Here is an e-mail message I sent to another Toyota-Mods list member decsribing how this mod was done-Sorry the ASCII art isn't readable, I will get around to fixing it eventually:

> How did you make your TRD style short shifter at home? How hard is it?

If you take the shifter off of the top of the tranny, it may be easier to understand my description. You cut the shifter off at the top to shorten the shifter above the pivot. You cut it again below the pivot and weld a short section of rod in where you cut it. (I think mine is about 3/4 of an inch longer, but I don't think the absolute measurements are critical as long as the relative measurements are the same.) This makes the section below the shifter longer, but with the same pivot and same little plastic bushing-pivot-piece, whatever the heck you call it on the end. Be careful not to melt these plastic bushings when welding...I don't know if it is better to try and remove the metal rod from the bushing materials or just to use a big enough heat sink. If you were to try and bolt the shifter back in now, you would find a gap between the metal piece that houses the pivot and the top of the transmission. You need to make a spacer that fills this space, and this is where it needs to be the same thickness as the length you extended the shifter by...again, I think it is about 3/4 of an inch, I can measure if you want me to be more exact. Mine was made out of aluminum on a milling machine by someone else, then modified by me with files and hacksaw. If you don't have access to a milling machine, you could probably do it with a drill press, hacksaw, and some metal files. The exact shape of the spacer isn't crucial as long as the top and bottom surfaces are flat enough to seal fluid in with a thin gasket, and the shifter has enough room to work through all the gears. The position of the holes is crucial and needs to line up with the existing holes on the tranny and the shifter. The rough shape is something like this...again, looking at your shifter will help you envision it:

____________________
/ _ _ \
| | | ___________ | | |
| - / \ - |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| _ \___________/ _ |
| | | | | |
\ - - /
---------------------

This spacer is then sandwiched between the existing shifter and the top of the transmission casing. I made two gaskets (for both sides of the spacer) cut out of a thin gasket material (to the same shape as the drawing above,) and also used some gasket sealer. You will need longer bolts, and be careful to get the right length...mine were not long enough and were probably over-torqued, and the whole shifter stripped and lifted off the top of the transmission...Not fun! :-p...Have you ever tried to start an 4A-GE in fourth gear (!!!) with three people and a trunkful without stalling or lugging...DON'T DO IT! :-) Anyway, this is my best at an explanation...I hope it is good enough to at least get you thinking about it. I will be perfectly honest with you...I didn't do the welding and I am not sure exactly how this part was done...the guy who did it left the country and I have no way of contacting him. I think this is probably the hardest part. So don't blame me if everything doesn't go perfectly. It would be a HUGE help if you could see the TRD shifter. I know how hard it is to find other people with modded AE86's in my area (Pacific Northwest) they almost don't exist...so if you can't find one to look at in person, look at the TRD catalog at the picture and compare it to your shifter to help get an idea. You might also see if anyone else on Toyota mods has done anything like this before to offer a second opinion. Good luck and feel free to ask for clarification on any part of this explanation. Back to the Main Page