As far as performance mods go, I'm holding out for the Saleen SC, which I'll have put in after winter is over. In the meantime though, I would like to upgrade the shifter on my GT. Now, I'm a resonably intelligent guy, but I'm a little "car stupid," meaning that apart from a few oil changes and a brake job, I haven't done a lot of work on cars that I've owned.

So how complicated is this install, is it something that can be done in an afternoon in a driveway and is it something simple enough that a novice could do it without f***ing it up?

 

I'm pretty much a car repair/tuning novice and I was able to do it myself. I bought Rhino Ramps to do the job, but it is a tight squeeze getting under there. A good hydraulic jack and jack stands would probably get the car a little higher and make the job a little easier. I also had a little trouble getting the new shifter in place from inside the car. The biggest hint that helped me is to turn the thing upside down first before putting it in. Other than that, installation is pretty straightforward and pretty hard to mess up. Give it a shot and I don't think you will be sorry. I am very happy with my Hurst.

-TRB

 

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Got pics of your installed Hurst shifter?

 

Yeah I have a jack and some stands, but I don't know if I'd want to be under the car when it's up on these things. Here she's aboput to have her calipers painted.

 

None yet, but I'll try to get some posted soon.


I was a little nervous at first when I was squeezing under there, especially when it got tight, but you'll be pretty safe with jack stands. I've heard it's a good idea to use both the hydraulic jack and jack stands so you have double protection. Just lower the jack until the weight is taken up by the jack stands and lock the jack there. I would definitely recommend doing it yourself. It's not worth paying someone else for such a simple job.

-TRB

 

Ok I'll give it a shot. Now that I think about it, the place I take my car to have her washed has a lift that I could probably convice them to let me use.

 

here's mine,

I can get some better pics if you'd like. I thought it was easy but i guess I'm kind of a gear head.

It took some getting used to though. I think it's a lot shorter, more than the advertised 40% too. Third is still a little tricky.
One thing I noticed was how much thicker the plastic parts are then my 90 stang. The console is actually rigid!

Good luck, let us know if you need any help.

Mike

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Thanks for the pics. That looks awesome!

 

here's some that I finally decided to get them off the camera:

There's also a pic of the orginal. The same design of the Hurst/Ford Racing part but with a cheaper pivot and a lower pivot point creating a longer throw but easier shifting.

Don't forget to remove the metal sleeves in the front and the plastic bushings at the end of the original and install them into the new shifter. It's a little more challanging to do it after the shifter it half bolted in and you are on your back, squezzed under the car while your wife is bouncing around the inside of the car wondering what plastic thingy you are talking about. Just a hint.

Mike

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another thing that really helps is an extra set of hands one of my buddies helped me slide it in but it is bo problem its only like 4 or 5 bolts very easy to do one thing you might want to think about is to put some lock tight on the threads of the black alan bolts that holds the chrome piece which attaches to your shifter because mine keep backing out and i finally had to do it.