Sometimes the keys to unlocking true enjoyment in life are right there, hidden in plain sight. Other times, they are off in the periphery, just out of view and all it takes is an outreached hand to find it. Barton, the shifter guys, seem to have an eye for these details.

The stock Ford Mustang shift **** is actually a nice piece. You’ve got a very supple leather skin wrapped around a hard rubber and plastic core, shaped with ergonomics in mind. It works. Even though it encourages the ol’ pistola grip, three-finger knuckle-ballers such as myself might find it usable, though a bit out of it’s element. Honestly, I had no sane reason to change this, save one – I began missing the weighted aluminum ball in the S2000. I sure as Hell didn’t miss the temperature sensitive nature of it.

During the summer, if you found my car in the local Costco parking lot and had a look inside, you’d see a little black sock over the shifter. That sock trick got some mileage back in college, where if you saw one hanging from your dorm room door, you just kept walking. It was like a shameful mockery of the Passover; instead of having to sacrifice a lamb and paint the door frame with its blood, thus signaling the Angel of Death to postpone your demise, you hung an old sock on the door handle to avoid coitus interuptus, thus prolonging your roommate’s life. Now that I mention it, I reckon it’s related after all. Back to the other ****.

The box containing the shift **** and collar was packed neatly inside of one of the GT500 muffler boxes, so I almost missed it. The box was very light. I felt an immediate sense of disappointment, as I was expecting there to be some heft. Then I thought about how light the Factory **** is. Meh, it’s a wash. The first thing I noticed when I unwrapped the collar and ball, was the obvious quality.

The collar is perfectly formed from a billet of solid aluminum. It looks as though it was created on a lathe instead of a mold. All of the edges are smooth and uniform – there’s no slag or nasty bits anywhere. This is the first piece to go on after removing the stock ****. Simply place this over the threaded shaft and spin it clockwise until it seats firmly – then back it up about 1 full turn. This will give you room to adjust the orientation of the ball.

The ball, like the collar, is a well-made piece. I read that this piece’s production is outsourced to another manufacturer. This is of no consequence, as QC is all Barton and it mates perfectly to the collar. The ball weighs a little less than the stock ****, and it’s no surprise why – the stock piece has a threaded collar incorporated into its design. The shift pattern is lightly etched into the top radius of the ball in very narrow font – almost italicized. The black paint is just under the surface, so it will be interesting to see how this wears over time, but I have no immediate concern at all. It’s a nice piece. Install this piece next (duh!) by placing it over the collar onto the remaining threaded portion of the shaft. Once you hit the top of the collar, you’ll likely notice that the alignment is a little off. To fix this, back the ball off a couple turns and then back the collar off ¼ turn. Now reseat the ball – if the shift pattern is slanted to the right at full lock, then back the ball off a couple turns and the collar by another ¼ turn. Try it again. You can take it from there. It’s very easy and it just takes a minute to get it right.

Now you should have this:







This one detail – this one minor detail completely transforms the driving experience. In my opinion, I find it increases the accuracy of my shifts and lends itself to a much sportier feel and appearance. The light weight is of no consequence here; shift effort is identical, but again, finding the gate feels much more precise. Casually driving, I can keep my forearm on the center console and pull it back from 3rd into 4th with my fore and middle fingers only. If someone told you that you could increase your driving pleasure by a factor of 10 for $50, wouldn’t you consider that as a worthwhile expense? I sure would.



Oops!

 

Lol! Great review. I never even thought about a Barton ****. Looks good. It cost half as much as the boss **** I bought and looks just as good or better. Well done! I'm pretty sure the axel backs work better under the rear of the car and not in the trunk. Just an observation.

 

Gah! I was hoping that I could put all the random parts in my trunk and when I woke up tomorrow morning, the mustang would've digested them.

Yeah, the Boss **** looks awesome, too (as does that aluminum **** that comes with that fancy pants interior package that gets deleted when you select the Recaros option. I wanted that ****, too! ).

 

This is awesome, thanks. I had already planned to buy this the day I get my VIN. You just drove that idea home.

My second S197 drive was a Boss 302. The first was a stick 5.0 Brembo Vert. The shifting was so much better with the Boss **** I knew I had to have one. This Barton piece with the flared collar looks even better than the Boss **** with that skinny shaft.

 

My pleasure - this is my first Mustang in life. I really love this forum, and sharing my experiences is about all I can do to contribute since I don't have much seat time in this S197. When is your new one rolling in?

 

Good question. I don't even have a VIN yet.

 

It'll be here sooner than you know it. That Ox White is one of my all time fav Ford colors.

 

You ain't kidding. I just got off the phone with Ford Customer Service. My car is in transit. No ETA though.

 

 

Very nice write up I also swapped out the stock **** for a couple drilled out cue ***** (SF Giants and the one on now, Guinness). I like the ball shifter ***** much better than stock but I know that I'll eventually wear out the threads on the cue ***** and need to upgrade to something.

 

I'll get you the info you need as soon as possible, lsxjunkie.

Deysha

 

I'll have to look into that ****. I have the premium interior, so I have the fancy shift ball. But it's aluminum. Aluminum gets cold and hot and retains that temp.

 

Cool review! I ended up ordering this one in black / red: http://www.cjponyparts.com/shift-kno...13/p/MSK249BW/