MGW Shifter Install

[DrumReaper]

im told the Barton has more adjustability than the MGW, the flat stick is slightly reminiscent of some random cars from his past, and also more than a few bucks cheaper...probably the same poor lost soul

Interesting... who told you the Barton has more “adjustability”? I can tell you that George, himself, has answered many, and all my questions regarding the MGW.

There is a reason MGW has a ton of shifters in 350’s. Here’s a few reasons:
Look at the center backbone and the hardware utilized. MGW has 12, grade-8 bolts attaching the main shifter body to the rigid support arm.

It’s pretty damn robust, and there’s a significant amount of adjustability. I can’t speak for George, but I can tell you that I have witnessed George field calls on his shifters and walk customers though their installs despite the time it took him away from his biz. He’s a true gentleman of a builder. In fact, the man installed his shifter in my R first of all R’s. The shifter, from Ford is good... George made It great!

As for Barton, I won’t knock their product... neither will I elevate it on, or above the level of the MGW. Just look at it...

lateral supports, still appears to use nylon extensively, and with less bottom end than the MGW, someone still claims it has “better adjustability”. I can’t honestly say it does or doesn’t, but if I had to go alone on pics, it looks like Mayweather picking on Tyson.

I am not knocking your choice, just intrigued by the claims which appear to be hard to justify by looks alone... yet, I can tell you from experience, the shifter is near bulletproof.

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[wingnutt]

lol, didn’t mean to start yet another shifter debate...

 

[Schwerin]

Interesting... who told you the Barton has more “adjustability”? I can tell you that George, himself, has answered many, and all my questions regarding the MGW.

There is a reason MGW has a ton of shifters in 350’s. Here’s a few reasons:
Look at the center backbone and the hardware utilized. MGW has 12, grade-8 bolts attaching the main shifter body to the rigid support arm.

It’s pretty damn robust, and there’s a significant amount of adjustability. I can’t speak for George, but I can tell you that I have witnessed George field calls on his shifters and walk customers though their installs despite the time it took him away from his biz. He’s a true gentleman of a builder. In fact, the man installed his shifter in my R first of all R’s. The shifter, from Ford is good... George made It great!

As for Barton, I won’t knock their product... neither will I elevate it on, or above the level of the MGW. Just look at it...

lateral supports, still appears to use nylon extensively, and with less bottom end than the MGW, someone still claims it has “better adjustability”. I can’t honestly say it does or doesn’t, but if I had to go alone on pics, it looks like Mayweather picking on Tyson.

I am not knocking your choice, just intrigued by the claims which appear to be hard to justify by looks alone... yet, I can tell you from experience, the shifter is near bulletproof.

Now to preface I have ONLY ever used B&M and MGW shifters in my cars, BUT.....

The question is: Why does those "12, grade-8 bolts" matter other than justifying an extra $100? If the feel and durability of them is so slim that its a tossup on which to buy clearly those 12 amazing bolts, are not needed. If anything I'd say the feedback others give on the Barton proves that the MGW's overkill just to justify a higher price..

 

[DrumReaper]

lol, didn’t mean to start yet another shifter debate...

Nah... it’s a good topic for discussion.

 

[DrumReaper]

Now to preface I have ONLY ever used B&M and MGW shifters in my cars, BUT.....

The question is: Why does those "12, grade-8 bolts" matter other than justifying an extra $100? If the feel and durability of them is so slim that its a tossup on which to buy clearly those 12 amazing bolts, are not needed. If anything I'd say the feedback others give on the Barton proves that the MGW's overkill just to justify a higher price..

Insurance, especially given the NVH of the Voodoo powertrain. If you look at the two shifters side-by-side, as I posted above, you can see right off the bat that the MGW is a more robust appearing unit.

If you’re putzing around town and the occasional back twisties, then the Barton will likely do just fine, as well as the stock shifter, and even then how can you justify $380? I am not sure what prompted @wingnutt to purchase a Barton, but he felt comfortable in doing so. I just wanted to know about the claim of more “adjustability”.

Bear in mind, both the stock shifter and the Barton have a considerable amount of nylon. It costs to replace nylon with durability and reliability. And as a professional who relies on people in the aersopace industry to do my job, I can deal with $100 for assurance... and, that’s my opinion.
@Epiphany can prob explain the “12 amazing bolts” better than I can, as George may have put one in to represent each tribe of Israel (jk, George would like the joke).

 

[Epiphany]

In a nutshell, the Barton GT350 shifter and the MGW GT350 shifter are completely different animals. Barton uses the factory shifter "pendulum" desgin whereas MGW engineered a twin pivot bolt-action design. The MGW is far more hardware intensive beyond mere bolt count. I've posted plenty on all of this in the past so a simple search should provide plenty of reading on the matter.

 

[UnhandledException]

65,000 miles (yes, 65k) on my MGW shifter. It still works like day 1. I love it so much it was the first thing I did to my ZR1 and its even better for the vette (if you can imagine more precise than GT350, it is). It has held up really well to a lot of city miles.

 

[ChipG]

Oughta be a sticky...

...good stuff sir!

EDIT
and by the way, your pics helped during my “bolt-fell-out” conundrum yesterday

Thanks, and that's an unexpected benefit - I'm glad it was useful in getting you out of a jam!

 

[wingnutt]

interesting side note;

A recent email I received says that MGW is not making GT350 shifters right now, as they are in the midst of a redesign...which i guess is why it’s not currently on their website

 

[2JZFAN]

interesting side note;

A recent email I received says that MGW is not making GT350 shifters right now, as they are in the midst of a redesign...which i guess is why it’s not currently on their website

I just wrote something about that in another thread:

To add on and clarify to this, George is attempting a re-design because of the MACH1 and it's CPC. He "thinks" he might be able to lighten the TR3160 design and make it "a bit stiffer". He said if it turns out that the shifter does NOT play well in the Shelby (increased NVH), he'll just resume production of the original design for our vehicles.

 

[Epiphany]

Just talked to George about this. The word he uses is "rigid" with respect to his upcoming design and that has to do with the way it mounts and not in terms of shifter feel. His plan is to use a modified dual pivot and custom linkage as opposed to Barton's pendulum design that reuses the factory linkage.

 

[Stein357]

Any idea when he expects availability of the redesigned shifter to resume sale on the current design? I just purchased a 350R and want to get this done with some other service the car is receiving.

 

[2JZFAN]

Any idea when he expects availability of the redesigned shifter to resume sale on the current design? I just purchased a 350R and want to get this done with some other service the car is receiving.

We exchanged emails at the beginning of the month but he did not provide any ETA. If I had to guess, he's working on it now and should be testing into next month.. I'd imagine they want to shoot for being first to market for the Mach 1.. but quality can't be rushed. I wouldn't stress on it, or I'd just look for a used unit if you need it fast.

The shifter install isn't tough and doesn't really benefit from many other things than mid-pipe and or driveshaft r&rs..

 

[Stein357]

We exchanged emails at the beginning of the month but he did not provide any ETA. If I had to guess, he's working on it now and should be testing into next month.. I'd imagine they want to shoot for being first to market for the Mach 1.. but quality can't be rushed. I wouldn't stress on it, or I'd just look for a used unit if you need it fast.

The shifter install isn't tough and doesn't really benefit from many other things than mid-pipe and or driveshaft r&rs..

Appreciate the info!

 

[wingnutt]

Any idea when he expects availability of the redesigned shifter to resume sale on the current design? I just purchased a 350R and want to get this done with some other service the car is receiving.

here is the email I got...

“we actually are not making gt350 shifters right now as we are doing a redesign it should be ready by late summer.“

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