Question for those already on the road

[oxford1360]

I hope that some of you lucky people who have a roadworthy Sammio might be able to answer a question that I have been pondering, and has been brought to the top of my "important things to consider list" by enjoying the pics of Dave's former car.

Given that the Sammio seating position (usually against the bulkhead) is significantly further back than in the Herald, is it a bit of a reach to the unmodified gear knob? It strikes me that the knob won't fall naturally to hand (fnaar, fnaar).

In the interests of handling I am close to swapping the suspension turrets to move the engine/box back by the width of the turrets.

I need to decide in the next week or so whether I am going to go down this route. Getting the prop shaft shortened isn't a big deal. The only thing that is stopping me is a desire to keep the mechanical side of things unchanged to avoid introducing any problems.

If the position of the gear knob would be improved by the move, then this might just swing the decision.

Yes, I know it is simple to modify the gear lever, and that is my fall back solution if I keep the turrets the right way round.

Views please.

[MoriniMan]

I'm trying to remember, do you have a six cylinder with a single rail gearbox?

The alternative way of moving a six back is to swap a four cylinder front plate on.

Moving the gear lever is easy to do by cutting the single rail shift extension in half and either shortening or lengthening it. On one kit I worked on I got hold of a second shift extension to get the shift far enough back.

[oxford1360]

It's a 4 pot and box from a 13/60, so it is 3 rail.

[davecymru]

Mine sat perfectly for me with loads of scope for room. That said, if you notice on mine the gear lever is quite heavily angled backward and is I believe a gt6 lever?
When I changed my gearbox it was quite easy to Change that part between boxes as its a bolt-on, so changing to a gt6 lever assembly may be worth considering as a simple mod if you do need the knob to be a bit closer, rather than anything more dramatic?

All of this assumes the herald/vitesse gear lever extension isn't as heavily angled!

[tlrtone]

Oxford, it is quite decieving because actually the seating position in the Sammio Spyder is the same as the Herald donor, so the gear stick position is fine.

Apart from being slightly lower, the seat is right for the pedals etc and is a nice driving position.

so I wouldn't worry about the position, it was designed to use as much stock fittings as possible.

build+enjoy