Darrin shifter...info.

[njpatera]

Greetings: in the world of the Darrin shifter; please school me with any info. Original manufacturing to your past repair work and parts used. As you can tell, I'm diving into many of the odds and ends:-)

[joefrazer]

There's an original shifter on ebay right now. Best bet might be to take a look at the excellent photos provided in the listing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kaiser-Darrin-original-shifter-/252743390560?hash=item3ad8ae1560:g:MkoAAOSwImRYi4gA

This is the first one I've ever seen for sale.

[njpatera]

I did see that one and I absolutely filed the pics:-) it was ironic I was checking mine out the day before I saw it.

[njpatera]

...is this a Borg Warner unit? Trying to determine what guts I need to do some surgery inside mine:-)

[r1lark]

That is an odd looking shifter. Looks sort of like a column shift mechanism that is normally located down near the steering box (clamped around the steering column) that has been modified into a floor shifter.

[joefrazer]

That is an odd looking shifter. Looks sort of like a column shift mechanism that is normally located down near the steering box (clamped around the steering column) that has been modified into a floor shifter.

That's exactly what it is!

[njpatera]

So, another Kaiser item repurposed...very cool... What was the original vehicle used on? Is there a rebuild kit from the original vehicle available?

[joefrazer]

KF used essentially the same mechanism on all their standard shift cars. 1949 thru 1954 (maybe later) Chevrolet selectors are the same as KF but not Darrin. The Darrin mechanism is a modified version and is unique to the car.

[njpatera]

Excellent...thank you again for the info and pointing me in the right direction again:-) The cross reference did the trick! Looks like I'll be looking for one of the mechanisms and doing some more fabrications. (and found one for mods)

[njpatera]

In the meantime...does anyone have a picture of the inside. I opened mine up to begin cleaning and see what I need to track down to refresh it...long story short I have remnants of a spring and 2 washers. I know there has to be some kind of bushings in there. Interested to see what they actually look like so I can grab the right ones.

[njpatera]

ongoing saga...I have it almost figured out :-)  picked up a standard unit to investigate the modifications that were done...(pretty interesting repurposing going on) If anyone else has delved into the unit, I'm looking for ideas on what may have been used (see arrow on the right) as it is the most corroded piece to determine measurements or the actual repurposed item that was used. It appears to be a simple ring to keep the inner shift lever in place even though a roll pin is used on the opposite side and keeps the actual shifter handle from traveling...on a lighter note, the box cleaned up nice.

[joefrazer]

I came across a good used shift mechanism in the shop today. Attached a pic of the guts. I can lend it to you as well if needed.

[njpatera]

Thank you for the pic! Is it of the modified Darrin one or the normal standard column one?...if it's easier, please give me a call at your convenience :-)  216.392.5658...

[joefrazer]

The picture is of a Henry J shift mechanism.

[njpatera]

It does look like it has that stopper in it that the Chevy one I picked up to compare does not...yes I'd appreciate it if I could cruise down and borrow it for a bit...just to take to the fabricator to take a few additional measurements:-)