"Jamar" Shifters

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fvkartguy
Posts: 245
Joined: April 20th, 2007, 10:37 am

"Jamar" Shifters

Post by fvkartguy »

Does anyone know if these are any better than the "hockey sticks" most of us use?
I've also seen the replacement tail housings for mid-engine vw transaxles, but I'm assuming those are illegal in FV... not to mention ridiculously expensive.
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vreihen
Posts: 577
Joined: August 5th, 2006, 9:39 pm

Re: "Jamar" Shifters

Post by vreihen »

My Solo Vee came from the last owner with the full Jamar shifter kit. Since I don't have any real seat time in a Vee without one, I can't say if it is better or worse. I did have an incident where I accidentally bumped the tail unloading from the trailer, and it rotated the assembly enough to make it be stuck in gear. Setting it back to 4 o'clock fixed everything.

The long rod out of the shifter box in the cockpit is supported by a rod end at the back of the frame on my car, with the rod sliding through it. (I didn't think that rod ends could be used as slider bushings.) It froze at one point, and the rod end snapped. Without that rod end in place, it was darn near impossible to shift and hit the gear that you wanted. I am wondering if many problem shift linkages couldn't benefit from a support bushing at the rear of the frame?????
brian
Posts: 1348
Joined: June 26th, 2006, 12:31 pm

Re: "Jamar" Shifters

Post by brian »

I used to run a home made version of a jamar shifter and while it worked better than a typical shifter it was a case of overkill since we rarely use anything besides 3rd and 4th. Adjusting the system was a lot more complicated and it was prone to damage since it hung out the back of the car.
The above post is for reference only and your results may vary. This post is not intended to reflect the views or opinions of SCCA and should not be considered an analysis or opinion of the rules written in the GCR.
kpkehoe
Posts: 32
Joined: June 11th, 2009, 8:01 pm

Re: "Jamar" Shifters

Post by kpkehoe »

I know what you mean about the "fit" issue with rod ends. I use a pair of 1/2" id rod ends as shift rod guides. I picked up some 1/2" od chromalloy tubing, assuming that it was the DOM tubing that I had requested (ie, seamless and uniform in dimension). Of course, when it didn't fit into the rod ends, I found out that it was seamed. After about an hour with several strips of crocus cloth and a fine flat hand file, it was a perfect fit. This is also a good way to "fine tune" the shifting action of the linkage. When finished, I sprayed it with that Boeing lube as it leaves a fine sealing film. It works like butter now.
vreihen
Posts: 577
Joined: August 5th, 2006, 9:39 pm

Re: "Jamar" Shifters

Post by vreihen »

I know that our local dirt track parts store sells rod ends that have a extra 0.007" wider bore for steering column use. My concern is the steel-on-steel issue, which seems like a recipe for disaster. If they would have gone with a larger rod end and inserted a nylon bushing into the bore as a reducer.....
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