Moving the Shifter to the Left?

[Luke Wilson]

I have the whole driver's area (including the tower to the right of the driver) broken down right now for cleaning/painting/flooring, so it's a good time to ask the question:

How hard is it to move the shifter to the left of the driver?

In searching the forum it seems like the parking brake side of things isn't too difficult, just a matter of adding extra (nylon) air brake tubing and keeping all the right connections in the right places. But I don't see much info about the moving of the shifter.

I would love to open up the entryway a bit more and especially be able to rotate the chair around and make it usable living space

I know the ideal is to replace it with a Stone-Bennet, but it's just not in the bus budget... for now!  

Any help would be much appreciated!

Luke

[chessie4905]

   I'm not familiar with the MCI, but you will probably need a longer cable or a short extension. Also you will create a sharp S bend to the relocated shifter, unless you use a cross shaft and bell cranks. I would think that you can fine a SB shifter rather reasonable with a little effort and assistance from members on the board and save a lot of effort that might cause issues down the road. I also like the idea of moving it. Let us know what you end up doing.

[eagle19952]

I am not familiar (at all) with the MCI, but I do have a 740 Allison in my Eagle with a shifter on the left, seems pretty straight forward to me, works well and has a smooth operation despite the (seemingly) tight radius' that the cable routing takes.

[oltrunt]

I installed the cable shift on the left on my '35 Chevy Isuzu powered  school bus and the only complaint I have is that I have developed an English accent

[luvrbus]

Most of the time it takes 2 small pillar block bearing and shaft to keep from buying a new cable on a existing installation,hook the tower to the rod and the other end to the cable a 20 dollar project 

[Iceni John]

I installed the cable shift on the left on my '35 Chevy Isuzu powered  school bus and the only complaint I have is that I have developed an English accent

No, no, no!   There's no such thing as an English "accent".   The English speak English (OK, except for some folk born north of Watford), and everyone else speaks sort-of English with varying degrees of accent and success.   I got into trouble when I worked on a rig in the North Sea with some roughnecks from Mississippi and Louisiana, when I inferred that they didn't have an accent, but rather a speech impediment.

John

[oltrunt]

IJ, mu Chinese wife and I laughed our arses off over that

[Midwilshire]

Yes, it is possible.  I did it on out MC5 while replacing the floor.  The cable was not long enough to make a sharp turn.  But with the floor out, we were able to reroute the cable at an angle starting just aft of the front wheel well.  Making the more-direct shot enabled the shifter to sit almost directly under the left arm rest.  This is my preferred position, but does require me to lift the armrest to put it in gear comfortably.  It makes a substantial difference in the floor space of the entryway.