B&M Mega Shifter
 

Hope this is the right place to post this.....What is the cheapest anyone has seen the Console version for the 3rd gen going for...I did a search, and found one for 170....thanks for any help on this....(I MUST HAVE ONE) lol.Tom

When I bought mine for my Camaro about 2 years ago, I paid $300 cdn for it. That's about $265 US. That's after tax of course.

So... Maybe your $170 is looking pretty good!

I dont mean to butt in but i was wondering if anyone has put a regular mega in ther third gen and wut mods needes to be done to make it work with the cover plate in the stock consle

I put mine in farely easily, i had to cut away some of the inside of the stock plastic piece, drill two holes to bolt the shifter into the floor... tape up the neutral safety switch...

You have to run the cable in a loop above the tranny cause its wayy to long...
Sorry I suck at tutorials...

:)

did you use the stock shifyer plate or the one in the b&m kit?

Both actually, the one in the car was plastic, the one with the B&M is metal. I put the metal one over top of the plastic one.

I personally used them both.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...48_99_full.jpg

You can kinda see it here

dis u hack the old one up for it or just pull out the strip? and nice interior

I hacked out the strip in the center, ripped out the display *clear piece with P-R-D etc*. I used a small file to make the edges clean, and just popped the metal one down on it.

I broke it the first time, and had to get another from the junker.

It's an easy mod, I'd say go for it!

And I LOVED the ratchet shifting, LOVED it.

thancks for the info help out a lot i dont know if im gana keep the auto and build it or go for a t-5. ive got it just debating on doing it

Don't just put in a T-5... If you're gonna do that put in the T-56 :)

well ive got the v6 and im gana be doing a turbo on it and also i dont know how hard the t-56 will to be to put in and find a clutch for trust me ive thought about it

sorry to butt in but since i have a formula and it says the ones for camaro/firebirds wont fit it, can i even have a megashifter in my car? and if not why? thanks

I had a Mega Shifter in my old '89 V6 camaro, I loved it! I am debating on putting one in my Iroc, someday. -Nick.

$165.xx in my Summit Racing Catalog. -Nick.

I installed one of these in my cousin's third gen, and I'm just wondering if anyone else has a really stiff shift from park down into RND? I have the brackets and everything installed correctly, I used the right hole on the shift lever, the cable is run exactly as shown in the instructions, but the shift down from park is monstrous.

I think $165.99 at Jegs.com might be the least expensive spot on the web, does anyone know what kind of time and work it takes to install one of these shifters?

I had a Mega shift in my 87 T/A....I hated it! the feel of the shift was "clunky" and in short thime the T broke on it...I swapped it out and custom fit a quicksilver in it's place....much better shifter IMO

Your the second person Ol'Blue, to have said there T handle has broke. Is there something really wrong with the T handle on the megashifter or is just a freak accident? I am really wanting to put in a megashifter really soon but I don't know about it now.:confused: How was it to install your quicksilver shifter?

The T is nothing but piece of cast aluminum that has been polished I was going to make a new one out of stainless but I decided not to because I really didnt care for the shifter.

The quicksilver is a very nice shift but it doesnt come application specific for our cars so I had to do some "fab work" on brackets and such

your cheapest place, and this goes for most parts, is to go to advance auto parts with a friend who is military. have them order it, free shipping, takes one day, and you get 10 % off the price. I'm military so i get 10% off all parts

the previous owner of my car had a B & M in and took the actual shifter out but left the mounting plate and all that and just threw a random shifter in its place. what are the advantages of one of these shifters over a stock one in an auto? i was thinking about just putting a stock plate and shifter back in, but if there are some advantages i'd might as well go B & M. thanks

Just yesterday..
 

