What have YOU being doing or are you planning to do with your Vette?

[Chuffer]

Put the Vette back to bed yesterday and went back to the workshops today to fix a recalsitrant drivers door winder mechanism . Lots of activity going on by the PJM Race Preparations guys getting three F2 / Formula Atlantic cars ready for Silverstone Classic along with the Spice Group C car that will take part in the Group C 40th Anniversary Celebration runs at the Classic on the Saturday afternoon . Can`t wait to see that in action again as it has not turned a wheel in anger for quite a few years . The Vette`s got a new stable mate too as a ` 66 Notch Back Mustang is in for upgrading drums to disc brakes .

 

[Chuffer]

Sorry about the camera shake , I got all excited at the prospect of the Spice running again ! Its for sale by the way for anyone with deep pockets .

 

[antijam]

Fed up with my '71 manual shift lever clouting the shift console plate in first and third and subsequently popping out of gear because of incomplete engagement, I finally got round to doing something about it. Since my car was cleverly designed with the option of conversion to short shift if preferred and since this would obviously sort my problem, that's what I did.

In theory the conversion is a simple matter of dropping connection of the 1-2 and 3-4 selector rods from the upper holes in the selector levers (arrowed red in the diagram below) to the lower ones (arrowed blue). In practice it's a little more work. The change necessitates adjusting the length of the selector rods and this has to be done without moving the levers in the shifter which could block free movement from the 1-2 shift line to the 3-4.



It turns out to be an over and under job, so after removing the console plate and the shift inner gaiter to expose the shift levers .....



.....I take advantage of the sunshine and moved my QuickJack outside to hoist the car off the ground.



Underneath the transmission is covered in the oily grime only 50 years of use and inattention can produce and access to the shift rods is also partially obscured by the back-up light switch connected to the reverse shift lever. This was easily removed and put to one side.....



....as It's now redundant, my back-up lights have been converted to amber indicators.

I disconnect the shift rods and remove the levers from the box .....



......to clean everything up before reassembly.....



Before putting it all back together I have to lock the shift with a locking plate to ensure the movement from the 1-2 shift line to the 3-4 is unimpaired. This is done by inserting a thin 5/8" wide plate into the side of the shifter, which without removal of a lot of parts to allow access, is practically impossible from underneath.

So, back inside the car I still can't see the slot to fit the setting gauge but with a bit of ingenuity think I should be able to 'feel' it. I rivet the plate to a length of aluminium strip and bend it sideways .....



Sliding this down the left side of the shift arm a bit of fiddling allows me to insert the plate and lock the shifter in the neutral position

Back underneath I refit the arms to the gearbox and adjust the fittings on the selector rods until the pins drop cleanly into the new lower hole position, then carefully tighten every thing up.



Back in the car, remove the locking plate and check shift in all gears - seem OK, so refit the console plate and the shifter parts, lower car back on the ground and off for a test drive.

Mod seems to work well. Shorter shift feels more precise and there's no discernible increase in shift forces - and the shifter no longer clouts the console plate - and all for £0 - result!

 

[Forrest Gump]

I wonder how it came about that there was both long and short throw position on the shifter arms. As you have demonstrated, the short throw works well and feels better so makes me wonder why was that not the standard/ factory position?

 

[antijam]

I wonder how it came about that there was both long and short throw position on the shifter arms. As you have demonstrated, the short throw works well and feels better so makes me wonder why was that not the standard/ factory position?

I'm guessing the short shift might have needed more force with a new transmission. After 50 years mine is pretty well worn in which is why the change in force is small enough that I can't detect it.

 

[Oneball]

Might also be to slow the change down, you might find you’re beating the synchromesh.

 

[Forrest Gump]

I’m thinking I might bite the bullet and invest in a Hurst shifter when I pull my gearbox for a re- build at the end of the year.

 

[antijam]

...........you might find you’re beating the synchromesh.

I'm sure you might well find that Tim, but given the way I drive it's highly unlikely!

 

[Oneball]

I’m thinking I might bite the bullet and invest in a Hurst shifter when I pull my gearbox for a re- build at the end of the year.

Find one to drive first. I’m not convinced on mine, will see what it’s like now it’s rebuilt and modified.

 

[Forrest Gump]

Find one to drive first. I’m not convinced on mine, will see what it’s like now it’s rebuilt and modified.

