Short shifter install question

[ozone]

I bought a wrecked Solara for the engine, but I noticed it has a short shifter in it, so I thought I would transplant that puppy into my wife's Solara. When I took a look at the short shifter I noticed two issues. One, the shifter is straight, not curved like my wife's, which places the shifter closer to the dashboard, not desirable for my circumstances. Two, the plastic cap on the horizontal arm is missing so it sits in the little plastic grommet on the lever, loosely. I'm thinking that the short shifter didn't come with the plastic cap and whoever installed it broke the original one. He then proceeded to kludge together something with plastic zip ties. Having only one plastic cap between the two cars, I don't want to make the same mistake and wait to drive the car until I can get to the stealership.

So the question is: For you guys that have done this before, is this shifter even the proper short shifter for the Solara? Dimensionally, it's hard to tell, but I figure the fact that it is straight and not curved will give it away for sure. I can provide a picture if necessary. Also, if this shifter is usable, any advice on removing the plastic cap from the end of the horizontal arm would be helpful.

Thanks.

[ozone]

Figured pics might help:

Short shifter:


Original shifter:

[ozone]

Well, I answered my own question. The short shifter does work for a Solara and the manufacturer is TWM. The cap is actually sort of a socket for the ball on the end of the horizontal arm of the shifter. Unfortunately, the ball on the end of that arm is larger than the one on the stock shifter. I don't know if the short shifter came with the cap and it disappeared somehow or not, but without it, I was forced to use my dremel tool to hollow out the stock cap enough to fit on the arm, which was time consuming. After that it fit fine and the shifter feel is improved immensely. The stock Solara has the worst shift feel I have ever encountered. Ours feels like some kind of Fischer-Price lever, plasticy and light. This shifter not only shortens the throws, but improves the feel. It's almost a little too short, but I'll take that over what we had.

Hope this info helps someone.

[~SolaRaSpeed~]

i didn't notice this thread or I would have said what you already know. Just remember to still take it slow on the shifts or you can start to messup the gear syncros. You may also want to consider some synthetic transmission oil if you have not already, to enhance the short shifter feel or a weighted shift knob.