BMW gearshifter in w124?
BMW gearshifter in w124?
The shifter base actually bolts up to the 716:
But it's too short, so I cut it to mock it up and planned to lengthen it:
However, the tunnel was not tall enough for the shifter base to fit inside the tunnel without the shift rod hitting the damper on the driveshaft. Cutting away the tunnel to allow it to fit would have required removing the dash and HVAC...there's some things I will not do if I don't have to. So, I made a plate that bolts onto the top of the tunnel:
Then machined the base of the support so it was flat on the underside, and added some slots for mounting/adjusting the alignment of the shifter:
Like so:
Voila:
I don't know how tall the BMW box is compared to the 716, or whether your driveshaft will interfere with the shiftrod if the entire shifter base is located within the tunnel. YMMV
BMW E92 shifter into w124, though not for a ZF but for a Merc 716 swap:
The shifter base actually bolts up to the 716:
But it's too short, so I cut it to mock it up and planned to lengthen it:
However, the tunnel was not tall enough for the shifter base to fit inside the tunnel without the shift rod hitting the damper on the driveshaft. Cutting away the tunnel to allow it to fit would have required removing the dash and HVAC...there's some things I will not do if I don't have to. So, I made a plate that bolts onto the top of the tunnel:
Then machined the base of the support so it was flat on the underside, and added some slots for mounting/adjusting the alignment of the shifter:
Like so:
Voila:
I don't know how tall the BMW box is compared to the 716, or whether your driveshaft will interfere with the shiftrod if the entire shifter base is located within the tunnel. YMMV
Given the option of modifying the BMW shifter which has readily-available replacement parts, or trying to find the rare and overpriced Mercedes shifter which supposedly isn't terribly precise to begin with, the BMW shifter was a no-brainer.
We'll see how it jives with all the engine motion of my 602.
My guess is that the transmission-mounted shifter isolates some of the driveline vibrations from the chassis. However, the consensus among BMW owners is that solid-mount shifters are less precise than when attached to the transmission if using stock/soft engine and transmission mounts; good for a track car with solid engine/trans mounts, but not so good on the street.
Given the option of modifying the BMW shifter which has readily-available replacement parts, or trying to find the rare and overpriced Mercedes shifter which supposedly isn't terribly precise to begin with, the BMW shifter was a no-brainer.
We'll see how it jives with all the engine motion of my 602.
I may even get another BMW shifter to retrofit this into my 6 speed swap too...that one is still sloppier than I'd like.
W123 Mods: 4 speed ** manual climate control ** '85 Kalitucky intake ** manual windows & full tint ** Euro headlights retrofit w/bixenon projectors ** 4 brake light mod ** Vogtland 50mm drop front & Lesjofors S600 drop rear springs ** 16" rims ** late w126 brake spindles, rotors & calipers ** full suspension rehab ** Bilstein HDs ** AL129X alternator & 1/0 starter and charging cables ** 300GD clutch/flywheel ** AFCO 80103N radiator & Earl's 41610 oil cooler ** custom block-off plate, remote oil filter & t-stat ** MW IP w/ tomnik's 6.5mm 'Holly' elements **
S124 Mods: 400E Rear subframe ** SL600 Brakes ** Late 300E 210mm diff ** SLK230 6 speed ** 17" CLK rims ** Vented RF Fender ** Facelift Hood, Headlights, and Lower Cladding **
OBK# 62
SurfRodder
07-08-2016, 02:16 PM #7Thanks for posting this...I am planning on a ZF 6 speed for my 606 build and this will likely be the way I end up doing it. I think that trans has been installed in a w124/201 before, but I think they used an aftermarket shifter to make it work...I'd rather use stock parts (mod'd as required) whenever possible (there's also a lot of aftermarket support for this particular shifter).
I may even get another BMW shifter to retrofit this into my 6 speed swap too...that one is still sloppier than I'd like.
W123 Mods: 4 speed ** manual climate control ** '85 Kalitucky intake ** manual windows & full tint ** Euro headlights retrofit w/bixenon projectors ** 4 brake light mod ** Vogtland 50mm drop front & Lesjofors S600 drop rear springs ** 16" rims ** late w126 brake spindles, rotors & calipers ** full suspension rehab ** Bilstein HDs ** AL129X alternator & 1/0 starter and charging cables ** 300GD clutch/flywheel ** AFCO 80103N radiator & Earl's 41610 oil cooler ** custom block-off plate, remote oil filter & t-stat ** MW IP w/ tomnik's 6.5mm 'Holly' elements **
S124 Mods: 400E Rear subframe ** SL600 Brakes ** Late 300E 210mm diff ** SLK230 6 speed ** 17" CLK rims ** Vented RF Fender ** Facelift Hood, Headlights, and Lower Cladding **
OBK# 62
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