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I have a 1990 JDM TT Auto....I understand that many on this forum don't like the Auto and some even 'look down' on it...which is fine....But I actively sort out an Auto version when I decided to buy the only Z car I hadn't owned.... as that's what I usually drive...(However if I were looking to purchase another Z32....based on perception, resale values and most importantly how many miles I actually do in my Zed....I would probably look for a manual :wink:)

 

Anyway...I have an Auto.... and I like the car and can't see me getting rid of it anytime soon...but the look of the Auto shifter has always offended me!....it's 'tall' proportions look decidedly old fashioned compared to today's auto offerings (see Richard's new daily driver pictures!)...so I decided to investigate if I could bring the look of the Z32 Auto shifter a little more up to date (unfortunately I can't do anything about the unsophisticated characteristics of the rudimentary 4 speed performance).

 

A special mention should go to Paul (NemisisZX) at this point....as it was he who provided me with an auto shift mechanism from his breaker for my 'proof of concept'....before I started chopping my 'actual' mechanism about!

 

So I set about shortening the gear stick by 45mm.....not as straight forward as taking a hacksaw to it...but not too difficult... if a little fiddly...with a couple of 'gotchas' along the way.

 

This is the before and after of the PoC

 

Oct 2016 007.jpg

 

Oct 2016 005.jpg

 

And these are the before and after in my car! :ohmy:

 

Oct 2016 001.jpg

 

Oct 2016 012.jpg

 

 

I guess it won't be to everybody's taste...but I'm pretty happy with the result :thumbup1:

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] "Exaggeration is the enemy of credibility"

Definitely better, but still looks old to me, would prefer a less bland plastic shifter.

Does look much better and when taking the radio surround out, it always gets in the way.

2002 Porsche C2 996 3.6 
1991 Nissan 300zx TT Project

1995 Nissan 300zx TT Crashed 🥲

1997 Jaguar XK8 Scraped ☹️

That is a great improvement well done !!! the series 2 zeds had a leather covered shifter that would look nice oir a recover with your shortened one would look ace, bet Mondo here could do it.

 

 

Jeff

 

Concept zed do this one.

 

interior_repair2_at_knob2.jpg

My white zed (93) had a leather clad oem auto shifter that looks much better than the plastic one. Im sure Mondo could magic something up to improve the look.

Nice mod.

 

I was considering doing this myself but I have learned to live with my shifter. I was also considering making a leather boot which I thought would help cover up the ‘ugliness’. If I come across a cheap shift mechanism I may try something like this one day.

 

Anyway, well done. It looks good.

✔️ SWB                   ✔️ Twin Turbo 
✔️ Manual               ✔️ Slick-top
✔️ Seat belts mounted in the correct places...

  • Author

Does anyone have a leather clad shifter lying around?

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] "Exaggeration is the enemy of credibility"

  • 2 weeks later...

I shortened mine too but I like yours better (it's much shorter). I wanted to go lower but was concerned about making a mistake. I also have a custom Nappa perforated/ smooth leather shifter knob and a custom Nappa leather boot cover.

 

How short is yours and did you use a grinder and welding machine.

 

Custom perforated/smooth shift handle by LeatherWheels.com with my redline custom automatic Napa leather shit boot

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?184166-Aftermarket-auto-shifter-knob-Momo&p=1917165#post1917165

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]102160[/ATTACH]

Edited by The_Ikon

Definitely better, but still looks old to me, would prefer a less bland plastic shifter.

 

Begs the question why u bought a z32 then alic? Of course it looks old its from the 90's..... but for me at least its a big part of the reason i like the z32 so much, classic 90's japanese styling, if u dont like the bland plastic look then i guess you had better remove your entire interior :biggrin:

Begs the question why u bought a z32 then alic? Of course it looks old its from the 90's..... but for me at least its a big part of the reason i like the z32 so much, classic 90's japanese styling, if u dont like the bland plastic look then i guess you had better remove your entire interior [emoji3]

Don't get me wrong I love 90s cars, the auto shifter just looks like something from a corrolla parts bin.

I have an auto. It's great. So is the selector. I like the lowered version above. Great mod, well done. I don't like toast when it's burnt mind you, but that's just my opinion.

Don't get me wrong I love 90s cars, the auto shifter just looks like something from a corrolla parts bin.

 

You so right with that, its a time thing, Japanese cars of that era were firmly stuck in 70`s/ 80`s medalion man, open shirt hairy chest times. The trim and dash design in the 300zx was a move forward in many ways but there are those irksome little reminder`s that can be slightly annoying but also period and classic ( well sort of )

 

I look back with fondness of cars I owned in the past, Capri`s, Datsun 280 zx, Opel Monza GSE, Sierra Cosworth etc.. and as great as they were when I get misty eyed looking on E-bay and the like, hankering for the past, shall I buy one again........ THEN THE INSIDE PICTURES !! suddenly my reminiscing ends and I am like yuk !! what was they thinking, crushed red velour seats in my 280z, the knight rider dash in the Monza, the 2 foot long gear lever in the Cosworth and much much more. worse is when they use switch gear from much lower models that is just lazy, at the time the Sierra Cosworth was the Ford flagship, yet most of the trim was shared with the 1.6L !! hence why so many fakes were around at the time.

