The one and only GABE's '13 GT Build Thread!

[BleedinBlue]

Nice man, good job so far. Looking forward to seeing the wheels, too.

 

[Gabe]

Nice man, good job so far. Looking forward to seeing the wheels, too.

Thanks man ... the plan is to have them on the car before next weekend, hopefully before next Thursday 2PM which is when I'd leave for the huge car show that happens locally every 2 weeks at the Gillette Stadium

 

[07TGGT]

Looks slow, sounds boring but looks alright lol

 

[Gabe]

Got the new Barton shifter yesterday, so I went out and attempted removing the stock shifter, got stopped by the bottom-right bolt.
Didn't have the ramps/jack with me and was too late in the day to really get into it, so I stopped there.

 

[TenSpeed]

What are you doing with the wheels that are on there?

 

[Gabe]

What are you doing with the wheels that are on there?

Gonna sell them

They have Kumho All-Season tires on them, size 255/40R19 (stock size), with about 7k miles on them

 

[Gabe]

Got the new Barton shifter installed

WITHOUT removing the shifter bracket or loosening up its nuts

 

[Gabe]

The problem (bottom-right bolt):

My solution, bending up the "corner" for access:

I also bent up the top-right "corner" so that the Barton shifter's larger/thicker base would fit:

The rubber boot fit back on just fine:

Insulation back on:

All back together, eBay chrome spacer and EPCO shift knob re-used:

 

[GrabberBlue5.0]

Does the Barton reuse the stock shifter housing?

 

[Gabe]

Does the Barton reuse the stock shifter housing?

The bottom / lower housing ? Yes it does.
And that was the main reason (besides the great price) that I went with the Barton over the MGW and so far I love it.
Just came back from a 30-40 minute road test

 

[ZmanM3]

The problem (bottom-right bolt):

My solution, bending up the "corner" for access:

I also bent up the top-right "corner" so that the Barton shifter's larger/thicker base would fit:

The rubber boot fit back on just fine:

Insulation back on:

All back together, eBay chrome spacer and EPCO shift knob re-used:

I have wrenches with pivoting ends for stuff like that.

 

[Surfstang2020]

Looks good in there

 

[Gabe]

I have wrenches with pivoting ends for stuff like that.

But they won't do squat for the fact that there's simply not enough room for the bolt to back out and be removed, room to remove the old shifter, and room for the larger Barton shifter's base plate to fit through.

Lowering the back of the shifter assembly via the removal of the rear bracket allows the shifter to be angled for removal / installation.

When you're that close to the metal of the car, there's no angling that will make it happen unless you cut or bend metal out of the way.

Looks good in there

Thanks!

 

[GrabberBlue5.0]

Shit Gabe, I know you can't see that part unless you take it apart but it would never have been a thought in my mind to bend the metal like that. Hell I did everything I could to make sure I didn't scratch the paint on the DS tunnel and I always do what I can underneath to not scratch anything up. I have so much pride in my car, but hey it's your car

 

[Gabe]

Shit Gabe, I know you can't see that part unless you take it apart but it would never have been a thought in my mind to bend the metal like that. Hell I did everything I could to make sure I didn't scratch the paint on the DS tunnel and I always do what I can underneath to not scratch anything up. I have so much pride in my car, but hey it's your car

I know it kinda looks hacked, but the part that we see in these pics is inside the car, the rubber boot keeps water away from that area, so it shouldn't rust, and it's certainly not visible once all the trim is put back.

And if/when I might trade/sell the car, I can quickly throw the stock shifter back in

 

[ZmanM3]

Hmm, so you would have had to disconnect the drive shaft, then remove the trans mount then tilt the engine back to get at it easier.

 

[TGR96]

Interesting that you had such a hard time accessing that shifter bolt. Mine was a tight fit, but I had no real trouble getting a socket on mine. Lucky I guess...

 

[freddie07]

Not for nothing but I think is CJ pony parts (I think that their name) or american muscle has a video of how to install this shifter and all they did was pull the shifter towards the driver hard and it tilts it just enough so you can get a socket in there but hey nobody is going to see that anyways LOL

 

[Gabe]

Not for nothing but I think is CJ pony parts (I think that their name) or american muscle has a video of how to install this shifter and all they did was pull the shifter towards the driver hard and it tilts it just enough so you can get a socket in there but hey nobody is going to see that anyways LOL

This might be doable with the stock squishy shifter bracket bushing in place.
I already have a Barton bracket which allows almost NO movement in the back of the shifter.
The stock bracket bushing allows about 3/8-1/2" of play in either side

 

[Gabe]

And they're finally installed

Rims: SVT 18x9.5"
Tires: Continental ExtremeContact DWS all-season 275/40R18

A decent sized upgrade from the 255mm stock size