Hi from Australia. I have been a member for a little while and found the sharing of information both generous and invaluable. While I haven't previously posted anything I thought I would contribute and share what I have done to use an Isuzu MSA transmission. Hopefully it's useful to someone.
The idea for what I have done came from a post by fredalowski. It was a simple approach that was well executed.
Please don't be too harsh on the steel work.... it won't be visible under the floor of the vehicle and while it could be better it works well. If I was to do a second version it could be improved in a number of ways. At this stage there is a few things that need to be finished, such as painting the steel work.
The engine is an Isuzu 4bg1 that has had a lot of Isuzu 4bd1 parts swapped over to change from an industrial engine to an automotive engine. For those that aren't aware the 4BG1 and 4BD1 are almost identical engines, the main difference is the capacity. For the purpose of this post consider the two engines as one (hopefully I haven't confused the purpose of this post).
I'm using an Isuzu MSA transmission and originally intended to use the shifter cables. The main reason being the lack of options to have a top mounted shifter for the MSA..
To use the transmission I made a bracket to bolt onto the factory mounting points on top of the transmission. This bracket then bolts onto a lower crossmember between the chassis rails. The idea of converting the shifter to a top mount was made much later after seeing what fredalowski did.
It seemed logical to incorporate the shifter linkages into the bracket on the top of the transmission.
The Isuzu shifter bracket (alloy color in the photos) is what is used in the Isuzu cab over trucks. Using this made it really quite easy and the shift patterns work really well. It has been cut down to reduce it's size but I was still able to retain and use the original mounting holes. Within reason the height of this could be made higher or lower as needed.
The original components to attach the cable shifter have been kept in case I ever change back to a cable shifter.
![Bicycle tire Automotive tire Plant Bicycle fork Wheel]()
![Motor vehicle Automotive tire Wood Asphalt Road surface]()
![Tire Plant Automotive tire Motor vehicle Wheel]()
![Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tree Wood Vehicle]()
One limitation to use this approach is the floor of the vehicle. It suits what I'm doing as I'm prepared to modify the floor. The floor is at a very early stage and needs a lot of work to finish.
The exposed shifter mechanism will be covered with another piece made from steel that will be removable. On top of that I will use the original gear shifter soft cover (modified to fit).
![Automotive tire Bumper Motor vehicle Automotive exterior Gas]()
The idea for what I have done came from a post by fredalowski. It was a simple approach that was well executed.
Please don't be too harsh on the steel work.... it won't be visible under the floor of the vehicle and while it could be better it works well. If I was to do a second version it could be improved in a number of ways. At this stage there is a few things that need to be finished, such as painting the steel work.
The engine is an Isuzu 4bg1 that has had a lot of Isuzu 4bd1 parts swapped over to change from an industrial engine to an automotive engine. For those that aren't aware the 4BG1 and 4BD1 are almost identical engines, the main difference is the capacity. For the purpose of this post consider the two engines as one (hopefully I haven't confused the purpose of this post).
I'm using an Isuzu MSA transmission and originally intended to use the shifter cables. The main reason being the lack of options to have a top mounted shifter for the MSA..
To use the transmission I made a bracket to bolt onto the factory mounting points on top of the transmission. This bracket then bolts onto a lower crossmember between the chassis rails. The idea of converting the shifter to a top mount was made much later after seeing what fredalowski did.
It seemed logical to incorporate the shifter linkages into the bracket on the top of the transmission.
The Isuzu shifter bracket (alloy color in the photos) is what is used in the Isuzu cab over trucks. Using this made it really quite easy and the shift patterns work really well. It has been cut down to reduce it's size but I was still able to retain and use the original mounting holes. Within reason the height of this could be made higher or lower as needed.
The original components to attach the cable shifter have been kept in case I ever change back to a cable shifter.
One limitation to use this approach is the floor of the vehicle. It suits what I'm doing as I'm prepared to modify the floor. The floor is at a very early stage and needs a lot of work to finish.
The exposed shifter mechanism will be covered with another piece made from steel that will be removable. On top of that I will use the original gear shifter soft cover (modified to fit).
