I had the B&M shifter installed on my 997 and this is what my stock shifter looked like when removed... is this normal?

 

I installed the OEM SSK, and so I had to remove the entire unit. But no, what I removed was significantly more substantial.
CATTMAN

 

is it suppose to be bent like that though?

 

The B&M one wasnt bent, perfectly straight

 

I think it is normal, I replaced mine with a B&M and IIRC the OEM one looked like that.

 

Here, I just snapped a shot of one we have in stock. Looks like it's normal!

 

Steve, your the man, thanks for the pic! It just seemed odd that OEM is bent and aftermarket is straight, i guess that aids in cutting down on the throw ... maybe?

 

No problem, man. I'd have to compare the B&M to the factory one directly, so I might be talking out of my butt right now, but I've heard most short shifters out there actually lower the pivot point compared to stock shifters slightly to make shifting a little easier (compensates for having less leverage). Having a straight lower arm vs a bent one could be B&M's way of compensating for that to give it more "length" so it lines up with the cables better.