348 Rod Shift Linkage?

Great work! When will the rods start flexing?

 

Have you had a look at how its done on the 355 as that has a solid shift?

 

I take it your doing this because the gear selecting is a bit....meh!!! LOL

I had the same problem when I got mine, 2nd gear selection impossible when box was cold and all gears had their moments which spoilt the driving experience IMO. Since then I've done a fe different things which have really improved things.

1) Changed the gearbox oil to the superlight shockproof - this has really improved gear selection and the cold 2nd gear issue has gone. Even when the car has not been use for a week you can select 2nd straight away from starting.

2) My car had a sponge under the gate which had scrunched up in a corner so I removed that and replaced it with the rubber bellows on later models.

3) I also tried loosened the 2 screws on the gate as there's a bit of flex in its positioning and then holding it in place whilst screwing it back down - be careful not to do it too tight though so you don't crack the plastic surround.

4) Bleed the clutch!

Hope some of the above helps

 

If you could route the rods with no bends, or make them solid enough so that they would not flex at all, it would be similar to the 355 setup. The 355 just has a single shift shaft going from the shifter to the gearbox in a straight line as it can both push and pull (unlike a cable) so no need for two of them. It operates in a push/pull/rotate way to select the different gears - so up and down in the gate of the shifter moves the rod back and forth and moving from one gate to the next rotates the shaft. They cut a hole in the subframe for it to go though and probably changed the indentations in the gas tank for it.