Gabe

Thanks man ...

Gabe

Just ordered a new Barton shifter.
Couldn't pass up the deal that AM has on it right now

TheDivaDanielle

Gabe... thoughts?

I think it would be perfect on your car.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Wheel...All&sort=Brand

Gabe

I kinda like them but they look more like a Camaro wheel to me.

Funny thing is, I clicked on that link above, then selected my Mustang from the drop-down menu on the left, and for the first time ever Tire Rack allows me to look up 18" rims for this car ...

TheDivaDanielle

You saw the price right? that's why I suggested them. They're on closeout. $99 a piece. Hell I'm really considering getting them just to have another set around.

Gabe

Oh yeah I did ...

I have a lead on getting a set of 18" GT500 wheels like the ones in the pic below, for VERY cheap, I'm just having a hard time finding an all-season tire for the back

Gabe

Today I gave in and bought the rims I mention above ^^

2010 GT500 18x9.5"

The obligatory mock-up pic:

Mustang259

dang I like those Gabe, they clear Brembos obviously, nice pick.

Gabe

Thanks man ...

Just got done placing the order for tires.
Went with 275/40R18 Continental DWS's ... can't wait to finally get these things installed, I want these rims on the car, danm it !!! lol

Stage_3

Like I told you before Gabe,.......that is going to look killer!

Gabe

I hope so Tony, I'm hoping to have them on the car for this Thursday's Gillette Stadium car show

Stage_3

It will man! Even the mock up looks great!

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.

Gabe

Got the new Barton shifter installed

WITHOUT removing the shifter bracket or loosening up its nuts

TheDivaDanielle

Im glad you didn't touch it's nuts. did you actually do what I suggested? a dab of RTV would have sealed it right back up.

Gabe

I used chanel-lock pliers to bend back the metal in the bottom right and top-right corners.
Had to to the top-right too otherwise the bigger-base Barton wasn't going in.

I also bought a tube of white lithium grease and applied a bunch of it onto all the bare parts of the metal of the new shifter, onto the ball and the plastic cup that gets transferred from the stock shifter.

Test drove it and it feels awesome.
Shorter throws, more mechanical-feeling, have to be deliberate about moving it from gate to gate (has more effort to move it), and it's a bit harder to push down for reverse, but not bad.

And the 2-3 shift is awesome, although I haven't tried one yet at full throttle and near/at redline

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 **** re-used:

TheDivaDanielle

lemme know how and if it's better.

I want a Barton, but I think I might go for an MGW.

Gabe

It feels awesome.
Nice and short throws, very mechanical feeling, you have to be deliberate about moving it, it has more heft to it, and goes right into 3rd from 2nd

I'm now looking forward to shifting whereas before it was something I did cuz it had to be done

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