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Ford Racing Short Throw

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I ordered the FR Short Throw from American Muscle. I'm planning to install it next week.

Any advice on the installation?
 
There's another thread about this shifter with some install tips and any install info for the MGW should apply to the FR/Barton shifter and bracket.
 
NFSBOSS said:
There's another thread about this shifter with some install tips and any install info for the MGW should apply to the FR/Barton shifter and bracket.

I'll check it out. Thanks
 
I installed the Ford Racing Short Throw myself. It wasn't too bad. The modular shifter bracket was absolutely brilliant.

A few notes:

1)The higher you can get your vehicle, the better off you will be. A lift would be best.

2)The old bracket is a helluva lot harder to get off than the new one is to put on.

3)The plate at the base of the FR shifter has 4 recesses in the plate where it bolts to the shifter box. These recesses, IMO, make it impossible to over-torque the bolts. My socket came off before I could put any real torque on the bolts. Maybe that is a good thing. I will check it again in about 2 weeks and see what the status is.

4)The Technical Note that reads "The included shift ball and adapter only fit Mustangs originally equipped with a leather shift knob..." Believe it. I ordered the boot part#BR3Z-7277-A.

The shifter effort is a little higher, but engagement is much more sure. It feels better ripping through the gears at WOT than it does putting around town. It sounds a bit "clunky" in reverse. I'm going to check the bracket fitment and make sure it is "Kosher".
 
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Is it really worth it? I feel the MGW shifter is such a well-built piece that any alternatives would be a joke.
 
1,255
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GA
Make sure you reinstall the dust boot around this shifter correctly (read the other thread). The base of the boot has to be slid all the way down over the base of the shifter, and the top of the boot should be slid below the indentation near the top of the shaft. It is a pain in the butt, but take your time and if you have small hands and fingers it will be easier.

I'm the one that learned the hard way about the correct leather shift boot. :D
 
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sadil said:
Is it really worth it? I feel the MGW shifter is such a well-built piece that any alternatives would be a joke.

I admit it is a little pricey, but I don't think you can go wrong either way. The Barton shifter is a beefy unit. I don't think FR would put their name on it if it was junk. I don't have a lot of experience with shifters, so I could be wrong. I am happy with it. It is a huge improvement over stock.
 
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Glad its working out for you. Admit my initial comment was a little aggressive. I am just a little ticked at Ford for not investing more in development. So many racing parts are outsourced and re-branded then sold for ridiculous prices.
 
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sadil said:
Glad its working out for you. Admit my initial comment was a little aggressive. I am just a little ticked at Ford for not investing more in development. So many racing parts are outsourced and re-branded then sold for ridiculous prices.

Yeah, I hear that. You could get the same thing for less by buying the Barton Industries shifter, shift ball, and bracket if you don't care about the Ford Racing logos (and the pretty blue anodized finish you can't even see under the shifter boot). I think FR chose this one partly because it is not a serious change from the stock configuration - it bolts right in.
 
PJWANNABE said:
I think FR chose this one partly because it is not a serious change from the stock configuration - it bolts right in.

Also, while it is true that FR sells parts that aren't necessarily race-spec, keep in mind that FR Boss race cars do not use the same transmission as the street cars, so there is no "crossover" development. In this case, I understand their decision to rebrand a quality part that already exists. Could Ford make their own brake calipers? Sure, it ain't rocket science. But instead, they call Brembo. I'm good with that.
 
sadil said:
Glad its working out for you. Admit my initial comment was a little aggressive. I am just a little ticked at Ford for not investing more in development. So many racing parts are outsourced and re-branded then sold for ridiculous prices.

My trust in this process is that the parts are fully tested and vetted by FR before they decide to brand something. That alone is worth the extra price in my opinion.
 
Well, I received my new shift boot and installed it. Getting the old one out was a royal PITA. There was a slight increase in NVH, but not much. It definitely feels like a racing part. Overall I'm really happy with it.
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
PJWANNABE said:
Yeah, I hear that. You could get the same thing for less by buying the Barton Industries shifter, shift ball, and bracket if you don't care about the Ford Racing logos (and the pretty blue anodized finish you can't even see under the shifter boot). I think FR chose this one partly because it is not a serious change from the stock configuration - it bolts right in.
pretty sure they choose the barton shifter to go with for this reason that and I dont think MGW could keep up with the product demand that ford would want.

Why you would buy the ford racing over the barton....I have no idea its not like you can see it. maybe the Ford racing logo is worth a few hp....

Me personally I would buy the MGW shifter over the barton or the rebranded barton (aka ford racing). because there are many more things wrong with that shifter that barton doesnt address. and you have so much more adjustablity with the MGW and you can add a heat shield.

Now if you are not very savy with a wrench and want the easier shifter to install then go with the barton it is by far a lot easier to install.
 
Justin said:
pretty sure the choose the barton shifter to go with for this reason that and I dont think MGW could keep up with the product demand that ford would want.

Why you would buy the ford racing over the barton....I have no idea its not like you can see it. maybe the Ford racing logo is worth a few hp....

Do we really know for sure there are no subtle design or material/tolerance differences? And yes, the blue does add 1.1HP
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
DGRacing said:
Do we really know for sure there are no subtle design or material/tolerance differences? And yes, the blue does add 1.1HP
like what? why would barton not include this in their own shifter? if I had a million bucks lying around I would buy both of them to find out but its a really simple part cant see what change would have been made to make it cost more other than it being blue and saying ford racing. maybe that cost more to do?
 
Justin said:
like what? why would barton not include this in their own shifter? if I had a million bucks lying around I would buy both of them to find out but its a really simple part cant see what change would have been made to make it cost more other than it being blue and saying ford racing. maybe that cost more to do?

I dunno. Maybe because Ford said, hey nice shifter, but we need it to be stronger because we're not cheesy enough to just colorize it and re-sell it. Maybe they are, but they could also give some new engineering features to it. Might be worth checking on. But I don't know for sure.
 
Well, personally, between my wife and I, we made about $300k last year and I don't miss a few bucks between the Barton/FR Racing shifter. My money. My choice.
 

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