Ok, guys... here it is... the best picture I could find in my collection:
www.geocities.com/fenderman49/pics/shift.jpg Now for an explanation on what I did.... First of all, I had to remove the shifter handle. This required finding the screw on the handle and removing it. I do not remember if the screw was not visible at first or if this was to get the overdrive button off, but I do remember that I had to cut the outside covering off of the original handle. The wires for the OD button were not long enough to facilitate pulling the handle all the way up over, so I cut them. Since I did not reuse the OD button, I trimmed them as close to the handle as possible. TIP: you may want to try and pry the button out before lifting the handle and cut the wires from on top to leave a max amount of length. I thought of this only after cutting mine... ooops.... Now remove the handle. Next, I removed the indicator plate.... it just pries up and unsnaps from the console, but be careful not to nick the console... it should not require any forcing to dislodge it. Remove the bulb from the plate and then take the bulb out of the socket... if you do not reuse the indicator plate and place a boot over it like I did, the bulb could generate enough heat to burn through the plastic or the boot... not good.... so to be safe, I removed mine. To relocate and replace the overdrive button you will need a momentary toggle switch... you cannot use a fog light switch or other toggle, otherwise to get the overdrive to activate you will have to turn it on and then back off... if you look at the button on the original knob, it clicks and returns to the original position... it does not act like a ballpoint pen button if that makes any sense. And dont worry about wire position... all the toggle will do is connect the two wires one way or another to send a momentary signal to the tranny to tell it to shift and so the switch will not have to stay in one position. You can see where I mounted mine and it is convenient because all I have to do is rest my hand on the seat and pull it back with my index finger and let it return back without hunting all over for it and taking my eyes off the road. I used two female spade type connectors to attatch the wires to the switch, but the wires are tiny, so make sure you get a good connection when you crimp... stripping a bit extra and doubling the wire over to make it thicker works too. Then drill a hole, locate the switch and then mine simply had a cap to screw onto the base and secure it. To hide the exposed bare metal shift handle, I located a leather shift boot from an MTX Contour of the same year model, placed it over the handle and snapped the base into place... both the indicator plate and the shifter boot base were the same shape, so it was a direct replacement. Not too much work here, but there was a bit of fidgeting with the nylon tie at the opening on the end of the boot... I just trimmed it, tucked it in and it is barely notcicable. I then went to the Chevy parts dealer and ordered an automatic shift knob from a 4th generation (94-96) Camaro. NOTE: DO NOT waste the money unless you feel it absolutely necessary to buy a leather wrapped one... a plain one will work just fine. The only problem I had with this knob is that there are two opposing tabs on the inside that will need to be honed out, but if you keep to the original diameter, once the tabs are gone, with a little trial and error on how far down the knob goes, it will friction fit onto the handle and it has stayed in place for me for months with no problem. Just be careful when you hone out the knob, because if the cut plastic gets driven down in the hole, the button may stick. A drill press and lots of patience helps here. ATX top loading knobs are available in the aftermarket... I have seen them but you have to hunt online to find them. If you have any more questions, feel free to post them here... I will check back on the board from time to time.
-Jeremy
[This message has been edited by fenderman49 (edited April 27, 2001).]
