I finally gathered up the courage to shorten the A4 shifter. Knocked 2" off. I think most do 2.5" but I didn't need it that short. Just wanted a little more room for the receiver and I've found it's the perfect height to rest my hand while crusing. It was fairly easy to do and took all of about 45 minutes. The hardest part, was the groove for the snap ring. But with the pipe cutter, that wasn't really all that hard either. Just measured 5-6 times then cut. I think it came out really nice. Now I just need to order a new shifter knob.

I did this on my former '85 - looked exactly the same.

Very cool cheap mod, makes a big difference.

Looks great!

I'm Diggin' it!!!

So, you used a pipe cutter to cut the groove for the snap ring? Did you just cut one cut or several? The pipe cutter cuts a V notch dosn't it?

Do you cut off the linkage for the shifter button?

Yep, just picked up a cheap pipe cutter at harbor freight. Used it to cut the shaft and the groove for the snap ring. I cut the shaft first, then had to be careful cutting the snap ring groove as only one of the rollers was in contact with the shaft. It ended up working out though. Just cut off the linkage with a dremel, cut the slots for the shifter knob with stacked cutting wheels on the dremel for the desired width, and drilled a hole in the shifter button linkage so the button would stay locked in place. It was quite easy. The biggest thing was actually getting the depth right on the grooves for the shifter button. Making them slightly deeper (1/16th), the button is easier to push down (requested by my wife).

I guess you had to cut the shaft first so you could figure out the exact placement of the snap ring groove, otherwise I'd say cut the groove first since you would still have some shaft left to rest the wheels on.

Did you do this with the shifter in the car?

Yeah, I was going to cut the groove first, but like you said, I wanted to make sure it was in the right location after the cut...not before. I also figured if the pipe cutter didn't work, I could finish it off with the dremel. It didn't really take much at all for the snap ring to work. I also test fitted the snap ring before putting the knob back on.

I did this all without even removing the center console cover or shift boot. Just got a drop cloth and cut a hole in the middle for the shaft to go through. Then just made sure the steering wheel and radio bezel were covered well. If I did it again, I'd get some blue painters tape and tape the drop cloth to the shaft to make it a tight fit. I still need to clean the boot from all the dust.

I really like that mod. I've never seen it before. I might have to look into that for mine.

Did you take any pictures of the process?

Matthew

Yup, I'm going to do this while I'm waiting on my stuff to come. I also ordered a CF shift knob - So it should add some more bling!

Where did you order it from. I need to replace mine and was thinking of a carbon fiber one. May stick with leather...not sure. Let me know how you like the CF one when you get it.

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Of course I always get to into the mod and always forget to take pics. Not to mention I'm usually too dirty and don't want to touch the camera. Below are the instructions I followed to do mine. It's very basic.


He recommended taking off the Trim panel, and it would be safer...but I didn't.
1) Get an old sheet or something similar and cut a hole in it to fit around the shifter.
2) Remove the center button by gently prying it up with a small flathead screwdriver.
3) The knob is held on with a snapring that you must get off using whatever method you can. I used snapring pliers and a flathead screwdriver. You probably won't be using it again so if it gets bent don't worry.
4) Once you pull the snapring off, then the knob should pull off. (I had to work with it to pull it up.)
5) After the knob is off you will see what the outer and inner shafts look like. You must cut both of them and then make a notch so it looks like it does now.
6) Measure the difference between the inner shaft and outer shaft. Then decide how low you want the shift knob to be. At this point it is personal preference AND you must "eyeball" the measurement since there is no real way to measure it acurately. (I used a metal art ruler and used the metric side to be the most accurate)
7) Once you decide how low you want it, then take some sort of cutting tool (dremel, air cutting tool, etc.) and cut the outer shaft to the proper length. This is where the sheet comes it to protect your interior from sparks and metal. (I used a pipe cutter, took about 5 minutes)
8) After you cut the outer shaft, then cut the inner shaft so that it sticks up a little higher (per your measurements earlier). Here's where sparks will fly
9) Then you have to cut a notch in the outer shaft so the knob will fit back on. I cut mine a little smaller so the knob was hard to push on and therefore will stay on without the snapring. (I cut mine deeper so it was easier to push the button in)
10) Push the center button back in.

Reinstall trim around shifter. To get the shift boot to clear the new shortened shifter, push it through the the trimwork (turning it inside out) then push it back through with the top part still pushed in on itself. This may not sound clear, but it will be when you are doing it.

--->For more on what I did. I measured the shaft to 2" and cut it off. I then measured 2" on the button linkage and cut it off. I then took the top part of the shaft and placed it upside down on the shaft. I then marked the shaft for the length and placement of the new grooves for the shifter knob. I measured them a few times, then made the grooves about a 1/16th of an inch deeper and it'll make the button easier to depress. Good luck.

That looks NICE. It really makes the interior look modern.

SWEET!!!

That looks nice...does anyone know if you can fabricate a C5 auto knob to fit the C4...seems to be more of a choice..since he did mention something about the shift knob..not trying to hijack the thread...

Have no clue on that one. Haven't looked at how a C5 knob connects.

That's cool. Just might have to add that one to the list.

Nice kinda like it.. always though if I wanted a reciever with a screen the shifter would be in the way in park...

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It would still be less obstructive than the stock shifter!

I like it. Never seen a short A4 shifter until now.

Welcome to the forum!

I did mine a while back when doing the interior. It should have been shorter from the factory in my opinion.

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I have the carbon fiber shift knob. DONT get it. Its a hunk of junk IMO

the one from mid america is over priced and shotty quality.

im going with a B&M shifter so mine will be for sale soon for a cheap price

My shift knob is from the good people that make FlameBall Shifters. They now make them for automatics as well as standard. A bit spendy but otherwise a quality piece of workmanship in a plastic ball. Tons of colors too!!

http://www.flameball.com/

That looks great! Might have to put that on the winter to-do list that I'm compiling.