Not to flatter myself or anything with the title, but I am very pleased how this small project turned out and to the best of my knowledge, I am the only one who has done this twist on the infamous B&M Megashifter.

Ever since I bought my Camaro, I always loved my B&M megashifter (Installed by a PO). However, I never liked the flimsy feel of it, not to mention the way the t-handle would always strip and oxidize. So, I set out to do a custom megashifter setup. At first I had no idea where to start, getting a megashifter that didn't have a ton of play and wobble in it would be a good start, so I hit up Ebay.

I found a used megashifter and won the auction for $76. I figured that I would use it for parts to rebuild the one in my car. However, I was about to be in for a surprise.

The shifter finally arrived in the mail and since I had noticed something a tad odd about the auction pics, had my mom tear open the package and MMS me some pics of it while I was at work. At this point, I am beginning to get a bit concerned because this was unlike any megashifter I had seen before. It was MUCH beefier and had more pieces to it. Even the same general parts this shifter and mine shared had big differences.

I got home and checked out the manual included with the shifter and verified that it WAS a megashifter for thirdgen consoles. However, was a bit puzzled when the part number stated 80693, as this item was nowhere to be found on B&M's website. WTF, had I bought a knockoff megashifter? Crap! Well, after a little more research, I discovered that this was an authentic B&M megashifter, and it was actually B&M's older, original and more robust design from the 80's. Better yet, this shifter was in immaculate condition and just needed a little elbow grease. I bolted it up to the car and applied a generous amount of lithium grease and tried it out. MUCH better than the other. Felt much sturdier in my hand than the flimsy newschool shifter and had a very small, but acceptable amount of play. Great! that's half the battle!

Now I got to thinking, what could I do to really make this "new" shifter stand out? I tossed together some options, and originally was going to go with a chrome shifter plate. I discovered however, that the way the gear indicator was on the older shifter, it would not line up correctly with the plates of the newer design, so that killed that option. However, I was not to be defeated and re-faced the included plate with gloss black epoxy paint and an autometer decal.

However, after the typical B&M handle that I had swapped over from the last shifter stripped out as usual, I realized that I was going to have to apply more effort to have more than just a run of the mill megashifter. I went into r-icerzone to see what my options were.

There was no way in hell I was paying $30 for another B&M which would most likely strip and then oxidize on top of that. Then I remembered, I had seen a really BA looking shifter handle in there before. It was a T-handle in the form of a giant 44 magnum bullet and on the top of the handle had the words "Protected by Smith & Wesson" engraved. I looked and looked and even asked the store manager but it appeared the item had been discontinued. Not to be defeated however, I hit up ebay again and what do you know I find what I'm looking for. Got the handle for $17 shipped and as a plus it was the silver version instead of the brass colored one that autozone sold which would have horribly matched the inside of my car. 2 days after ordering, The handle arrived in the mail.

Now this brings us to just yesterday. I whipped out the soldering iron and extension cord and completely rewired the shifter since all the butt connectors and speaker wire used by a PO owner were coming apart at the seams . I used mothers back to black on the shifter boot to give it a bit of detail, then ran down to the ratshack and grabbed a 12V LED assembly to replace the missing gear indicator light. This new handle looked and felt MUCH manlier than the B&M one. Compared to the bullet handle, the B&M handle felt puny. When I was finished however, I discovered that this new handle was plagued by the same problem as the B&M handle. They used a plastic insert that screwed onto the shifter stick and the handle secured to the insert via 3 small allen screws. Well, as you can imagine the plastic insert stripped out pretty quick and after removing the handle only 2 times, the steel allen screws stripped out the holes on the aluminum handle, DAMNIT!

So, fed up with stripped handles, I decided to make this solution permanent. I coated the inside of the plastic insert and the threads on my shifter stick with a 2 part expoy, and let it sit overnight. The days of that stripping out are over with. Now it was time to epoxy the handle to the insert. But after this, the handle was never coming off again without an extreme amount of effort, so if I was to add a finishing touch of some sort now was the time.

Hmmmm, what to do. The only real thing I could think of was that I had always wanted the B&M handle with the thumb button to operate a launch control. But I liked this handle MUUUUCH better. So, I thought, why not make my own? So I zipped to Radioshack today on my lunch break to see what I could find.

Sorting through the parts drawers was no easy task especially since I only have a 30 minute lunch on weekends. To make matters worse, being a former employee at radioshack and having gone through the painstaking task of stocking the parts drawers many times was bringing back a bit of frustration. "Stupid radioshack, always mixing everything up. The good ol' days are gone and ratshack is nothing but a cheap... @_@!!". For $2.69 + tax, I had found what I was looking for.

I got home, removed the shifter handle and used a 12V cordless drill to drill out what would have been the primer had this been a real bullet. I then prepared the button by soldering a wire tail onto it, then re-enforcing the solder joint with a glob of hotglue then applying heatshrink tubing over the hotglue. I then popped the button into place, fished the wire out the bottom of the handle and came up with the **** eating grin you ever saw. This was the finishing touch I had been looking for. Now I have the ability to operate a launch control, line lock, trans brake, nitrous or whatever the future may bring, while still being able to keep my BA looking shifter handle. All that is left to do tomorrow is drill a small hole down through the shifter stick to feed the wires through and then epoxy the handle to the plastic insert. When I am done, I will post a final picture.

And now, the part you all have been waiting for. The pics!

 

Pictures 4 and 5.

 

Well... its something.
Not my cup of tea, but enjoyed the story.

 

Cool!

Mine's from the mid 90's and feels a little sloppy.. not too bad yet though. I don't know if i could handle the bullet since mine's mostly a strip car. I just wrapped the top threads in teflon tape, cranked the handle down and tightened the jamb nut down.


BTW, do you have an extra good 4 speed indicator window? Mine came with the 3 speed one even though it was hooked to a 700R4. The last time i checked B&M was out of stock on them.

 

I do have an extra window. It is from the newer design shifter. do you need the whole plate or just the window?

 

Just the window. I think the rest of mine is in good enough shape.


I'll PM you later...

Thanks!