Shannon Larratt is Zentastic

I took a brief break to sit under my car for a while today to think about why it's not shifting correctly and how best to fix it. I can get it into all the gears if I shift carefully, slowly, and precisely, but on the road it effectively can't shift at all.

Taking a closer look at how the current shift linkage works makes it clear that this car has probably never been driven with this engine setup. A “stock” Manta Montage has a transverse mounted V6, and this one has a longitudinally mounted V8 on a 5-speed Porsche transmission that now takes its shifting instructions via a rod at the rear that rotates and moves in and out. This is currently attached to a rod that does the same via the shift lever, about three inches below the transmission.

Seriously, WTF? Clearly this is not a compatible link, so to “solve” the problem the previous owner inserted a couple pieces of rubber into the linkage to give it enough play to just barely work. It's pretty nonsensical… when I first looked at it I assumed that the main rod was controlling the in/out motion, and that there must be a second one controlling the rotation, since the single rod setup that's there now is pretty much the worst mechanical cludge I've ever seen on a shift linkage.

My thought right now is to totally scrap the current set up and replace it with a shifter from a Fiero (which uses a pair of cables, which I could easily build brackets for to control the current transmission). Tim S has a very different engine setup in his Montage, but he's also used this shifter and the picture from his car makes it clear how easy a conversion this should be:

Anyway… unless anyone has a better suggestion, I think I'm going to look around for a Fiero shifter to graft in since that seems like the easiest solution. When I bought this car the guy told me “the shift linkage will need some adjustment”… Yeah, I'm pretty sure that “complete redesign and replacement” isn't the same thing as “adjustment”.

Update: Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I have to replace the shifter… If I attach a pusher with a bearing/yoke between the bars, that would deal with the in/out motion without restriction on rotation, and then I could throw a matched pair of levers coming off the side of each rod to handle the rotation itself… A local machineshop could make those pieces for me for a few dollars so that's probably what I should try first.

Since August is National Sandwich Month, I thought that even though I rarely make them, I ought to do it today. This is a super simple toasted bagel with avocado and a topping of carmelized onion and green pepper in garlic, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar, with a little olive oil. It was so sweet and fatty and delicious — pretty much a desert sandwich.

I have to work on my presentation a bit, but I'm more into eating stuff immediately than serving it since no one here except maybe Nefarious likes the stuff I cook (and presentation isn't what sells her either)… Seriously though, it is not at all difficult to get fat on a vegan dishes!

“Naturally, they would breed prodigiously, eh? There would be much time, and little to do. But ah, with the proper breeding techniques and a ratio of say, ten females to each male, I would guess that they could then work their way back to the present gross national product within say, twenty years… It is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious… service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.”

Now that Iran has got their admittedly military nuclear program back in full swing, it's I worry it's to be interesting unsettling to see the response from the Bush administration. Remember that Iran now has long range delivery systems like the Shahab-6 with a 6,000+ kilometer range (thanks North Korea), supersonic cruise missiles, nuclear weapons technology care of “US ally” Pakistan, as well as additional military and nuclear gear from China and Russia…

Seriously, I'm moving to the moon. Humans are stupid.