Setting The Record Straight
 

Setting The Record Straight

I just received my November copy of 5.0 Mustangs and Super Fords today. I see they have an article titled ''Stick Shifted'' written by KJ Jones giving Todd Uzzell and Mike Akerlund of AMP Performance credit for the 1st S-197 automatic to manual transmission swap which supposedly took place a couple of months ago.

I THINK NOT!

I know that anybody that really matters are on the forums, not in Wal*Mart buying a copy of this magazine. I performed the first auto to manny tranny swap in late '05. I wrote to all of the main Mustang magazines at the time (including this one) telling them about this and offered access to a shop lift and photos or whatever they may have needed for a feature on this subject. My main focus was to share the results of my research for all to use. Of course, none of the rags responded. I guess when you're not a paid advertiser you get the trash receptacle. I even waited for AMP Performance to come out with a swap kit calling them every month or 2. Finally, I just got tired of waiting and bought a wiring diagram manual, kept it by my side for a week or so and made notes. I went ahead and rounded up the parts and found it's quite a simple swap, not a major achievement as KJ Jones would have you believe.

Anyway, I'm here today setting the record straight. Also I might add that AMP Performance replaced several parts that are not required including the pcm and wiring harness. The harness can be easily modified and the pcm can be re-engineered (except on '07 cars, by the way, I did the first '07 too) which will save you hundreds of dollars.

Thanks for reading this. It's the truth. Here's a link to the manual I created for all to use back in early '06.

http://www.geocities.com/anthony05gt

Well I for one applaud your efforts! You have always been very informative for me and others and I appreciate it! :nice: :nice:

cool. good job :nice:

Thanks guys! Like the thread title, I just want to set the record straight.

Dude I read that article and was dumbfounded thinking 'Now one has done this yet???' and was right.

Way to GO man :metal:

yeah I remember the earlier swap, you have to wonder if the guys at these mags actually even like mustang and owners sometimes, LOL maybe you just didnt know the right people LOL

Maybe if the magazine rec'd a few dozen letters to the editor pointing out the erroneous info, they would print some sort of correction...

... but probably not.

i'd write to the magazine.
Let's have a TMS petition :)

Ditto - wouldn't do anything. Anthony, you know as well as I do that it's advertising dollars. Heck, look at the 'facts' every single issue...lol

Come on, I like Justin Burcham, but have you ever once seen any mention in the rags why he only does shootouts in the procharger car? How he's lucky to get one pass for the 'article' and usually breaks the car at every single shootout trying to make that one number?

What about my ever so loving ****wad of a human being Jim D'Amore Sr.? Do they ever mention any of JDM's BS in the rags? Heck up until a little while ago, JDM never owned a friggin' S197...:bad: BBR, GMS, etc. etc - never the 'real' stories, just about contributing advertising dollars. Buy an add and pick your features - that's the business unfortunately.

What I try to do out of habbit is look at the article and then look for any advertisements in the magazine of that shop or manufacturer and if there's none, I may give some credence to the write-up but that is very rare. 90% of the time, the articles are just PR to sell parts. Sad but true.

What I would like to see is a correction printed in the following issue. They do that all the time. Probably won't happen though. I'll write a letter tomorrow. And to think they call it a ''landmark endeavor'':lol: :bs:

Props on going after "the man" to set the record straight.

I've talked with KJ a few times, I'll send him a note.

It's a blessing and a curse that these cars are so computer controlled! A blessing because someone 2000 miles away can give you a decent tune for it, and a curse when you try to do deeper things like this! haha! I was very close do doing an auto-manual swap myself, before I got the supercharger. However now with the blower, I don't think I would be able to shift fast enough! My first 3 gears fly by so fast with the 4.10's, I don't think I'd be able to shift and keep the car straight with a manual! (me not being very good with a stick)

KJ actually has a pretty gnarly 5.0

yeah, its hard to believe that noone would have done this b4

Thats funny..... Jim Sr. and Jim Jr. are winning FFW races left and right and also sponsored by SALEEN Speedlab. They must be doing something right. :dunno:

I'll send the editor a letter tomorrow and maybe they will print a correction. I doubt it though. It's really not that big of a deal other than the fact that these guys are way late in the game. I know a half dozen people that used my ''how to'' manual a long time ago. It just rubs me the wrong way to see these guys go on public record like that. I mean, what do you think one of these speed shop owners would say if they were the first to hit 9's with a car and some magazine said it was another shop. They'd say ''BS''.

Here's a copy of the letter I sent to the editor in chief.


Dear Editor in Chief,

I am writing to you today in response to an article titled ''Stick Shifted'' written by KJ Jones in the recent November issue. This article repeatedly referred to the transmission swap as ''the first'' or ''this landmark endeavor''. This is completely untrue.

I performed the first S-197 automatic to manual transmission swap in late '05. You should know this because I wrote a letter to you in early '06 expressing my interest in sharing this information with the Mustang crowd. I offered you photos, a local garage in Maryland for your crew to examine the work and so on. I even did the same with the other big Mustang publication and never received a response.

Before I decided to do this swap I repeatedly contacted AMP Performance asking them when a kit would be ready for this particular swap because they are known for supplying kits for previous model Mustangs. After months of no luck with AMP Performance I decided to buy a 2005 Mustang wiring diagram manual and get to work. Upon completion of the swap, I felt it was my responsibility to share the swap information with the rest of the S-197 crowd. Since I received no response from the two publications that I am a loyal subscriber to, I decided to create an on-line ''how to'' manual which has been available on four Mustang forums since early '06. I have recently posted a thread on 4 forums titled ''Setting The Record Straight'' in response to the KJ Jones article explaining the situation. You can find the threads on modularfords.com, themustangsource.com, corral.net, and stangnet.com on the '05-up Mustang forums. I have received much support from these members including Mike Ivy who performed the 2nd swap known.

I'm sorry to bring this to your attention. Maybe my original request for your interest in the swap never made it to your desk, or maybe you weren't the editor in chief in early '06. I think some sort of printed correction in your publication would be in order to set the record straight. It would go a long way for the public record and restore some confidence within the real Mustang crowd that resides on the forums. I have provided a link to my ''how to'' manual which has been available for quite some time now and took several days to prepare. This letter is also posted on the listed forums.
http://www.geocities.com/anthony05gt
Thank you for your time,
Anthony D. ******

:bs: :bs::bs::bs::bs::bs:










I did the first auto to manual swap :doh::jester:

Yeah, I read that in the magazine and then I instantly remembered - "No...there was a guy on the internet who did that over a year ago!" Turds.

It will be intersting to see if and how the editor reacts to this. Anthony05gt's letter is very well written and comes across as being very reasonable and intelligent. Now let's see how this high priced "Editor in Chief" responds.
If he's got ANY integrity at all he will print a retraction in a future issue of the magazine.

I don't really care much. I just want to stuff them in a corner a little if you get my drift. Goin' tuna fishing for the weekend. Later fellas!