164, Shifter Cable?? I think not

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

Nope, the 164 uses the neato double rod type shifter originally pioneered 
by... Mazda!!    Excellent feel and accuracy is achieved by slinging the 
selector rod onto a carrier rod fixed onto the tranny case which precisely 
locates the shifter itself relative to the tranny. The pivot point of the 
shifter is located by the interior end of the carrier rod thus precisely 
preserving the relative distance between the business end of the shifter 
and the selector forks, as for inline drivetrains. This does away with 90% 
of the "vague" shifter complaints cause by the inherent fore and aft 
rocking of a transverse drivetrain. The other 10% come from former B*W 
owners who persist in believing God Himself designed the B*W shifter, which 
ain't so. The average Toyota or Datsun from 1972 had a better shifter than 
the new B*W but... the Emperor Has No Clothes. (Don't tell me that ALFA 
first used this double rod on the GTV6 or Alfetta, because if they did they 
screwed it up!, The late great Henry Manney III loved the GTV6 but even he 
allowed as how finding a gear was akin to stirring a broomstick in a bathtub!).

BTW, that Mazda shifter is still one of the best FWD transverse shifters 
out there, and has anyone checked out the suspension of a 626 or even a 
Protege? Looks familiar to us 164 owners I can tell you, and who used it 
first? Mazda. No I don't prefer my Mazda to my 164, but it is important to 
remain objective. Alfas are about spirit and soul. Mazdas are about 
avoiding Bankruptcy and getting to the church on time, time after time.
Michael Smith
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
91 Alfa 164L, White, original owner

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