OK part of the thrill was I was able to do it myself. Been a long time since I took on anything like this. The instructions and pictures from B&M are excellent, but you must read and follow them closely. There were some difficult moments that I attribute to my own ignorance, but I was able to deal with it. It just took longer than expected. Let me know if you're interested in more detail. I'll do a write up and see if Reed will post on FAQ. Experienced mechanincs will have a good laugh.
The results... WOW! See the other recent B&M install threads. I echo all those positive comments. Sharp, precise, solid shifting. Noise? Yes, a little at the shift points when you can hear the sychros disengage-engage. I consider this a plus. It's only momentary and could help diagnose a synchro problem. You can hear other gear sounds more clearly but they are only slightly raised above the stock shifter level. All the noise issues are minor, minor, minor compared to the benefit.
And I must give credit to Cadillac engineers. Inspecting and comparing the two units I understand why they designed the stock shifter as they did and what they accomlished with it. It is not a POS. It simply traded the more positive, mechanical (almost aggressively so) feel of the B&M design, for an ultra quiet, easy operation that "every driver" would find acceptable, even "fun". I'll let the "Market-eers" argue whether "every driver" is a demographic that would consider a V at all. As for me, combined with the StealthV CAGS Emlininator, this is exactly the way I want my car to shift.
The results... WOW! See the other recent B&M install threads. I echo all those positive comments. Sharp, precise, solid shifting. Noise? Yes, a little at the shift points when you can hear the sychros disengage-engage. I consider this a plus. It's only momentary and could help diagnose a synchro problem. You can hear other gear sounds more clearly but they are only slightly raised above the stock shifter level. All the noise issues are minor, minor, minor compared to the benefit.
And I must give credit to Cadillac engineers. Inspecting and comparing the two units I understand why they designed the stock shifter as they did and what they accomlished with it. It is not a POS. It simply traded the more positive, mechanical (almost aggressively so) feel of the B&M design, for an ultra quiet, easy operation that "every driver" would find acceptable, even "fun". I'll let the "Market-eers" argue whether "every driver" is a demographic that would consider a V at all. As for me, combined with the StealthV CAGS Emlininator, this is exactly the way I want my car to shift.