Jeff,
My gearstick comes pretty close to my radio, but doesn't actually touch it.
But this is a modern radio without the huge buttons that your radio has.
Earlier gearboxes had a "bent" gearstick, which would give more clearance
for the radio than the "straight" gearstick I have in my '77 1500 - I don't
know if they changed at exactly the same time as the 3-rail to single-rail
change, and I also don't know if the two gearstick styles are
interchangable (but I do know that other people on the list will know the
answer to both of these...) Maybe if you want to go single-rail, you could
use the older "bent" gearstick to get the required clearance?
And on the subject of driving the car, do whatever you enjoy doing! There
are some people out there (mostly concourse people) whose only concern is
keeping the car in perfect condition, and my advice to them would be not to
go screaming round mountain roads at stupid speeds. But I think most of us
Spitfire owners prefer to enjoy driving our car. Of course, this is a
sliding scale, and how much you risk damaging the car will depend on where
you fit into the scale - but you sounds like you enjoy driving far too much
to lock Mrs Jones away in a garage!
Dean
--------------
PS Last weekend, the weather here in SE England was beautiful - not boiling
hot, but warm and dry. I just had to go for a drive. I found some
beautiful windy roads threading their way through the Hertfordshire
countryside, navigating by taking the turning that looked like it was
heading away from civilisation whenever I got to a junction. Only problem
was, once I got home, I tried to figure out on a map where I'd been, but I
have absolutely no idea - so I guess I'll never be driving on that road
again!
Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 20:25:12 -0700
From: "Jeff McNeal" <jmcneal@ohms.com>
Subject: Re: Single rail vs three rail - what's the diff?
Hi Graham,
The responses to my original question have all been very interesting. Lots
of differing opinions. While I obviously dig the potential that the single
rail gearbox is perhaps more robust, what you had to say about the "short"
and "long" throw characteristics concerns me slightly.
A. Who wants a longer throw when shifting?
B. Is the longer throw from the single rail gearbox going to interfere with
my radio buttons?
The reason I ask is that another list member -- a local gent for me -- Ken
C. was lamenting one day that his gearshifter kept bumping into his radio
buttons whenever he threw it into either first or third (can't remember
which). I think such a thing (especially after all I've gone through with
fitting the radio) might drive me nuts.
You've given me more to chew on, here...
Best wishes,
Jeff in San Diego
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