Short Shifter Heaven

[autotransgression]

i have had my 80 for almost four years now, and it has blown my mind, how great a daily driver it is. if i had to pay someone to do the work as things...come up...it would not be worth my time. but as i can do almost anything that does not involve pulling the engine out (and really, that is only because i don't have a hoist) i have had SO much fun working on and driving this car.

the first thing i did was to replace the blown heater core, as it was december when i bought it. kind of important. after that, i got better/wider wheels from allison's, along with the fiat 500 front brake kit, and later a bigger alternator. the ball joints were making some horrible noise, so i replaced the front a-arms via autoricambi, and then had the transmission rebuilt.

but a couple weeks ago, i made a purchase/upgrade that has made as profound a difference in driving as the wider, stickier rubber and the fresh tranny: i got the bolt-on short shifter from autoricambi.

i never really thought about how much slop there is in the stock shifter, the way the upper portion slides/clips onto the lower. but with this shorter piece attached with set screws, shifting gears feels like it never has before. every change is a precise little snap, and it feels as solid and accurate as the five speed in my mazda3, which has a surprisingly wonderful transmission.

if i knew four years ago what i know now, i would have made this simple, cheap upgrade way earlier.

[JohnMc]

I have had a the same for about 2 years now and do enjoy it.

[geospider]

I'm with you. what a change in feel and looks a bit better too.

[autotransgression]

I'm with you. what a change in feel and looks a bit better too.

you know, that is another part of it; it just looks so much cleaner, too. i pulled the boot farther down through the wood panel and clamped it in place a bit higher up on the boot, and it looks pretty clean. the only problem is that the wood panel doesn't really seat that well, with the excess boot material underneath. now that i know how much i love it, and that it is a permanent change, i will trim away the excess boot material.

[MattiR]

Hi Mik,

Sounds great!
Do you mean this part: https://autoricambi.us/collections/tran ... -extension

[autotransgression]

aw, crap. sorry, i didn't realize there was a reply back in october. i don't make it here that often. yes, that is the very one. i absolutely love it.

[tima01864]

Dimensions? Looks like it could be machined.

[nyc124]

Can you post a pic of how you have it set up? Do you still use the original boot for the shifter or did you get something else?

[samakijoe]

I just installed the short shiftier. I had to enlarge the opening of the leather boot. I used a dremmel tool to enlarge it.
( the sanding tube.)
The plastic started to get a little thin so I used "Aqua Seal" on the back side to avoid problems.

https://smile.amazon.com/Essentials-Aqu ... 448&sr=8-5

You can get it at any SCUBA shop. This stuff is really good for almost anything. Stays flexible. (No, I don't own the company)

[Zoofly]

I have a brand new, never used short shifter from Auto Ricambi for sale. $50 includes shipping. SOLD

[CodysFiat]

So it looks like the old link in this thread no longer exists. Does someone mind posting a pic of the one they are talking about, or a link if they can find it? Thanks!

[18Fiatsandcounting]

So it looks like the old link in this thread no longer exists. Does someone mind posting a pic of the one they are talking about, or a link if they can find it? Thanks!

Perhaps this is the AutoRicambi short shifter that you're looking for?
https://autoricambi.us/short-shifter/

-Bryan

[TX82FIAT]

Short Shifter since 2011. No issues. Forget how is disliked the feel of the long shifter until one of these post comes up.

[F16Waldo]

That link is the shifter I installed almost 4 years ago. Makes the shifting soooo easy and precise. INHO, also looks better.

[sweet124]

Can you use the original shifter noob on the short shifter or do you need to modify it to fit.