I priced one at Advanceauto for my 87- 178.88

yea, Jegs and Summit sell em for $165

i have had the megashifter for 2 years now, and I LOVE IT, rachet action is awesome, real sold, u can slam this thing forward hard...
-reverse lockout is always good...
-you DO have to go into DRIVE before you go to PARK, from neutral
(cant jsut go from Neutral to park) ((at least on mine))

-get the console one made for 3rd gens, it comes with the shorter shifter, and sits nice

-i mounted mine witht eh metal plate only, and cut out the plastic panel and whatnot... and yes the shift linkage wire is long, you will have to loop it

---the only BAD thing abotu the megashifter, or any shifter with a screw on handle is that if you overtighten it, the threads strip.... mine stripped, even tho i tightened it with the nut underneath the handle... but i metal epoxyed it... has worked fin for 1.5 years so far

i didnt know that. i'm military and they never offered me the discount and I use my Navy Fed sharecheck card most of the time there. :gocrazy:

I installed one in my Formula, it can be done. One problem is the metal base plate they supply you with will have to rest on top of your existing plastic base. The new metal one is a VERY tight fit betwen the spring-loaded ashtray release button and the side mirror controls. You will have to carefully dremel cut the original plastic base, and it becomes rather fragile after you have cut enough to fit (broke mine). Additionally, I had to enlarge the tranny tunnel hole where the shift cable passes through, else-wise the angle of entry is too sharp and binds the cable. I eventually bought the heavier duty cable (2 or 3 foot, don't remember, the supplied 5 footer is WAY too long.

hey i have a quick question for you guys with the megashifter. with the megashifter's new cable what did you guys use in the hole for a grommet? when i put mine in i didnt put in a grommet and im getting some heat coming in from there and i would like to try and seal it off. on the stock cable there is a grommet that goes in the hole...

i used the stock grommet. i cut my old shifter cable and pulled it off and reused it, no problems for over 2 years

I actually have this problem. It is hard as hell to shift from park. Anything else is easy. I just have to give it a good jerk to shift from park.

i just tried to do this tonight and it the stock grommet wont go on the megashifter cable... can you explain how you did it? i cant get it past the ends to the cable itself?

I hate & love my B&M megashifter, BUT it's the only aftermarket shifter that's a direct bolt-in for the 3rd gens so ...well, that's that! I had a shifter plate made because the one that is already in the car and the one that comes with the shifter is a plastic piece of poo. I won't have any breakage with mine. HOWEVER! That stupid indicator plastic piece (that shows what you are shifting into) breaks every time because it's so flimsy. I have just had to get used to knowing where to move it to. It took a good solid year to get it so it would be semi-easy to shift- like going from Park to 1st or Park to Reverse and I STILL have to use both hands (which is quite embarressing at the track). But what I DO like is that once I get going, it's so super simple to pop that thing up into 2nd & 3rd & OD. Just keep in mind you will have to hit it HARD with the palm of your hand.......

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g1...c/PA080018.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...41_28_full.jpg
the shifter has been painted- came from here
http://jimmy-jams.tripod.com/3gcamarobmplates.htm

Are there any Advance auto parts stores in the Houston, Texas area?????

Their on-line store locator shows at least ten. Nearest to Tx City is Pasadena.

WOW that must suck using 2 hands i really dont like the B&M mega shifter i havent heard anything good about it! i have the Hurst V-matic 2 and i love it i dont know how i lived without it! nice clean shifts and i dont even have a indicator that tells me what gear im in dont need it really if you cant tell what gear your in you dont need to be driving feel the car. my girl frind drives my car all the time doenst ever have a problem with it she could do it in her sleep. anyone else have the hurst shifter and if you do. do you like it? Later Daniel

,

im a little confused.. does this mega-shifter allow you to shift manually with an automatic trans?

Yes it does but with my 87 IROC, I had the older valve body which will stay automatic even with the shifter. I had to get a newer valve body installed in order to be able to shift myself. Only time you need to shift is at the track, otherwise you just stay in OD.

does the manual shifting with the mega-shifter put any wear on the transmission or make the gears wear out any quicker?

what year did they change to the newer valve body?

