csp shifter on sale

Many of us have them and love them.  Short throw and no slop.  Very crisp.

Reverse lockout t-bar is mostly a non-issue.  Sometimes when cruising long distances, my right knee will rest against it...but not for long.  I wouldn't let that deter you :-)

I am seriously thinking about getting one.  All of them say they fit any VW type 1 tranny.  So I guess all would work t-handle, black ball etc.  Why do some have reverse lock out and some do not.  Would think that the reverse lock out is important.  I think I could install this.  I believe it is installed from cockpit.  Any advice appreciated.  Looks like the sale ends today.  $270 shipping included.  Sounds expensive but I have heard people rave about this shifter.

I have the speedster version of the vintage speed shifter.  Crisp. Short throw. Reverse lockout. Its great.

The reverse lockout is like the stock VW reverse lockout, except you pull up to engage reverse.

I have never used the others you mention, but I suspect they use a similar method. Push down / pull up to engage reverse.

Hope this help,
Ted

I have one: had it installed, but it didn't do it for me. 

 

Is practically new. Would sell it for € 50,00 (with t-bar or black round shift knob) plus shipping...

 

If I can do it, any body can do it.  Two Allen head bolts accessed from the driver's seat under the boot.

The trick for reinstall is to put the car in neutral before pulling the old shifter, putting the new shifter in neutral and let neutral find itself and tighten bolts.  If neutral is right, the other gears will be right. The shifter adjusts up and down and right to left (they give you instructions).

It's easier to find neutral.

Which one seems to work the best in a Speedster - the straight or curved shaft?  Wonder if the black knob is simply threaded on and can be removed so a wood or leather one can be used.

Yes Phil, the sale ends today. Pricey yes, but all I hear are good reviews.  I did consider the Vintage from Aircooled which is also on sale for $190.71. This is the CSP shifter most use:

 

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDe...1%2D711%2D120%2D202K

 

Gary

Most folks get the bent handle and black ball.  The ball CANNOT be changed easily.  The t-handle sleeve slides up into the ball when you access reverse.  There is a nice black leather boot already installed.

The hole in my carpet was barely covered by the boot that came with the shifter.

Lane painted his knob and Marty powder-coated his knob, but that's a whole branch of deviant behavior that we don't need to discuss :-)

Tom--coffee spewing out of my nose--quite a sight!  (The coffee, not their knobs.)

 

Back to the CSP shifter.  For highest German quality you can't beat almost anything CSP sells.

I have the shifter Gerry supplied the link to and it is sensational. I took the advice I saw from others and went with the bent handle because it moves the shift knob closer to your right hand.  The black knob is fine as is with me and goes well with the interior.  I had a wooden one with a Porsche logo but it was pretty cheesy--I prefer the black knob by far.  The CSP came wieh Great directions and adjustment is easy as can be.  Positive, easy gear shifts with positive connection to every gear  and the reverse bar is sooo much nicer than pushing the old VW Bug gearshift column down to get to reverse. I love this shifter.

 After looking at picture I think I need to keep brown boot.

 

 

The CSP boot is small.  You can probably fit your existing boot over it (others have), if you like.  However, be advised that the t-bar is riveted on.  This means you'll have to open up the seam in your old boot to get it installed and re-stich or pull it apart completely and put Velcro along the seem to make it easy to get on and off.

Getting shifter with black ball.  Looks like I will have to open seam on brown boot to get it on new shifter.  Hmm.  

Thanks Tom.

Carey Hines made a boot for me that was split on one side with velcro to hold it together.  It covers the CSP boot nicely and matches the whiskey tan leather in my car.

If Marty powder coated the knob then it must come off and be constructed of metal (aluminum?).  Maybe your boot will clear the trigger and slide on?  I'd like to strip off all paint on knob and grind top flat so a cloisonne PORSCHE emblem could be epoxied on.  

 

The boot won't fit over the t-bar

Maybe it's just me, but I decided the black boot on my CSP shifter worked just fine aesthetically. different strokes for different folks.

I'm sure this is a great product, but unless you're doing this to reduce your 1/4 mile times by 0.75 second, it sure seems like a lot of expense & effort. Additionally, if you are throwing speed shifts on your stock trans, the next weakest link that may need to be replaced after all those drag-race shifts you're doing, would be the shift-lever in the nose of the trans (unless you also took the appropriate step to beef up that part as well). A much more involved R&R.

 

Even if you're not speed shifting, how hard can it be (really) to shift gears on a standard VW trans?

 

I'm just saying...

 

Going through the gears on a standard VW trans...

 

Black Betty, 

Dialog sent.

