Hi All,
I thought I would post up a tech article of changing your shifter from a series 1 cable select to a series II rod shifter.
Why you ask...
Well the Rod shifter is a lot smoother to use and the stick is also shorter in the console and looks a heap better.
OK first you need to get hold of a rod shifter... These were more of a running change than a series 1/series II thing. I had a spare 87 exec that I got mine out of for the 86 Calais. The 87 model is april, so anything after that should be fine.
Anyway to get the shifter out you need to pop out the console. If you don't know how to do that, undo the screws in the cassette holder and slide the console back (after pulling out and removing the Pwr Windows switches etc). You will also need to remove the auto console cover.
There will be a heap of rivets. About 8 from memory. Simply drill them out and the shifter and brass plate shoud lift up slightly. Make sure you keep the thing in park. Now working under the car, on the right hand side of the transmission there is a cable with a 22mm nut on it.
Loosen the nut and it comes off pretty eay. Pop that off and the shifter will slide out.
Drop in your rod shifter (after removing the cable etc) and fit the rod to the gearbox selector. Re-install the 22mm Nut and tighten.
Sit the new shifter in the console lining up all the holes. Use some 14 gauge self tapping screw (only short ones) and scre them in. They work perfectly.
Put 8 of them in start the car and make sure that all the gears select OK.
Reinstall your console.
You should notice that the shifter is now much much smoother and shorter.
Takes about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.
All you need is the following
Power Drill
14 gauge self tapping screws x 8
Rod shifter from wreckers or holden.
phillips head screw driver
22mm ring spanner
I hope that helps someone. I noticed it as a problem after I owned an 87 model and then got an 86.
I looked around everywhere and found limited info so hopefully this helps someone else
- Mark
interesting fact..the cable and rod shifters both use the same shifter/handle peice..
its just that the rod one sits lower in the floor bracket..
the rod shifter i got came from a burnt car, and cause they are kinda harder to find and i was in a hurry i used the burnt bottom bits with my rod shifter handle and shifter
this is a very good mod, did it on my car and the shifter is so much nicer to change gears with. good thing about the s2 shifters is that you can select between 2nd and drive without having to pull on the lever bit on top of the shifter (hrd to explain but its way better). with the s1 shifters, it only goes from drive to neutral without pulling it up the handle.
only thing thats been missed out is that you will most likely have to undo the bolt on the rod linkage to ensure correct gear selection once its been fitted up. with the shifter in park, and the trans in park, undo the linkage bolt, do it up again, then check shifter operation/ gear selection just to make sure.
does any body know how to get the cable out and replace with a new one???
im trying but i might just do this mod sounds pretty easy. do you need the complete shifter or just the rod part. im guessing the complete part?
Quote:
Originally Posted by vlthunter
this is a very good mod, did it on my car and the shifter is so much nicer to change gears with. good thing about the s2 shifters is that you can select between 2nd and drive without having to pull on the lever bit on top of the shifter (hrd to explain but its way better). with the s1 shifters, it only goes from drive to neutral without pulling it up the handle.
This is not entirely correct, as I have 2 rod shifters in my 2 VLs. One of them is buttonless between D and 2, and the other one is buttonless between D and N.
