SkinnyG's V8 Pontiac Firefly

The shifter isn't holding its adjustment.

D operates 2; N operates D; R operates N; P operates R; and The Real P doesn't operate at all any more.

Clearly my cobble-job to make this all work correctly sucks.  So.... v3.0 will be tested later today. The sheathing seems to refuse to stay put, but this time it's cinched down real good in a new and timely manner - a hose clamp in a groove.

And that explanation caused my eyes to cross and I feel outa my chair.........I'm ok though

Would it help if I added that 2 operates 1?

Basically what was happening, is it's as if the cable had stretched, and while the gear selector would be where you wanted it, the transmission was ~actually~ operating the notch above.

Is this critter still RWD?  wink

Shifter seems more solid now, and at least made the trip into town and back without slipping into some other gear.

Yesterday I grounded the Park/Neutral wire off the ECU, since I do not have that switch and I do not have a VSS signal happening. This kept the Check Engine light off during the commute, trip to Chiropractor, and picking up SkinnyKid1 from youth. It ~seemed~ to run a bit different (and hotter? My right foot seemed toastier today, right there next to the header).  I disconnected the wire this evening, and I'll compare tomorrow's commute.

This ain't no Cadillac, let me tell you.

This ain't no Cadillac, let me tell you.  Agreed, but the hoot factor is worth the effort. Those seats working out for you/lower back?

The driver's seat needs a good boot-berk in the back to get some of the lumbar back, or else I'm going to need to move a brace in the back rest.  It's not bad for comfort, but I'm driving to the Yukon in it. I'm still Tylenol 1 to 2 times a day since the clandestine summer vacation, so I've booked a visit with the Dr. to see if it's something else.  It's a solid month now of pain.

I'm still having a returning issue of the shifter linkage slipping, where what the shifter says and what the transmission is are misaligned.  I've tried a couple versions of the shifter, and I'm not sure I have a fix yet, but I keep trying different things.

The latest incarnation now uses a cable clamp to try and keep the sheathing fixed.  Apparently I was so giddy with excitement, I was twitching while I took the picture.

Also - exhaust heat unchanged with the park/neutral wire open.  ~Might~ run slightly better.

Drove past two "your speed is" signs, 51 on the speedo is 51 on their camera.  Wow.  What were the chances that an unknown trans with unknown speedo gears, with 2.73 Firebird gears, with 195/50R15's left over from The Sinister Sentra would be spot-on with the Firefly speedo?! Luck luck luck.

Is the cable sheath close to the same size as a compression fitting?

Maybe you can split a ferrule and make a collet style attachment to hold it in place.

When I first put an auto and racecar shifter in my Nova I had a world of problems adjusting it- Does the cable have a really straight path out of the trans and out of the shifter? I ended up raising my shifter up a bit because the cable was bent as it came out of the shifter and that caused some bind, which in turn made it nearly impossible to get adjusted right. The more gradual the bend in the cable the better is what I found. 

Not sure this describes your issue or not, but food for consideration perhaps. 

A compression fitting will be my next modus operandi.

Then try and source a longer cable (or just another Chevy Sprint one), to try and make the bend more gradual, but there is not much room to bend. There's no nasty kinks, but it still might not be smooth enough.

Originally I intended to fabricate my own ratchet shifter, and use a rod instead of a cable, but there might not be room for that either. The Sprint shifter looks almost stock.

Picked up Pizza for our family movie night on the way home from work today - couple of young guys ogling the Firefly when I came out.  They said "just admiring your car." I said "no worries, it's not your typical car." They said "the cage kinda gives it away."

Best response to give, was at our Shop Teacher's Meeting on Wednesday: I said I put a V8 muffler on it.

Is the cable conundrum compounded considerably considering creative connections? 

Is it possible the cable doesn't have enough slack to droop far enough on extension to prevent binding as it swivels in your attachment point? Or does the cable have to move up in relation to the transmission housing under extension? Same problem either way I suppose. 

You'd think a cable clamp would be sufficient absent unknown issues, right?

Perhaps there's a way to assist the cable as it moves through that arc to prevent this theoretical binding. 

The cable isn't super tight, but there is not much in the way of super slack, assuming that's what you're asking.

The shifter movement seems good, it doesn't ~seem~ to take unreasonable effort.

The plates run out in 12 days, so I'll take this on a whole lot more over winter if I can't resolve it presently.  The shifter issue is my main focus at the moment.

And holy crap, these tires don't grip at all. Sweeeeeeet.

Your shifter has a berkeleyload of leverage on that little cable. It could be binding and still completely overwhelmed by that lever. 

Have you tried to operate the cable with the shifter end disconnected and the transmission side connected? 

I'm asking mostly because these are the kind of snafu's I run into any time I try something "clever". 

Even just a new cable might help. The original has about 30 years of wear on it now.

Look at Odyssey Linear Slic Kable...its a kind of bike brake cable with linear reinforcement in the cable housing, versus coiled type that many cable of this nature likely have. It allows you to bend the cable very tightly without binding the cable inside the housing, because the housing doesnt compress. Its also pretty cheap, and about 4' long, which should be enough. Im not sure what ends you need, but there is a nib on the end that is pretty robust. I would think that the cable should be able to stand up to the tension the shifter will apply, but its hard to tell from that pic how thick the current cable is, so I may be waaay off. Any local bike shop should be able to get it for you, or you may even be able to find it at walmart or other big box places. Just an idea...keep up the good work!

Trans_Maro:

Can't seem to source a new cable.

Might have to hit up local junk yards again.  It's possible the cable was worn into the original location, and now is not happy with a new routing.

Crackers:

The cable ~can~ be moved fairly through the sheathing. I've been snugging whatever clamp I've been using until there is resistance to the cable movement, then back it off a tick.

4cylndrfury:

I don't think the cable you post will work - the shifter cable must PUSH as well as PULL, the ends of the cable are rods that are supported so the movement stays linear at the ends.

What I have been finding, is the outer rubber coating is sliding ~apart~ of the wound inner sheathing.  I may try clamping the inner core more so than the outer coating.

Have a look for marine control cables.

They're designed to do exactly what you're doing and can usually be cut to length.

In reply to Trans_Maro :

Basic "push pull cable" searches draw a lot of results too. 

Apparently Jegs/Summit et al carry universal options in the <$40 range even.  

Merging onto the highway, from a stop, with any sort of throttle, is a blaze of tire smoking glory.  Life is good.

I may look into those universal ones, if I can't get no satisfaction.

Detroit TrueTrac is now in the province, and should arrive any day now.  I didn't buy a carrier shim kit yet - I'll see if I am even remotely lucky with the factory shims.

The 8:3 tach adapter is somewhere in Customs, I'd give it maybe a week before it arrives.

For giggles, before I welded the driveshaft back together:

YAY!  Christmas comes early!

An Eaton "Detroit TrueTrac" arrived, to help hook the stickless tires to the pavement! I'm really looking forward to installing this!

Also an 8:3 tachometer adapter arrived, specially programmed for ME by "Widget Man" via GKGoodCheapParts off eBay.

While in my head I've been multiplying what the tach says by 0.375 to know where I really am, cruising at 100km/h "looks" like 7400rpm instead of the 2600 it actually is. Adapter cost about the same price as an aftermarket tach, except I can use my existing tach.  I like it!

18mpg

Imperial, so I guess that's what - 15US?