Blowfish bracket or MGW race spec....

[Keith T]

Hi all,

Tired of the lock out 2/3 and 3/4 shifts under hard acceleration. I currently have a MGW Gen 1 shifter and the upgraded bushing, and I am not satisfied.

do I keep the Gen 1 and add the blowfish bracket, or go to the MGW race spec. looking for opinions.

Thank you!

 

[VoodooBoss]

High RPM lock out is the clutch not the shifter.

 

[Keith T]

High RPM lock out is the clutch not the shifter.

I have had it since the car was new though? once the rpms drop I can select the gear.

 

[TMSBOSS]

For some, a shifter and a bracket will eliminate Most,of your lockout issues. In my case, about 90% of the lockout was eliminated with a MGW shifter. Steven bracket made it better yet.

A new McLeod clutch finished the deal.

If I had it to do all over again, what would I do? I would do all three mods.

Lethal has a sale on McLeod parts this weekend. Jegs, where I bought my clutch kit, offers a 10% racers discount to all military and retirees. I went with Jegs.

Rick is right. The weight of the stock clutch, failure of the stock clutch to fully disengage are the root cause of shift lockout. The shifter and bracket improve the feel of the shift and cure alignment issues. For some, this cures most lockout. For others, no effect.

What will work for you? All three mods has never failed. With the Blowfish bracket, you also gain a driveshaft safety loop for the front of the driveshaft.

 

[TMSBOSS]

I have had it since the car was new though? once the rpms drop I can select the gear.

Once the RPMs reduce, the syncros are able to align the slider rings in the teams allowing the shift to happen. One cause of lockout.

The second theory is the flex between the body mounted shifter and the trains is out of alignment, moves while shifting, also a fact.

Which affects your issue the most, hard to tell.

The MGW shifter eliminates the soft, almost non-existent shifter bushings while shortening the shift stroke distance. The blowfish bracket mounts the shifter directly to the trans while providing a driveshaft loop. A lighter clutch, almost every good aftermarket clutch is lighter, removes strain from the syncros allowing the trans to shift easier.

You can try the bracket next. Budget for a clutch also if you want a complete solution.

 

[Keith T]

ok, thank you guys

I looked on lethal performance, which model of McLeod clutch kit would be best?

 

[TMSBOSS]

Rick went with the RXT and I bought the RST. The RST is Not for drag racing. Says so in their description.

The RST is a "softer" clutch with smoother lockup. RXT is more aggressive. RST has a conventional organic friction material where the RXT is metallic.

RST has better street manners. RXT a firmer more positive track type clutch. Both will handle just about any HP roadrunner.

RST is a bit cheaper. You should buy a kit with the flywheel. Steel or aluminum flywheel?? Steel is cheaper and has better street ability. Bolts for flywheel also a must. ARP makes a kit.

Good luck with your mods.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Rick is right.

I'm saving this one for my wife and kids. ;D

I have the RXT and haven't had a single lock out since it was installed over two years ago. Unless you track your car a lot I'd go with the RST and there are other good options out there as well.

 

[F.D. Sako]

If you already have the MGW shifter, then go with the BF bracket. IMO, both components compliment each other very nicely.
But like mentioned above, to completely eliminate lockouts, a clutch is a must - especially if you track.

I also went with the RST (w/ steel flywheel) and have no complaints. Make sure you remove the clutch pedal assist. spring when you go with the Mcleods. The clutch pedal engagement feels too "artificial" and inconsistent with the lighter/smaller twin disk clutches and the assist. spring.

 

[Silver LS]

Race spec. It works great. The only minor complaint I have is the shifter sets close
to the left side of the console and touches it when going into reverse. Installing the dust boot is a lot harder than George makes it look. It took me 3 hours to install the boot alone.

 

[Keith T]

if I did not already have the MGW gen 1, it would be the race spec hands down. but since the clutch is a weak link as well, I am going for the Blowfish bracket and Mcleod clutch.

