Automatic Shifter Replacement

This is a combination of the White Madness Garage Shifter with a stock manual boot.

Still pretty new here, but obsessed with simple mods... (move this if need be).

I'm not sure how many are interested in this, but as someone who drives with a hand on the gear select, the stock shifter is pretty uncomfortable and the P thru S is an eye sore (IMO). Looking for a solution, I came across the White Madness Garage youtube video of their automatic shifter replacement. Couldn't find much on it here about the company (I'm sure i just missed it), but for the price, I was willing to risk it.... Their video mixed with the CJPony Alcantara Automatic Shift Boot videos.. This idea seemed like a good combination.

video links below:

start to finish 15min or so.

Stock:




White Madness Garage
http://www.wmgarage.com/product-page/48098f5e-3ee9-6bf1-08f4-22e5cdfde85e



Factory Boot:
OEM GR3Z7277DA



automatic boot trim mounts the same as the manual trim piece..





Just followed CJ pony's videos on disassembly, popping the factory collar off.
The only part "missing / needed was something to space from the inside. I ziptied the boot the the new shaft at the base (not pictured), and used the original collar to fit between the neck and bolt holes. This filled the diameter of the boot once turned right side out ... (an o ring would have done the same).




And finally something comfortable, thats looks great!!!











No... not trying to fake being a manual, just wanted to clean up the console a bit... You will not find mine sitting in neutral with the E brake up ... (although I use the ebrake with all my automatics).

Let me know if you have any questions.

:cheers:

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I like

How long did you have to wait once you placed the order? Ive seen in another thread where it was taking users a pretty long time to get the shift knobs once they had ordered it. I know it is a small company and they are made one by one but I'd rather not order it and have to wait a few months to get it. Looks great though!

How does fitment seem, any wiggle room or movement?

Also which color did you choose, is that the ingot silver one, or is that the "brushed" color?

Order placed the 19th... received confirmation.
Shipped 23rd
Arrived 26th

I had no issues, but agreed they "seem" a bit on the smaller side. Again, no issues on my end though...

Fits great, perfectly made (so far). no wiggles, or noises. Very solid, and ball/knob has some weight to it... so shifting is smooth.

I went with "brushed" hoping to match the interior.. note, thats just the name of the color, and not a brushed aluminum look..

Very pleased thus far.

Awesome! Great DIY tech too!

The only thing that bugs me about the Auto is this:

The damn "PRNDS" is too friggin redundant. I don't need to see it on the "button" on top of the shifter ball, printed out on the actual console shift plate AND see it again on the dash cluster.

IMO:
1) The button on the shifter ball should have been blank. Too bad no one makes a blank repro - and if ya do, shoot 5% of all sales my way for the idea.

2) The auto shift plate should have been blank w/o the printed "PRNDS".

and

3) Ford should have designed (or sourced) the 6R80 shifter gate so that the driver could also manually use the shifter to shift gears once in Sport Mode like MANY other Brand-X sports and luxo cars. Such a shift gate would allow the driver to "slap shift" up/down when wanting to manually shift the car without having to resort only to the paddle shifters.

I wish someone would offer an aftermarket shift assembly for the auto to use it as described above - it would add even more fun to driving the auto.

klineka said:

How long did you have to wait once you placed the order? Ive seen in another thread where it was taking users a pretty long time to get the shift knobs once they had ordered it. I know it is a small company and they are made one by one but I'd rather not order it and have to wait a few months to get it. Looks great though!

How does fitment seem, any wiggle room or movement?

Also which color did you choose, is that the ingot silver one, or is that the "brushed" color?

Click to expand...

They're coming out pretty quick these days. It was just back in the day there were back-logs of orders because it's a small operation. But they just did a recall, guy got mine on Tuesday, shipped it back Thursday and I had it back on Friday after work.

There's a whole thread on this in the Cosmetic section http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55446&page=22

That's the brushed one. You can tell because it has a "textured" look, whereas the painted ones are flat. Same one I have. The new ones/recalled fixed versions are much better. There's just a tiny bit of wiggle/play to them, but they're shorter, have a nice weight to them, and feel great to rest your hand on. Just be warned that the metal follows temperature extremes, so on a hot sunny day without tints and a front shade it'll get hot, and in the cold...just make sure your hands are dry

Ahh ... good stuff.. I figured I couldn't be the first to do this around here!

I was one of the original pre orders and just got my revised one last week. I am a huge supporter, love the mod and could never go back to that stock monstrosity lol

DeepImpact 5.0 said:

I was one of the original pre orders and just got my revised one last week. I am a huge supporter, love the mod and could never go back to that stock monstrosity lol

Click to expand...

They were aiming for some sort of aeronautical aspect with the auto shifter (shift button like the firing button on an old stick) but it just felt so damn cheap. Nice idea, poor implementation.

I really like it, quick question: do they paint the colored knobs?

I would be worried it would have wear spots over time.

DeepImpact 5.0 said:

I was one of the original pre orders and just got my revised one last week. I am a huge supporter, love the mod and could never go back to that stock monstrosity lol

Click to expand...

agreed, i read the original thread on this the other night... that whole deal was crazy... hope they work out with us all!

BlueThunder said:

They were aiming for some sort of aeronautical aspect with the auto shifter (shift button like the firing button on an old stick) but it just felt so damn cheap. Nice idea, poor implementation.

Click to expand...

Yeah... a bit big, plus a single column shift rail makes it seem cheap.

Warhead said:

I really like it, quick question: do they paint the colored knobs?

I would be worried it would have wear spots over time.

Click to expand...

Yes seems painted, and with mine being "brushed" its a bit textured... so I sure will wear.

If it does, I'll disassemble and mod a manual knob in.... I like the 50 year one anyways!
:cheers:

G-Rell said:

Yes seems painted, and with mine being "brushed" its a bit textured... so I sure will wear.

If it does, I'll disassemble and mod a manual knob in.... I like the 50 year one anyways!
:cheers:

Click to expand...

Thanks, I did email them and got a very quick response about them painting them.

They also informed me their knob is not the same as standard threads, so you cannot just put another on. Guess you'd have to re-tap if possible, or build your own adapter.

I really like the "chrome" one they have though, which is highly polished stainless steel so should never have issues.

Warhead said:

I really like it, quick question: do they paint the colored knobs?

I would be worried it would have wear spots over time.

Click to expand...

They do a dip and clear-coat them. Unless you're rubbing...the knob...(I actually stopped to think of any possible way of making that less....you know) consistently then I doubt you'll ever see a wear spot of any sort. Just be careful you don't chip it with anything.

Looks amazing. I like the new boot install a lot. If I end up doing this I think I would go the same round you did. Clean as hell

vudumonkey25 said:

Looks amazing. I like the new boot install a lot. If I end up doing this I think I would go the same round you did. Clean as hell

Click to expand...

Yeah definitely do the boot too. Considering everything else, it's only another 40 or so bucks, and it's easy as hell to set up. You can use the old manual cap piece or do what a lot of us did and use a water bottle cap with a hole cut in the middle. Zip tie the boot onto it inside-out with the open end of the cap facing the inside of the boot, slide it in, and the black piece will hold the cap perfectly snug.