This posting is a shout out to Rob Levinson of UUC Motorwerks as well as a review of my experience installing UUC shifting hardware.
Purchased a UUC short-shifter in the late fall of ’03. Turned out the time of purchase time was during an evolutionary time between the EVO2 and EVO3 versions. The part I received had the bottom geometry of the EVO3 and also featured an early version of height-adjustment.
original at top / UUC shifter at bottom:
In late winter of ’08, I learned about the Double-Shear Selector Rods (DSSR) that UUC had developed. I loved its design and thought it’d be a great compliment to the UUC shifter. Due to a misunderstanding on my part, a DSSR187 was ordered. This particular part was designed for an e30 with an m20 motor and 260 trans. I didn’t discover until later that 240s are shorter than 260s.
Because my e30 project was off and on – there were times when I’d slowly gather parts and pull them off the shelf when the time came. It was rare, but sometimes the part would be pulled years later – and only then discovered as an incorrect part. In this case, more then a year had passed before I went to install the DSSR.
Rob was great to work with. I explained what happened and provided measurements of the stock m42/240 selector rod (~275mm). He indicated a possible fit of DSSR273 designed for an e39 m5 model (273mm). Turned out, difference between the two was more like .5 to 1 mm. This was great news.
After some investigation and comparison – I did end up blitzing some material from one side of a connection end. This was done to provide a greater margin of comfort between the selector rod connection point and the flex disk on the drive shaft.
I LOVE the shifting action. Shifting gears is like flicking a switch. Short, without pronounced ‘notchiness’. Noted how much heavier the DSSR rod is over the OE unit – this also added to quality of feel. Literally, bang-on perfection. (All other related linkage parts were also replaced with OEM (bitch clip, rear carrier bushing/mount, and gearshift rod joint)). HUGE, HUGE improvement from the spoon-in-a-bowl-of-porridge-feel that the shift action had when I purchased the car.
Products from UUC are like getting something made by NASA. I’ve spent some time working in a job-shop, and I’m impressed by how beautiful the machine-work is on UUC parts when they arrive. Part of me feels bad that they’re hidden from sight under the shifter boot.
Photos of installed stock selector rod:
Position at fifth gear:
Selector rod comparison shots:
The UUC short shifter uses roller bearings with bushings for smoother action. The thicker pair of bushings on the left are designed for use with stock selector rod. The slimmer pair on the right was provided for use with the DSSR. There was a small amount of wiggle room when I used the slimmer pair. Discovered that using one thick and one slim bushing provided a perfect fit of the DSSR to the shifter.
DSSR hardware:
Trial install:
Positions at reverse (left) and at fifth gear (a little too close):
This picture was taken after removing material from one side/end of selector area for greater clearance from flex disc:
Final install:
Reverse/5th positions:
Before/after view from cabin (in neutral) (no noticeable difference in angle):
Great products and service from UUC. Thanks again Rob !
Purchased a UUC short-shifter in the late fall of ’03. Turned out the time of purchase time was during an evolutionary time between the EVO2 and EVO3 versions. The part I received had the bottom geometry of the EVO3 and also featured an early version of height-adjustment.
original at top / UUC shifter at bottom:
In late winter of ’08, I learned about the Double-Shear Selector Rods (DSSR) that UUC had developed. I loved its design and thought it’d be a great compliment to the UUC shifter. Due to a misunderstanding on my part, a DSSR187 was ordered. This particular part was designed for an e30 with an m20 motor and 260 trans. I didn’t discover until later that 240s are shorter than 260s.
Because my e30 project was off and on – there were times when I’d slowly gather parts and pull them off the shelf when the time came. It was rare, but sometimes the part would be pulled years later – and only then discovered as an incorrect part. In this case, more then a year had passed before I went to install the DSSR.
Rob was great to work with. I explained what happened and provided measurements of the stock m42/240 selector rod (~275mm). He indicated a possible fit of DSSR273 designed for an e39 m5 model (273mm). Turned out, difference between the two was more like .5 to 1 mm. This was great news.
After some investigation and comparison – I did end up blitzing some material from one side of a connection end. This was done to provide a greater margin of comfort between the selector rod connection point and the flex disk on the drive shaft.
I LOVE the shifting action. Shifting gears is like flicking a switch. Short, without pronounced ‘notchiness’. Noted how much heavier the DSSR rod is over the OE unit – this also added to quality of feel. Literally, bang-on perfection. (All other related linkage parts were also replaced with OEM (bitch clip, rear carrier bushing/mount, and gearshift rod joint)). HUGE, HUGE improvement from the spoon-in-a-bowl-of-porridge-feel that the shift action had when I purchased the car.
Products from UUC are like getting something made by NASA. I’ve spent some time working in a job-shop, and I’m impressed by how beautiful the machine-work is on UUC parts when they arrive. Part of me feels bad that they’re hidden from sight under the shifter boot.
Photos of installed stock selector rod:
Position at fifth gear:
Selector rod comparison shots:
The UUC short shifter uses roller bearings with bushings for smoother action. The thicker pair of bushings on the left are designed for use with stock selector rod. The slimmer pair on the right was provided for use with the DSSR. There was a small amount of wiggle room when I used the slimmer pair. Discovered that using one thick and one slim bushing provided a perfect fit of the DSSR to the shifter.
DSSR hardware:
Trial install:
Positions at reverse (left) and at fifth gear (a little too close):
This picture was taken after removing material from one side/end of selector area for greater clearance from flex disc:
Final install:
Reverse/5th positions:
Before/after view from cabin (in neutral) (no noticeable difference in angle):
Great products and service from UUC. Thanks again Rob !
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