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Big Mod Day has finally arrived

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ace72ace

Zaino, I put that $hit on everything
1,242
71
Was finally able to schedule time with my neighbor mechanic to install my mods today. The list includes;

MGW Shifter
DriveShaft Shop Aluminum Driveshaft
GT500 axle-backs
Goodridge Stainless Steel brake lines w/ATE Blue Dot 4 fluid
Joe Heck Racing Stainless Steel clutch line
Nomex condenser protector

I figure I can install the Sullivan Racing aluminum pedals myself once I get the right angle drill adapter. I will bring my camera and a tripod so we can get some good shots of the MGW shifter install without the driveshaft in the way. That should provide a little better view than we've seen before on the installation videos on the MGW website.
 
In for pics of the MGW install. Mine shipped last week.
 

ace72ace

Zaino, I put that $hit on everything
1,242
71
Wow, listen to the peanut gallery (shoulda been done by now... must be getting dark..), thanks for the support! :p

The day didn't start off so well when my buddy and I drive up to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to get our work done using a lift, and the facility is padlocked! The irony is that my buddy used to run the place years ago, and had the place running great. Then he moved on and handed over 'the keys' to someone else who doesn't seem to see the value in either keeping the place open for the enlisted guys on Saturday, doesn't care, or who knows what else...?

The sad part was that my neighbor had already made a call earlier in the week saying we wanted access to the facility and was told, 'no problem'. We show up today to a padlocked gate, problem. Quick call to the 2 people who might be able to help, voice mail. Nice.

Even better (worse?) my neighbor twisted his knee this past Tuesday playing softball and was sporting a full leg flexible brace when I checked in with him on Friday when I made sure we were still good to go. When I suggested that perhaps we might have to reschedule, he said, no no, we are still on, he was committed to helping me get this all done. Wow. He said we'll hit the road at 9am this morning, grab some breakfast, and then hit the road to be ready to grab a bay in the Hobby Shop when it "opens" at 10am. When nobody returned his calls when we were at the locked gate, I was expecting us to just have to reschedule. He had already looked at the underneath of the Boss, and knew the way to go for the drive shaft swap would be to have access to a lift. When he said 'well, we'll just have to bang this out in my driveway', I was blown away. Knowing this big job we wanted to bang out in one day would be 3x easier on a lift, and with a gimpy knee, he still wasn't phased.

BLEEP IT, nothing its going to stop me, we are getting this job done no matter what.

Now that is not only the cred of a good friend, but a mechanic you can count on. For all the bad behavior in others we all can complain about, and what you see on the daily news that is mostly bad, today's gut check on the character & commitment meter was a solid 10.

Even with the threat of rain, which by some twist of fate held off even though the radar showed it tracking dead on to nail us, it was just sprinkles. In 6 hours in a driveway on jack stands, we banged out;

Replaced the stock brake lines with the Goodridge stainless steel lines.
Bled out the stock fluid and replaced with ATE Blue Dot 4.

Removed and replaced the stock Boss mufflers with the GT500 axle backs.

Removed and replaced the stock Boss 42lb 'boat anchor' drive shaft with the 21lb aluminum shaft. *this was a gigantic PITA on jack stands*

While my buddy performed all this work, I was removing the stock MT-82 shifter and then installing the MGW. I would stop what I was doing to help my partner as required. After I had finished buttoning up the console after completing the MGW install, the rain started to come. Never more than a heavy sprinkle, but it held off just enough for us to get all our work done, and me to take a quick test drive around the block. Verified that the brakes were good, and that the shifter 'actually worked'. I was most nervous about this aspect of the whole day as my buddy had busted his a$$ getting all his tasks done, and done right. Would be major 'egg on face' if the one thing I was tasked with was a FAIL.

It wasn't. *whew*

I am very, very pleased with the results of all the mods we were able to install today, in less than optimal conditions. I only have the clutch line, the Nomex a/c condenser protector install, and SRP aluminum pedals are the final tasks. The clutch line is something we want a lift to replace, so that will be done when one is available. I will post my feedback/how-to pictures in another post.
 
