Thread: Bolting shifter directly to tranny

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Please excuse my ignorance. I'll try to ask for advice on this subject using terms I know but in a way hopefully you guys can understand. Also, I come from the BMW world of shadetree mechanics where this is unheard of.

Long story short, I was reading in a "how to book" on building hotrods and in the section on transmissions, they mentioned how you can (basically) bolt a shifter directly onto a transmission. Of course, this was in the context of American muscle, a subject which is ironically foriegn to me. Anyway, I lightbulb went off in my head because this is exactly what I need to do with my transmission and shifter setup on the project track car I'm building. I'm mating an S50 motor (inline 6 from a '95 BMW M3) to a Getrag 260 (5-speed from a 90 325is) and stuffing it into my '76 BMW 2002. Unlike swapping engines on many American hotrod projects, there is nothing fitting or alike about anything in the drivetrain that's going into my 2002, nor is there a large aftermarket of products for something this crazy. As far as I can tell, this was done by one other individual, however, he replaced the hole floor and subframe (that's right, no frames on these puppies) with one from a '90s 3 series BMW, so the engine bolted right up. Anyway, back on topic. Due to the length and weight of the engine, I had to back it up about 2 inches past the firewall, which sets the end of my tranny right where the shifter hole in the transmission tunnel is. Before I realized you could bolt the shifter right up to the tranny, I was imagining having to figure out how to make the shift arm and shift linkage extremely short so I wouldn't have to reach back too unnaturally far to shift. This is a track (read Saloon, GT, road racing) car, so ergonomics is important here. Can anyone help me determine if its possible to integrate the shifter right into my Getrag tranny using the direct attachment method. Sorry, I don't know the correct term for that. I'm so immersed in the BMW world and we never ever do anything like that. Thanks for any help you guys can give. I've attached a few pictures for reference to what I've got on my hands here, and yes, in this configuration the tranny is supposed to tilt 10 degrees toward the passenger side. I can explain later if needed.