Do you want to put a bus shifter in a bug pan!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I am tearing my buggy apart to add some Truss style of bracing in the rear so I have to take the body back off again. To do that I had to remove both the seats and the shifters. while doing that I thought about posting how I did get the bus shifter in place and working.

It turns out to be very simple using something not advertised on it's use as such: http://vwcatalog.empius.com/vwcatalog/2016/292.html

Page about half way down the page to "Quick shift kits" and there you are! P/N 4500/4501.

Picture of proof:

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the finished product. You can barely see the adapter under the dust cover.

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This shows the adapter in place and the bolts going through to the inserts in the tunnel.

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It measures out at ~19mm or just a hair under .75.

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Plan view.

The shifter has a good feel to it when shifting and you can feel up the shaft when you go into gear.

Lee

[SCOTTRODS]

If you only knew how many of those damn things I've thrown in the trash... I understand why people like the shorter throw, but it doesn't feel right to me having driven so many bugs over so many years. The ones with the kit like that work my sensibilities over. I guess I should have saved them and sold them to other people... but I just tossed them. To me, the way a Bug Shifts is similar to the Fweem. It just belongs the way it was made.

Now changing the shifter with the aligning pin on it... that I like. Allows you to put a little bend in the shifter and keep it set in the right place, but still has the Volkswagen feel.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

In my case it wasn't so much the shorter throw it was the interference between turning brakes and a shorter shifter and a cool look.

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This is a Scat shifter and I would have to reach down for it and the turning brakes handles were in the way.

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For the problem I was trying to solve this was a great way to kill two birds with one shifter . Easy to reach, shorter shift and the look matches the Model T look of the body (yeah, I know, Model T's did not have shifters but had pedals to operate their planetary transmissions but Model T hot rods did .

If you try to put the bus shifter in the bug shifter hole the shift ball is too long so things don't come together and work. A fairly cheap way around the problem. This was meant as more of a "just for the heck of it/how do I do it post".

I still might put a secondary bent near the top. I'll have to drive it first before I go for the "look".

[Marc]

The same trick allows using the `66/`67 style Bus shifter in a `60-`65 Bus.
If you just want the "hood ride" look a stock `60-`65 Bus shifter will work in a Beetle without the spacer.
It's because they lowered the position of the front of the shift rod on the `66/`67 Bus and had to make the business end of the shifter longer to compensate.

[Marc]

The same trick allows using the `66/`67 style Bus shifter in a `60-`65 Bus.
If you just want the "hood ride" look a stock `60-`65 Bus shifter will work in a Beetle without the spacer (but the leverage will be less, making the throw rather long).
It's because they lowered the position of the front of the shift rod on the `66/`67 Bus and had to make the business end of the shifter longer to compensate.

[Marc]

Now changing the shifter with the aligning pin on it... that I like. Allows you to put a little bend in the shifter and keep it set in the right place, but still has the Volkswagen feel.

A agree, to me there's a false feel to an aftermarket shifter that prevents me from sensing what's going on back there (I find it worse than the "quick-shift"), but the stock`68-up "straight" stick puts third just a little out of reach when I'm belted in. They moved it back a little in `73 but still not enough for me. I use a cutoff wheel to make a slot in the shift rod for the guide pin of a pre`68 shifter ‡. Here's the one in my `69 DD, my son started with a `67 shifter and built up from there to a Subaru shift knob; it's perfect for me.


‡ Auto Stick shift rods already have the notch, but they're shorter year-for-year and the hole at the back for the shift coupler is displaced ~15°. You can make a custom coupler by welding part of a second one to it to make up the length and restore the original angle.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

This is turning out to be a very informative string. Thanks guys!

Lee