Wow, what a team effort! Nice work, I'm in for pics for the install. I didn't know PNS had an auto hobby shop. I was frequent user of the Ft. Devens hobby shop back in the day.
 

ace72ace

Zaino, I put that $hit on everything
1,242
71
Justin said:
Glad you got the DS in. Are you going to swap the trans fluid for MTL?

Not sure yet, want to see how the MGW performs on it's own with the stock fluid. We will see what my feelings are once we get the car on a lift to replace the clutch line. The way that thing snakes around the firewall, it would be better on a lift.
 

ace72ace

Zaino, I put that $hit on everything
1,242
71
Sound clip of new mufflers;

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyyh1Idual4
 

ace72ace

Zaino, I put that $hit on everything
1,242
71
They have all of ~35 miles on them. So far I really like the added 'bark' when you blip the throttle. It's been quite an experience getting used to all the mods at once, MGW, Driveshaft, & mufflers. As I never gave the brakes a hard workout, I can't compare any 'sponginess' from the stock lines that may have started to flex after hard use, so I really can't detect any difference with the Goodridge lines installed.

So far the big win was the MGW shifter. All I can do is echo what everyone else has said so far, but here goes.

It's a precision rifle bolt.

Rock solid, with very little (microscopic) or no play when shifting. The first thing you will notice after you get it installed and is ready to go, is your very first shift into first. Way way more tension built into this unit to keep the shaft centered. Getting over to first is a distinctive 'oomph' over and up the left, and then it snicks into place, and the smile starts on your face. Then you rock it down into 2nd, knowing you need to keep pressure over to the left, otherwise you are dropping into 4th. Then as the rpms build, and open palm the shift up into 3rd and you feel yet another positive and communicative feedback as it slides into place, you would swear you were driving a different car with a much better transmission. Then as you get down into fourth, you are looking forward to your next shift into fifth gear. Sure enough, another easy and well mannered slide over and up. The drop down into 6th again doesn't disappoint, as the same exacting and repeating action is executed.

Slipping out of any gear with a stab of the clutch and then letting the return springs pop the shifter down into the neutral slot in the center position also feels great. After you row through the gears the first few times, it hits you. You can *never* go back to the stock unit. Period. I can't wait until this breaks in and loosens up juuuuust a little. Then the final cherry on the sundae is the motion to engage reverse. Never again will you not quite move it over far enough and mistakenly engage first. When you push down and the go over to the left, you can feel the shifter hitting the stopper and clicking into reverse. It just does what it is supposed to.

Just like the Boss itself, 'lives up to the hype', all the hoopla from the Mustang community about the MGW short throw shifter is right on the money. You can tell when you have a quality item in your hand, and how something that is more expensive, custom made from better materials provides the tactile feedback that is hard to replicate. Back in the day when I was wasting time with PC gaming, you could buy just about any joystick you wanted from 20 bucks to 200. I had heard that the CH-Products F16 stick was about the best around, and I ordered one. Felt great in my hand, superior grip, quality plastics, solid construction, excellent feel in the primary trigger and secondary buttons. The ancillary target 'hats' gave you a level of control second to none. Feels the same way with the MGW when compared to the OEM unit.

I am also happy to report that I have ZERO added noise, just a different sound when rowing the gears. I have a theory on why that is the case, but I will share those thoughts in my own MGW thread when I can organize the pictures and share my own experience with the uninstall / install procedure.

I didn't think it was possible to look even more forward to dropping into the driver's seat and firing up the now even better sounding engine, but the MGW has ratcheted up the excitement and anticipation a notch or 2. I was disappointed that all the rain today made me keep the Boss in the garage until just an hour or so ago when I was able to give it a quick wash and get ready for the week ahead.

MGW = SO MUCH WIN ;D
 

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