UPDATE: Just in case the German site looses the data, here is a photo of the impossible.
The E32 is a woody car so some people were disappointed by the black plastic T-shifter.
The E38 came with a luxe looking barrel shifter and it is possible to add it to your E38.
This will take time and some effort.
Let's see what the result is -- not bird's eye maple but much better than before
this owner went the whole way and added the E38 base plate and the leather boot
Since the E38 shifter is taller the gear shift rod on the E32 has to be cut.
The original notch for the E32 shifter runs left-right. The new notch for the E38 shifter runs front-back.
The new notched is about 5 mm wide and 10 mm deep.
Note also that the top 30 mm or so of the shifter has to be ground down from 15 mm OD to 14 mm OD
The E38 shifter is a press fit so this reduction in diameter is important.
This compares the E32 rod (top) to E38 rod.
The internal actuator (white plastic) has to be shortened accordingly.
The top left inset shows the amount remaining.
To fit the E38 base, mark up the E32 wood base and cut with a dremel
-- carefully -- check the E38 base plate for suitable dimensions.
This shows the final cut out shape for the E38 plate
this shows E38 panel and base plate
The E38 gear indicator panel needs to reworked since the E38 has 5 fwd gears.
The electrical details are
here by Erwin