 

Reminisce all you like but modern cars have evolved in so many ways it is hard to accept now that the 300zx is not without its design flaws, some you can forgive most because its what makes them what they are but sad to say some Datsun design did creep in some places..... eek !! lucky the 300zx is so impressive in other area`s

 

Jeff

Edited by JeffTT

You so right with that, its a time thing, Japanese cars of that era were firmly stuck in 70`s/ 80`s medalion man, open shirt hairy chest times. The trim and dash design in the 300zx was a move forward in many ways but there are those irksome little reminder`s that can be slightly annoying but also period and classic ( well sort of )

 

I look back with fondness of cars I owned in the past, Capri`s, Datsun 280 zx, Opel Monza GSE, Sierra Cosworth etc.. and as great as they were when I get misty eyed looking on E-bay and the like, hankering for the past, shall I buy one again........ THEN THE INSIDE PICTURES !! suddenly my reminiscing ends and I am like yuk !! what was they thinking, crushed red velour seats in my 280z, the knight rider dash in the Monza, the 2 foot long gear lever in the Cosworth and much much more. worse is when they use switch gear from much lower models that is just lazy, at the time the Sierra Cosworth was the Ford flagship, yet most of the trim was shared with the 1.6L !! hence why so many fakes were around at the time.

 

Reminisce all you like but modern cars have evolved in so many ways it is hard to accept now that the 300zx is not without its design flaws, some you can forgive most because its what makes them what they are but sad to say some Datsun design did creep in some places..... eek !! lol

 

Jeff

I know the interior door handles definitely were. My dad has a 4x4 Maverick and it has them, and also the london taxis have the same door handles also.

Shortening the auto lever is fine & looks good.

 

But there is a release mechanism at the front of the shifter! What's happened to that?

You so right with that, its a time thing, Japanese cars of that era were firmly stuck in 70`s/ 80`s medalion man, open shirt hairy chest times. The trim and dash design in the 300zx was a move forward in many ways but there are those irksome little reminder`s that can be slightly annoying but also period and classic ( well sort of )

 

I look back with fondness of cars I owned in the past, Capri`s, Datsun 280 zx, Opel Monza GSE, Sierra Cosworth etc.. and as great as they were when I get misty eyed looking on E-bay and the like, hankering for the past, shall I buy one again........ THEN THE INSIDE PICTURES !! suddenly my reminiscing ends and I am like yuk !! what was they thinking, crushed red velour seats in my 280z, the knight rider dash in the Monza, the 2 foot long gear lever in the Cosworth and much much more. worse is when they use switch gear from much lower models that is just lazy, at the time the Sierra Cosworth was the Ford flagship, yet most of the trim was shared with the 1.6L !! hence why so many fakes were around at the time.

 

Reminisce all you like but modern cars have evolved in so many ways it is hard to accept now that the 300zx is not without its design flaws, some you can forgive most because its what makes them what they are but sad to say some Datsun design did creep in some places..... eek !! lucky the 300zx is so impressive in other area`s

 

Jeff

 

But surely you are looking and thinking back to cars of years gone by with the current style of cars in mind, I'm sure nobody in 1989 thought the Z32 was dated then or thought the interior was dull or that the fact it shared designs of earlier cars was an issue, I think the interior of a Sierra cosworth was just fine for its time, and as for higher spec cars of years gone by sharing parts of lower models is true, it is still true of today's cars, cars are just put together from a vast array of generic parts from all over the world, cars have evolved as has everything in life, but I never look back at old cars and think yuk, let's be honest how many of today's cars will be around or regarded as a classic in 25 years time?......

  • Author

Art...The release mechanism is still there on the modified auto lever

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] "Exaggeration is the enemy of credibility"

  • Author
thats rather clever. definitely looks better. So how'd you do it? any pics?

 

I shortened mine too but I like yours better (it's much shorter). I wanted to go lower but was concerned about making a mistake. I also have a custom Nappa perforated/ smooth leather shifter knob and a custom Nappa leather boot cover.

 

How short is yours and did you use a grinder and welding machine.

 

 

Dublove/The_Ikon....I shortened the inner and outer components by 45mm using a 0.8mm cutting blade in a grinder...there are a few little issues to be aware of which I could document in a 'How To' if there was enough interest?

 

BTW...I have obtained a Leather Clad shifter from a later model that I will be giving the same treatment and replacing the current modified plastic one....pictures to follow once completed

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC] "Exaggeration is the enemy of credibility"

It looks much shorter than that... Cool. I took out approximately 1.2 inches I will go back and shortened another half inch to get it that height.

Nice mod! Looks less of a 'disability option' now. :) I like.

 

Going back to Jeff's post, there are a few things that I don't think are up to much on the Z interior, the main one is the indicator stalk. It couldn't be any cheaper feeling if it tried. I'm ok with most of the other feature in the car, I think generally, it's aged remarkably well. When we look back at interiors on other cars at the time, we have the following:

 

MK2 Astra - a loathesome dash (I owned a few of these and like them generally, but the design of the dash is utterly dated)

 

190320124763.jpg

 

Mercedes 190 with its timber paneling - soooo nasty.

 

2517d874a94c33227253c8b959268738.jpg

 

Yes we had our tweed as seen predominantly in the earlier cars and that has aged poorly too, but the shape and design of the interior does still look pretty cool as it was so different to everything else on the market, just like the exterior was.

Interior is a big reason I fell in love with these cars over other similar cars of the era. Yes I love the exterior of course, but some of the others are hideous inside

 

supra-interior.jpg

 

Supra looks like a bloody bus!

 

bus-dashboard-modern-front-seats-view-55606383.jpg

Mk4 Supra dash is dreadful, the Mk3 Supra dash looks far better as does the car itself!

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