plays a big role in the angle of the shifter in neutral. If I mess this up, then we are dead in the water.
So, I worked on the rest of the shifter before cutting up the shifter linkage. My welds look terrible, but they work. I think the center of the WRX shifter is held in place with rubber. After welding on the shifter, it softened up a bit. When shifting gears, there was a slightly muddy, yet springy feel to the shifts. It kind of felt like I was constantly hitting the gates. I was never 100% confident that I was in gear. I cut a metal sleeve in half, hammered it in the gap of the shifter then welded it in place.
I also ordered a LikeWise Ghost Shift knob to replace the Daytona knob. It isn’t nearly as heavy, but I like how the Delrin knob looks and feels.
I can probably tweak this setup a little bit more, but honestly, I think I want to design something from scratch. I might try to design something in CAD first. Or I could buy a Cobb Shifter, which is pretty close to what I want and modify it a bit.
At any rate, I have been driving around with this setup for a while now, and I am pretty happy with it. The shifts are really short (on the verge of being too short) and clean. I also need to find a shifter boot to cover this madness up.
Cheers!
B.黒曜石 