I'm 6' 4" and my daily driver (CRX) is a little too cramped, to say the least. Well, for starters, I want to bring the shifter **** back closer to me. I would like to remove it from the car, heat it and bend it to an "S" shape so the **** will be closer to me, and I'll have the added benifit of even shorter throws. The shifter is currently an aftermarket short throw.
I used to work at a place where we made mountain bike frames, and I'd have to take them to the heat treaters for strenghtening after welding all of the parts together . If I do heat and bend the shifter, will it become too soft, or maybe too brittle?

 

Are you sure the shifter linkage is made of Aluminum? Regardless, unless you're the most violent shifter in history i can imagine the strength of the shift linkage would be a problem. Not to mention its not a safety component, so in the unlikely even that it does fail, no one dies, you just cant shift

-Z

 

If you have a torch that will burn hot enough to allow you to bend your shifter, why not just weld an extension on?

Mathius

 

It should really only take a MAPP torch, $35 at Canadian tire, to heat aluminum red hot. A gas welding setup, the appropriate fluxes and rods will cost a considerable amount more.

Just my 2-cents

-Z

 

What about a propane torch? I got one of those.

 

Propane doesn't burn as hot as MAPP. And are you sure it's aluminum? Certain alloys of aluminum will just crack if you try to bend them.

Mathius

 

Well, it's a cheap, aftermarket shifter that's alot lighter than the stock steel one. I'm not sure what else it could be. I'm sure that it's not top of the line quality material, although, the fit and finish are very good.

 

Aluminum is soft....just bend it cold. I had to bend the stock shifter on my T-5 in an "S" shape to get it to clear my modified shifter plate. I just stuck it in the receiver hitch on the back of my truck and bent it by hand. That was well over a year ago and it's doing just fine.

 

Fyrchkn is right, unless you are trying to anneal aluminum you dont need to heat it, just bend it, not sure if you want to go through the trouble but you can purchase a small bender from harbor frieght for cheap and it will bend it no problem, it is a table top mounted unit that comes with small dies.