I obviously don't have this car for drag racing, but I wouldn't mind the occasional "flashlight drags" with friends. will I be ok with the RST?

 

[TMSBOSS]

No drag radials, no burnout Or really sticky tires..... RST should hold up.

 

[302 Hi Pro]

Tip on shifting the MGW to improve shift accuracy:

Keep an open palm on the shift knob for up shifts, and cup the shift knob with your fingers on the down shifts to allow the shifter centering springs to work their magic.

My only missed shifts were when I used a death grip on the shifter knob and I overpowered the shifter.

Dave
302 Hi Pro

 

[Highpower11]

Tip on shifting the MGW to improve shift accuracy:

Keep an open palm on the shift knob for up shifts, and cup the shift knob with your fingers on the down shifts to allow the shifter centering springs to work their magic.

My only missed shifts were when I used a death grip on the shifter knob and I overpowered the shifter.

Dave
302 Hi Pro

Exactly! This technique has worked well for me while using the Ford Racing shifter and bracket (aka Barton). However, the total solution will be as Rick and others have mentioned... Clutch upgrade.

 

[Calif boss302]

My car came with only a Barton rear bracket. Shifting was iffy at best. I then upgraded to the MGW Gen II shifter. If was night and day better than the stocker as we all know, but still did not completely eliminate the shifting issues. Installed the Blowfish Bracket and that made a huge difference. Then just recently replaced the stock MGW rear support bracket with the Blowfish version and it eliminated the minor on occasion shifter noise.

I still get locked out at high RPMs. Happened this weekend on a rolling 1st gear to redline shift. Got stuck in 1st and could not pull it out until RPMs dropped to about 6000 or so.

So a new clutch is my next mod. Since I rarely track and have no horsepower mods in mind, I'm going with the RST. At the same time I will have the clutch line replaced with steel, Steel Flywheel and bolts, and a DSS Driveshaft.

Figure the wife and kids can eat every other day for while to pay for the mods!

 

[Surfergeek]

I have done many things to my transmission to improve shifting and try to keep it lasting with the power (620ish whp) for most of it's life.

Started with the MGW gen 1. Big improvement.

Added whiteline bushing with a slight modification for the NVH (cut a hole in the bushing) helped more.

Installed the blowfish racing bracket, big difference, best of them all. One would argue with the blowfish bracket, the whiteline bushing isn't necessary. At the same time as I installed the blowfish, I put in the metal bushings for my MGW.

Last change was a new clutch.

If you have the MGW already, I would say keep it and get the blowfish bracket, more economical that way and you get the same effect, a truly remote mounted shifter, not one that's mounted to the body and it's allowed to move with the transmission and you have a built-in drive shaft safety loop should you opt for a one piece driveshaft (I have a DSS and it's been very solid, no vibrations, even up to 160mph on Fontana).

All these was not enough to save my transmission however and I am doing a swap to a TR6060, that's been built for road racing and am going with MGW on that one too.

 

[Keith T]

Again, thank you for all the replies.

one question, DSS (?) driveshaft? what is that?

 

[Surfergeek]

DSS = Drive Shaft Shop - Driveshaft

One piece replacement / lighter weight driveshaft for the stock 2 piece driveshaft.

 

[TMSBOSS]

DSS Sells through a few Venders. I bought my through Lethal Performance. Lethal runs 10-15% sales often. Most sales align with holidays. Yes, you just missed the labor day sale. If you can wait, another will pop up.

 

[Surfergeek]

DSS Sells through a few Venders. I bought my through Lethal Performance. Lethal runs 10-15% sales often. Most sales align with holidays. Yes, you just missed the labor day sale. If you can wait, another will pop up.

Seconded for buying through Lethal, that's how I got mine. Subscribe to their emails and you'll see promos come up, or you can buy mine when it comes out of the car for my TR6060 swap in a month or two.