Lotus 5 speed gear stick shifter piece

[gjz30075]

After reading and re reading just about every Lotus 5 speed thread here, I don't see anywhere this particular
piece is mentioned. No where in the parts manual or the Hollnagel article is it mentioned. SJ SportsCars calls it a plastic saddle, Burton's is brass. It apparently fits right up in the fork of the gear stick and I suppose it takes out any slop in the shifter. Looks good to me, but has anyone else fitted one, or is this assumed it's on the stick already? Any downsides to fitting this thing?

[elansprint]

Greg don't remember mine having this part may why the gearlever flops about like a dick in a dustbin
Ian

[Foxie]

After reading and re reading just about every Lotus 5 speed thread here, I don't see anywhere this particular
piece is mentioned. No where in the parts manual or the Hollnagel article is it mentioned. SJ SportsCars calls it a plastic saddle, Burton's is brass. It apparently fits right up in the fork of the gear stick and I suppose it takes out any slop in the shifter. Looks good to me, but has anyone else fitted one, or is this assumed it's on the stick already? Any downsides to fitting this thing?

Hi Greg,

The gear lever forks on the Lotus 5-Speed and the Ford T9 (Of which I have one of each ) seem exactly the same, although the lever-to-box mounting is different.

The saddle is a standard original fitting. Howeve,r in my experience, with hard use and time, the plastic one self-destructs, and completely disappears. You might even never know it was there ! The result is an extremely sloppy gear shift.

The brass type, supplied by Burtons, is a bit more robust. Thre is a "tail" on the rear of the saddle which fits into a slot in the selector assy. to keep it upright when inserting the lever, so the "high" side of the saddle is on the left. Fit the saddle into the gear box selector cage rather than on the fork when assembling.

By coincidence, I spent this afternoon doing a bit of cutting and welding to get my T9 gear lever shaft into exactly optimum angle, so it's all very fresh in my memory !

That's why I'll be putting up another post as soon as I finish this one

[john.p.clegg]

Never seen one,is it supposed to fit on Part 8 ?

http://www.lotuselan.net/wiki/FD_-_Gear ... ifter_%2B2

John

[Foxie]

Never seen one,is it supposed to fit on Part 8 ?

http://www.lotuselan.net/wiki/FD_-_Gear ... ifter_%2B2

John

Well I've just had a look at my Lotus 5-Speed, which is standing in the garage. In John's drawing it looks like the saddle might fit the pin, Part 8. But the pin in Part 8 is actually 10mm diameter. The opening in the Lotus gear lever fork is also 10mm. So the saddle cannot fit in the Lotus 5-Speed box.

On the Ford T9 box, the fork opening is also 10mm. But the equivalent pin is only about 8mm, so the saddle is used to take up the slack.

So maybe the saddle is just manufactured to enable the same type of gear lever to fit multiple applications, rather than a demon slick gear-change device.

I learn something new every day !

[gjz30075]

Never seen one,is it supposed to fit on Part 8 ?

http://www.lotuselan.net/wiki/FD_-_Gear ... ifter_%2B2

John

Well I've just had a look at my Lotus 5-Speed, which is standing in the garage. In John's drawing it looks like the saddle might fit the pin, Part 8. But the pin in Part 8 is actually 10mm diameter. The opening in the Lotus gear lever fork is also 10mm. So the saddle cannot fit in the Lotus 5-Speed box.

On the Ford T9 box, the fork opening is also 10mm. But the equivalent pin is only about 8mm, so the saddle is used to take up the slack.

So maybe the saddle is just manufactured to enable the same type of gear lever to fit multiple applications, rather than a demon slick gear-change device.

I learn something new every day !

You're right John, part #8.

Very interesting. SJ Sportscars says this part is for the Lotus 5 speed only (meaing, I assume, not for the
4 speed). All other manufacturers of this saddle say its for the T9 gear stick, with no reference for the
Lotus 5 speed.

I just put my T9 stick and Lotus stick in my Lotus box on the pin and both are quite tight; I can't see
any saddle working so the pin size being smaller on the T9 box (for this saddle) makes sense.

I think I'll just forget about this saddle because the downside I see is it breaking apart over time and bits
falling into the gearbox. Not good.

That's probably why I've received so few responses to this inquiry, nobody's fitted one to their Lotus box
because it's not shown in any drawings.

[john.p.clegg]

Greg
" or the Hollnagel article is it mentioned."

are you re-building to this article?

John

[gjz30075]

John, no, I bought the box already rebuilt. I bought it from Dave Bean Engineering here in the States and he said it was recently rebuilt by his rebuilder in England. I didn't ask who that was. He's under alot of stress at the moment, just having lost his house in the wildfires that are raging across several of our northwestern states.

I don't think it was Graham Boulton because I called him a few times for advice and hinted at such but no luck.

[nmauduit]

SJ Sportscars says this part is for the Lotus 5 speed only (meaing, I assume, not for the
4 speed). All other manufacturers of this saddle say its for the T9 gear stick, with no reference for the
Lotus 5 speed.
.

My experience of Lotus 5 speed rebuilt by them has not left any room for trust or even hability to exercise common sense regarding that kind of mechanical work.

[john.p.clegg]

Interesting,...

Could you expand on that , if only in a PM..

Thanks
John