alloy (acrylic!) h gate

mat · July 18, 2016, 20:58

Hello, I made an acrylic h gate for my MR2, let me know what you think. It just clips into the slot vacated by the leather gear gaiter.
It was done on a laser printer, so I added the selector pattern and the MR logo. Went to a local diy merchant and got some letterbox draught excluder to work as bristles under the h gate to hide the top of the gear selector housing, which i'll fit later.
Can you recommend any decent gear knobs to suit? Was thinking plain ally ball.

Hmmm what else can be laser cut for this car...?

Essex2Visuvesi · July 18, 2016, 21:03

How did you get the gaiter off?

mat · July 18, 2016, 21:06

I pushed it down first to release it from the side clips and then lifted it out over the gear stick. It just clips in and will pop out no problem.

MartinC · July 18, 2016, 21:08

Hmmmm, I like that. Would you be willing to produce some more? If so, how much?

Essex2Visuvesi · July 18, 2016, 21:16

Im tempted too

Any way it could be made with the fingers?
Like this:-

Ardent · July 18, 2016, 21:30

Are the selections too close together left to right to be able to have 'fingers' a la

lamcote · July 18, 2016, 21:39

I'd be tempted if it had the fingers. Maybe it sits too low (too close to the pivot point) to allow enough clearance for fingers?

Topdownman · July 18, 2016, 22:09

I tried experimenting with making a cardboard template but decided an h-gate wouldnt really work with "fingers" and certainly wouldnt be as quick shifting so never tried any other material.

A nice h-gate certainly does look good though!

If you are looking for other things to print, how about some de-dimplator strips for the pre face light front bumper?

mat · July 19, 2016, 16:32

The fingers won't work unless you raise the gate a lot - the difference between 1st and 3rd is absolutely minimal, no way to differentiate them with a gate 'finger'.
Wouldn't the fingers mean you'd have trouble changing gear though?

I've added the brushes and a cheapo gear knob - not bad for a few quid.

Topdownman - you'll have to explain what de-dimplator strips are!

Topdownman · July 19, 2016, 17:10

Hard to find a good resolution pic of just that area but hopefully this will show what I am talking about!

Its a piece of plastic designed to smooth out the horrible dimples on the pfl front.

You can buy them from the states but the £ is not too good at the mo.so $62 will be quite a bit plus any duty.

m http://www.keytechniques.net/De-dimplators.html m

mat · July 20, 2016, 17:34

Right I get it - that's obviously pretty long, must be well over a metre I guess. The laser cutter I have access to only does A3 size stuff or smaller.
I have a bodykit on and have never seen one with the dimples - you're right it looks odd! Maybe its a way of improving aerodynamics, like on a golf ball?!

The Other Stu · July 20, 2016, 20:41

Another +1 if you were to make these for a reasonable price s:)

s:)

Topdownman · July 20, 2016, 20:57

Quote from: "mat"Right I get it - that's obviously pretty long, must be well over a metre I guess. The laser cutter I have access to only does A3 size stuff or smaller.
I have a bodykit on and have never seen one with the dimples - you're right it looks odd! Maybe its a way of improving aerodynamics, like on a golf ball?!

Bear in mind there is a numberplate needed so I imagine it could be in 2 pieces to butt up to the number plate on either side rather than the number plate going on top of the strip. It would have to be wide enough for small square plates as well so would need cutting down when used on single line numberplate.

shnazzle · July 22, 2016, 00:50

I really like the h-gate. Nicely done

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stu h · October 7, 2016, 19:59

that looks really cool-

mat · May 19, 2019, 15:04

How about this effort for an alloy h gate? Can be tweaked further I reckon but you can't add too much more to the 'finger' or it hits the gearstick. Maybe some logos milled into the alloy would look good.

Topdownman · May 19, 2019, 16:30

Looks good.

Have you ever thought of going for a short shift kit as that would give you a straight lever instead of the bent one?

Ardent · May 19, 2019, 21:09

Had bit of a double take on the bent lever.
Looks somwhat "outside" of normal spec.

Do like the look of the gate.

mat · May 20, 2019, 19:10

I'm sure the lever is standard, I'm not that aggressive on changes! I'll try the short shifter, yeah. Cheap enough online and with some uprated bushes it'll probably shift better than it does now.