a firebird.

I'm looking for a shifter I can get in without cutting the console. I want it to sit where the current shifter does, and use the same leather cover. The lack of a working gear indicator isn't really a problem for me. If I have to cut the leather cover to make the neck of the shifter fit, this is pretty much acceptable, but I dont want to cut the console.

Has anyone accomplished this? If so, whose shifter did you use, and how did you make it fit? If you have pics those would be wonderful. I'm putting in a manual valve body and I desperately need a shifter better than the factory POS.

Thanks a lot,
Willie C.

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86 Trans Am WS6

It takes some ***** to do your quarter-miling on foot.
Recent ET's:
@Atlanta 50.80
@Southeastern 50.62
@Mtn Laurel 50.04
Future mods: More endurance workouts and some 300 meter repeats. Projected E.T., 49.8

 

okay.. putting in the B&M megashifter. I've heard some really horrible things about how this shifter didn't fit at all, and all of them are true. After looking at it, it seems quite obvious that it was designed for an IROC-Z, or at the very least a T/A with a console very different from the one I have. The cover plate they provided doesn't even fit between my ashtray lever and my power mirror buttons.

Here's what I've done, however, and this may be of interest to other T/A and firebird owners. After some experimentation, I discovered that the shifter throw from park to full ratchet was short enough that it would fit in the stock console plate opening without any cutting. Awesome. At this point I simply discarded the crappy looking cover plate/gear indicator that B&M sent me.

Further experimentation revealed that if I threw away the B&M brackets and mounted the shifter directly to the sheet metal, there was enough room so that the plate that raises up when you ratchet would clear my console cover, also without cutting. Even better. I pulled out the console, the stock shifter, and the cable (the stock cable doesn't work so hot if you try and mount the shifter flush) and set the megashifter against the sheet metal.

This presented some problems. First of all, to clear the ashtray, you have to slide it back a little. This is good, insofar as you still have enough room that it clears everything, except now your shift cable lays against the corner of the little cutout it has to go through. I took a hammer and did some pretty fair metal work here to gain some clearance, cut the little rubber grommit, so the cable would lay back against the edge of it, and used sealer to close up the crack.

The front of the shifter was really hard to mount, because the bracket the original shifter sat on is so short it's almost impossible to get a nut in there. I finally had to slide it in using a magnet, and support it using a screwdriver so I could put the bolts in. I had to use longer bolts too so the lockwasher would fit. I also had to drill a new hole through the shifter base, cause the left hand front hole was sitting righ on a hump in the metal.

The back two bolt holes on the shifter worked fine, except the right-hand one hung off a little. I sandwiched it against the bracked with some larger washers. I just put the console back on for a trial clearance run, and it looks sooooo sweet. I bought a new vinyl **** **** for it, and I'm replacing the cover with a glossy black plate that has "Trans Am" in red lettering. I also went to the fabric store and bought some black vinyl that I'm going to sew a new shift boot out of.

Anyway, if anyone's interested in some pictures of this when I get it done, I'll be happy to post them. Just providing some insight into the B&M, and hopefully some ideas for what you can do with it. I hope it shifts well, cause it's going to look much much better than factory, assuming I can sew a shift boot. I'll keep ya'll posted.

Thanks,
Willie C.

------------------
86 Trans Am WS6

It takes some ***** to do your quarter-miling on foot.
Recent ET's:
@Atlanta 50.80
@Southeastern 50.62
@Mtn Laurel 50.04
Future mods: More endurance workouts and some 300 meter repeats. Projected E.T., 49.8

 

The Firebird/TA/Formula console plates are all the same I think. At least I know my Formula one is the same as anyone I know that has a TA. I bet that does look sweet, post some pics. What I am doing is getting some metal (aluminum) to replace my console cover. It is going to have the firechichen etched into where the ashtry is supposed to go. Then I am going to use toggles behind the shifter where the pw buttons go. I am going to include a line lock toggle, manual fan switch, and a manual lockup switch. It will be all trick, like the dragsters do. Maybe I will make a diagram of what I am thinking and post the pic here. I am going to get rid of that crappy B&M black console plate I have and integrate the megashifter components into that metal plate. I used a dye-grinder and a air-saw to modify my console plate, but the ashtray door is now blocked. But it didn't really matter to me, I don't smoke. Oh, the metal will be all chromed, and I am contemplating whether to etch "formula" there as well. What do you guys think of my idea?

-ws6formula-