[V8Vairs] Billet Shifter for a Crown?

[Sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/10/2011 6:40:36 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
paulsiano at yahoo.com writes:

Has  anyone ever used a Clark's billet shift coupler (C181A) as part of the 
shift  linkage in a Crown conversion?  

Did it make an  improvement?

Paul
 
Paul - I have used the American PI coupler on my race car. (Not a  V8!) It 
did make a difference in the play and the response of the shifter. My  take 
is that other parts on the V8 shifter, specifically the locating and  
bracing of the rear of the outer tube (wherever it is cut off) and the alignment  
of that point to the shifter input shaft on the end of the trans, is 
critical,  especially on the Crown install which uses the stock shifter assembly. 
The Crown  "hoop" piece has to be correctly aligned as well. I would install 
the  restraining bushing, which, on the Corvair, is located at the rear of  
the long tube, and locates the inner shifting shaft, at the end of the 
cut-off  outer tube and make sure that the outer tube is tight to the engine 
locating  motor mount. Any play between them shows up as slop in the shifter. 
Torque  rotation of the motor in the mounts also creats mis-alignment and 
binding.  Before going to the American Pi part, I did a conversion similar to 
Rick Norris  coupler. I would weld the locating cross pin (the one that goes 
through the  rubber) in place on both sides. (Watch out for smoke and flames 
from the  rubber) The slots where the coupler pin passes through are often 
worn into  ovals. I heat them up to relieve the hardening, then drill them 
out and install  tiny bronze bushings and install a stock pin. This takes a 
lot of the play out,  along with the designed in mis-alignment allowance, but 
it can result in a  really tight, responsive shifter. I like the aluminum 
piece better. By the way,  I always used the stock type clamp, but doubled 
them up, running a pair of  clamps. 
 
Seth Emerson