Hey Chas - another trivial project - shifter boot

[DanEC]

I've had my toploader slip out of 3rd gear a few times. It was rebuilt by KC and he replaced some of the gears and such so I'm holding out it isn't a worn slider or syncros. My Hurst shifter sits so far below the opt of the tunnel that even with a 3/8 inch spacer under the handle and the transmission shimmed up as high as I dare, the bend of the shifter just sits about the top of the tunnel. That causes the ERA boot to ride pretty high on the shifter stick and boot tension has a lot of leverage to work with. I noticed the other day that when I push the shifter into 3rd, it rebounds significantly - a good 1/2 inch as close as I could measure. Unscrewing the trim ring and pushing the boot up a bit and it only rebounds about 1/8 inch at most when I put it in 3rd.

I ordered a boot from Sunbeam Specialties for a 260/289 Tiger which I understand is thinner and more flexible than most of the boots available. The dealer said that seemed to be pretty much the case as he gets a lot of inquiries from Ford guys for them and he supplies them to Kirkham. So I ordered one.

While waiting on it, I decided to try sewing up my own vinyl boot as an experiment while it's so dang hot outside. I made a pattern and after 2 efforts came up with a pretty nice one that I went ahead and tried. I cut up a wire coat hanger and bent it in circle to fit under the trim ring and sewed it to the outer perimeter of the boot to hold it's shape.





Big improvement. Shift effort even seems less just because no more rubbery action I guess. When I put it in 3rd it stays there. I will probably still try the Tiger boot when it arrives but this seems like such an improvement I may just keep it. Need to go for a test drive now.