 

Gary

A standard VW shifter works ok, but to me a sports car is about feel.  The feeling of tight, precise controls adds to the enjoyment of driving the car.  Add rack and pinion steering and it'd be just about perfect.

I had a CSP shifter in my IM, but the reach was too long for 1st and 3rd gears.  Before you tell me my arms are too short Henry, at IM, made the same comment when he drove my car.

I ended up special ordering (no extra cost) the speedster shifter from Vintage Speed.  The special order was having the shaft shortened a couple of inches.

Tight, precise control….What's the 'ol saying on here…."then get a Miata" (not that there's anything wrong with that)! 

 

I addressed the long throw for 1st & 3r putting a $5 angled extension (the kind typically used on VW bus) on to my existing lever . 

I think owner drivers get used to rather vague VW shifter but let someone else jump behind wheel and it's heart stopping when they "scrreeech" down shifting from 3rd to reverse instead of 2nd. True definition of the MADNESS is replacing stuff that doesn't really need it.  

 

Jim, I know you like to keep an eye on your pennies, but $275 or so for a CSP shifter is really worth the money in my book. As Lane and others note, it is the more precise feel that is the beauty of it.

Absolutely, Rich! No 'right' or 'wrong' on one's replica 356 preferences. Like Greg mentioned, its all part of the 'Madness' and the random manner it afflicts all of us on SOC!  

Didn't they give it a bit more of a bend as well?

Yes Vintage Speed can customize it.

I love my Vintage Speed shifter!

Jim, row row row your tub swiftly down the street...

My IM originally came with the EMPI shifter that looks like the early Hearst shifter. The EMPI is held together with plastic rivets that one day decided to let go on a busy traffic day on PCH. As the people behind me started honking I held up the shifter and waved them around. Yikes!

 

I purchased a Vintage Speed shifter and I am very happy with the performance as well as quality. I put the EMPI shifter back together with stainless bolts and aircraft nuts as it was a very nice shifter while it was working. I prefer the look of the VS shifter as it looks like a 356 shifter and knob.

 

I have a very nice, rebuilt EMPI shifter if anyone is looking.

If I ever do a copy of Sloan's beautiful outlaw speedy this is going in it (it will be a subaru...I know blasphemy).  Beautiful and a much more period correct appearance.

 

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/V...-p/155-795-50700.htm

That certainly looks period correct, Phil, and it would look perfect in your dream car.

 

 

That's the one but I bought either the 10.5 or the 11.5 inch I don't remember.

the csp does come w/ medium and short throw.  I got the medium, and am firmly in the camp that says: "I love it."  the old VW "egg on a coat hanger" thing that came on my car was the pits.  Maybe it was just the one I had, but I could get it to dislocate its shoulder, so to say, just about any day.  Some of us do speed shift, Jimbo, so there.  Found a Porsche crest knob at Carlisle a while back, and it went on plenty fine.

 

Pix show w/ the as-supplied black knob, which I did not like at all. and the fancier one that goes w/ the Nardi wheel, etc.

 

And it is easy to install -- the tips given here are right on point.  Anybody can do it.

 

And I think the reverse lock out thing works wonderfully.  So easy, and after 5 mins, is very natural to use.  Reach to third is not a problem, for me anyway.  w/ curved shank, is better than the VW one, certainly.  And yes, it's pricey, but is worth the expense, IMHO.

 

Phil,

 

I'm pretty sure you next dream build with IM will be a Subaru Gears tranny and you will not need the VW shifter. 

 

Here is the famous powder coated knob.

 

 

 

Oh snap!  Marty's showin' pictures of his knob again! 

No, that's why I went with the speedster shifter-it has more bend to the shaft.

Marty

Learned from a new IM customer that Henry is putting Suby 5 speeds in his new Suby powered cars.  Guess the R&P is flipped 180 degrees to fit rear engine.  Sounds great.  I would think that a turbo Suby with the 5 speed would be as potent as any IM6 with a 915 tranny.  This seems to be really getting away from the vintage feel of these cars.  Maybe that's a good thing.  Not sure.  I know I have a modern watercooled engine in my car but the connection with the type 1 tranny keeps it feeling vintage.  Think I'll do an Outlaw suby speedy some day.  165hp stock engine will be just fine.  Might just go with the type 1 3.44 with standard gearing to make it feel just a little bit like the real thing.  

Phil:

 

"I would think that a turbo Suby with the 5 speed would be as potent as any IM6 with a 915 tranny."

 

That was the other way I could have gone with my new build, but the 911 air cooled sound was what I wanted.

I've never liked the sound of a Suby engine.  Mind you, I don't much care for the sound of a type 1 VW engine either.

Now a 911 engine at 7,000 rpm.....that's another story.