E36 trans w/E30 shifter support piece...

[bwh13]

Well it turns out the E30 shifter support (where the shifter fits) is about 1-1.5" too short to work with the E36 325 trans. I assembled the shifter support to the trans before I install the engine/trans and didn't realize it was that short. I had already installed the Delrin bushings and shimmed the support so it would eliminate all freeplay, and didn't feel like doing that all over again in the car to change to the E36 support.

So I had to cut the hole in the trans tunnel to allow the shifter to move through all gears, and trim the console as well...didn't see anything about that in the swap thread...

[FredK]

Wow. Changing the console isn't even that difficult. It's probably faster than cutting the sheetmetal on your car and modding the cosmetic shifter console inside the car.

It's not in the swap thread, but I've seen it mentioned in a few places.

[matt]

There are a LOT of shifter combos that work. I have done it / seen it done about 4 different ways.

[bwh13]

The regular shift console might be easy to change, but with the delrin bushings it was a pain to get the bitch clip thru even with the trans on the ground....no big deal I'll just make some sort of cover for the interior console to clean it up...I can reach the shifter just fine with my long arms...