I did pick up you weren't totally happy but thought it was just the spring action you didn't like. Opinions I've heard and read generally suggest it a well worth while upgrade, but maybe I should experience one first. I'll do you a swap if you want to see what the stock shifter is like

 

[Oneball]

I did pick up you weren't totally happy but thought it was just the spring action you didn't like. Opinions I've heard and read generally suggest it a well worth while upgrade, but maybe I should experience one first. I'll do you a swap if you want to see what the stock shifter is like

Could be that now I’ve replaced a few bits it better but it’s not a slick change, it is 40 years old. Apparently the modern ones have some issues that need modification out the box too.

I like this guy, I’ve bought some bits from him.

 

[Mad4slalom]

Yes, I’m in.

 

[Mad4slalom]

James really needs to tell us the actual premium cost for him on his car.........

James ?

 

[Mike W]

Next job for me will be fitting and setting up the beautiful KW V3 shocks I've just bought from "Fishy Dave" on here.

 

[James Vette]

Thank you that's very cool of you guys to offer. That's a really good idea of storing it until I'm a bit older and then it gives me space to save up for the paint job. Obviously I wish I could go back to the golden years when your hard earned money was worth something and music was better!

 

[Mad4slalom]

Thank you that's very cool of you guys to offer. That's a really good idea of storing it until I'm a bit older and then it gives me space to save up for the paint job. Obviously I wish I could go back to the golden years when your hard earned money was worth something and music was better!

what price have you been quoted James? Have you tried a limited mileage classic policy from A plan or one of the other specialist. Someone suggested your father insuring it with you as a named driver, as long as your dad uses it 51% pof the time then he is the main driver. Or even “any driver” policies are available but I dont know if they state an age limit.
Best way I feel will be the classic companies. One should be able to help. Generally classics are cheap to insure as statistically are not involved in many claims as they are little used and cherished. You need a company that understands that this is a hobby car and despite your age it is not going to be driven like the average 19 year old in a boy’d up citroen saxo.
Keep trying those companies and let us know who you are with now and what is the premium.

 

[Chuffer]

Thank you that's very cool of you guys to offer. That's a really good idea of storing it until I'm a bit older and then it gives me space to save up for the paint job. Obviously I wish I could go back to the golden years when your hard earned money was worth something and music was better!

The so called golden years where rarely as golden as we like to make out they were . Inflation was running at just over 25% in 1976 so things could a lot worse . Life is full of disappointments but living within your means is the key .

 

[Roscobbc]

The so called golden years where rarely as golden as we like to make out they were . Inflation was running at just over 25% in 1976 so things could a lot worse . Life is full of disappointments but living within your means is the key .

Living 'within your means' wasn't a consideration for many people back then - people were starting to live-off inflationary property prices.......buy today, sell perhaps a year or so later and 'make' £5K, £10k or more on the sale. Doesn't sound much now and any supposed 'profit' would be swallowed-up by so called stamp duty. But people would buy the next (and more expensive) property and do the same thing again, and again. Interest rates at 5 or 6 % were comparitively cheap (certainly related to the among of money being borrowed)........ mortgages, not a problem - just apply for a 'non status' mortgage and avoid all those 'retraints' of salary multipliers.
All 'good' things come to an end and our government didn't like the ordinary man on the street being a property speculator and coupled with the ever increasing rate of inflation and an intererest rate that had gradually creeped-up (if I remember to 7 or 8%) the Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson used the blunt instrument of hiking the interest rates overnight up to about 12% (and more later) causing over the next few months and years many defaulted mortgages and consequently 'lost' properties.
The subsequent mid to late 80's were bad times for many - I recall our mortgage payment at one poing (15% interest) was close to double the original payement. We were lucky and help on to our property (still there now) but finances were problematical for many years later.
Most people have forgotten too about Thatcher selling off council housing stock to longer term tenants at significantly knocked down prices, often priced at perhap 20% of the then market value..........

 

[Chuffer]

Yeah , I got caught up inthe negative equity days of the 1980`s . It wasn`t funny !

 

[antijam]

Perhaps by luck rather than good judgement we never felt the need to climb the property ladder and we survived the 80's without incurring negative equity. Fifty years ago we bought our first and only house, a small dilapidated cottage situated in half an acre of cabbages. It cost £4750. Fifty years on it's still the same plot; the cabbages have gone, the cottage is somewhat larger, I have plenty of space to play with my six cars and should we need to sell we'd probably recoup our £4750.