96 WS6

I have B&M ripper... the old 1st gen one. I love the way it feels but the stick is a little long. Can I just cut it and add more threads? How much should I take off? I don't want a little toothpick to shift with but I would like more of a joystick short feeling. Thanks.

Black_Z28

Not sure if your shifter is anything like the Pro 5.0. But all I had to do was cut it with a hacksaw. Or you could use a dremel and cut it. Just cut it down as much as you want. Then screw the shifter ball back on.

96z

Yeah a hacksaw should work fine.

Will84

You could probably run a die down the existing threads... cut past them as far as you need... then cut with hacksaw and file the edge. De-burr and run back down the threads with the die after cutting.

Some shifter sticks flatten out a little right after the threads making it hard to re-thread... I can't picture yours off the top of my head.

PatriotTA

Like everyone else said, you can use a hacksaw or a Dremel. I'd reccomend a die grinder with a metal cutoff wheel if you have it. Then remember to use a wire wheel to deburr when you're done.

94formulabz

I know some of them are threaded much further than they need to be, but if your looking for even more and don't have an expensive metric die handy,

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/b/...ShortStick.jpg

Cut and weld.

But since your asking chances are you don't have a welder.

-brent

96 WS6

So you're saying I should just cut threads off and then leave a few so that it can still screw on??? How much do I need to take off to give it a noticeably more positive feel? Should I do it on or off the car??? I just want a little more advice as I think I'll make that my "Tomorrow project". Thanks.

94formulabz

i cut ~1 1/8" with the blade kerfs and wish i would have done 1.5. It's in nice allignment with the arm rest. Any more than 1.5" and it would start getting down in there a lil too much. I also wish i would have put a rearward rake on it of about 1" but was worried about it looking good so i kept it straight, but someday i'll hack it again. Obviously thats not an option for you.

I don't think you have 1.5" of thread available to lop off though so I think you should cut as much as possible.

PatriotTA

I'd cut about an inch to 1.5 inches off. Do it off the car, clamp it in a vise. make sure you cut straight down, not at an angle. If you have a wire wheel, use that to deburr it. Otherwise, use a file to lightly clean up where you cut. You can go to Sears and buy a single tap if you need to cut more threads.

duckhead4life

ok man i just done this to my ripper shifter like two weeks ago. this is what i done. i simply rethreaded the bolt down PAST where you wonted to cut it off at. toke another nut and screwed it down on top of the die and used a cut off wheel. the nut that you screwed down on top of the die will insure that you cut it off straight. and then i used a bench grinder with the nut still on there to make the top smooth. left the nut on there so i wouldnt have to worry about messing up the threads while i was smoothing the top off then you thread the shifter down maybe another inch or so. then you are done.

96 WS6

So what size die am I lookin for because I think that's what I'll end up doing. If there is not 1.25" inches of thread to cut off I will thread it more and cut off 1.5"... What size is the die?

duckhead4life

i used 5/8-18nf 1-7/16
hope this helps

96 WS6

That's weird... the guy at the machine shop told me it was 16mm x 1.5. I am pretty sure it's 18nf too. So is it standard or metric? It seems that that certain 16mm die is an extremely rare piece and I only found one place that had it and they had to special order it. I even called a place called Mr. Metric and they did not have it! Whats with that man?

Anyway, can somebody clear this up, I need to finish this shifter thing so I can put it back on the car. Thanks.

94formulabz

I'm gonna quote myself on this one,


Yes it is 16x1.5mm

I think some people have jerry rigged it with an english tap/die and since it's not really a structrual piece it's ok.

duckhead4life

i didnt know the exact size either so this is what i done. i went down to the local hardware store with the shifter in hand. found a bolt that fit the shifter and then got a die the exact same size. that worked out good for me. maybe you should do the same thing since it is out of the car. just take it to a hardware store man. and the numbers i gave you are the numbers off the one that i used.