I would like to know this too?

AND

How quick does it help shift? I know ALL automatics have that split second between shifts when shifting manually, but does it take that away and if not it WOULD ruin your trans because an auto isnt meant to be on the gas in the middle of the shift.....unless you have a powerglide or something, thus making it POUND into the next gear. So thats why I say you probabaly have to have a built trans to do that or it WILL ruin your trans

CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG.

Am I the only one who 4 gets wut gear he’s in, and accidentally shifts the car into neutral? I blew my tranny up because of this, and not shifting at the right time….any tips on wut rpm’s to shift at, and how not to shift it into neutral????

oh yea and this shifter kicks @ss, it also improves the look of the interior like x’s 45610572!!!

That's what your rev limiters are for :)

:crazy: I've never had that problem of forgetting what gear Im in. IDK what its exactly called but there is a window that shows what gear your in. IT EVEN LIGHTS UP! :eek: lol.

Tip - 3 shifts up, from 1st, and your in Overdrive. When your in overdrive you can pull up the lever. When your in 1st,2nd,drive, neutral you can not lift up the lever.

Manual shifting has no effect on the wear or life of the transmission components. All you are doing is telling the transmission when to do what it does normally.

Personally, I wouldn't put in a ratchet or gated shifter unless I had also put a kit in the transmission that enables manual shift. The kit sets up the transmission so that when the shifter is in 1, 2, or 3 position, that's the gear it stays in, regardless of speed or load. If you put it in "3" and come to a complete stop, when you move you'll be starting out in 3rd gear. The kit also makes the tranmission shift instantly when you move the shifter. No delay. Without that kind of a kit in the trans, IMHO it's useless to have a manual shifter. The whole idea is to have full manual control in the lower gears. Unless you kit the trans to go with the shifter, there's no point.

Um, manual shifting a normal A/T DOES mess up the transmission, i know this for a fact. I've seen MANY different ppl start shifting from Drive or Overdrive to Neutral or Low 1, trying to make their car sound like a M/T and breaking something inside as a result.

Can anyone who owns this Mega-shifter tell me how it works, if it puts anymore wear from manual shifting, etc?

Its fine on our transmissions to shift the gear manualy is fine whats not fine is droping the transmissions out of neutral into a gear thats retarded if you cant spin the tires by pushing the pedal then dont. Shifting in race situation 1st 2nd 3rd 4th is perfectly fine or in a road race situation where you need to shift up and down thats what this shifters for. Transmission fail because of big engines, high miles, high heat and idiots driving.

I can do that safely while keeping the gas pinned? or do i have to lift off when shifting to prevent breaking something?

Manual shifting does NOT hurt an auto...

Being an idiot doing 'neutral slams' will result in failure of a transmission or other various components of the driveline. Thats a whole different story...

The only way i could see a tranny getting hurt is by holding a gear and spinning the motor to the moon and have something fly apart.

I manual shift my TH350C EVERY TIME i drive it, for the last 3 years without a problem. Heck i have held gears up to 7000rpm on my old 350 and it didnt blow, i even killed that 350 doing a downshift from 3-1 on the highway @ 100 and buried the tach(missed second and hit first, wish i had this ratchet shifter...). That tranny is still sitting behind my new 357 thats packing a decent punch and has never gave me a bit of problem!

I think their are alot worse things you can do to a tranny than manual shift it :)

Keep the pedal down when you shift it will shift just like it does automatically just push down the loud pedal and smack the shifter. I love mine and I put it through some abuse

Cant wait to buy mine.....and SMASH through gears.

My B&M shifter is a HUGE pain in the wrist to get out of Park. I thought perhaps it was the trans coz when i got under the car in a futile attempt to improve the action, the trans linkage in Park was still the most difficult position to get out of.

Does anyone have any ideas or solutions to make the thing easier to get out of Park???