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240z Modified Shifter

Putting a 5-speed transmission into a '70-'71 poses a few problems, such as the shifter hitting the tunnel.


240z 4-Speed and 5-Speed Externally a 4-speed and 5-speed tranmission look pretty identical, but the one Datsun used for the first Z-cars was a little longer. It's one of many variations between a '70-'72 and all the subsequent models.

240z 5-Speed Transmission Problem Because the transmission is shorter, the shifter is moved forward. This shows it contacting the console while in neutral, which obviously isn't going to work.

Options exist, such as swapping consoles with a '72, but that creates other problems. The existing console can be trimmed at the front to provide enough clearance but I'm not sure how it would look (although I've been assured it looks fine). The shifter itself can be modified, so I decided to take a look.

240z 5-Speed Shifter Mods I took some measurements and drew the parts in CAD and started playing around. The drawing at the top is how it currently exists. From neutral to first is about 15 degrees, and the same from neutral to second, which gave me a baseline to work with.

The middle drawing seemed to be the best combination. The concept is to cut the shift rod off the part that attaches to the transmission, then weld a piece of steel to it and attach the shift rod to the end of the new piece. With a little fiddling I was able to move the shift far enough back that it's centered in the hole.

The bottom was fooling around with using a piece of flat bar with rectangular holes to mimic the ones on the steering wheel.


240z Shifter Modifications Here's what it will look like with the rubber boot in place. The distance between shifts is still 15 degrees and the boot should work perfectly.

When I do the actual modification it might be slightly different but this is the basic design I'm going with. When it's done and working, I'll add more pics to this page as well as dimensions if you want to do the same thing.


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