Well since my last installment, not a lot has been done on the Tomato. I did get the engine lifted and blocked up so I could once again remove the sway bar and the oil pan to replace the pan gasket. Got the old gasket and RTV scrapped off, the new end seals RTVed into place and using gasket alignment pins, got the side gaskets RTVed at the corners and the pan repositioned.
Last weekend, my buddy Jim and I set about installing the Blowfish Racing MT82 transmission bracket kit...
Hurst Competition Plus shifter...
on my '13 Mustang. Got the car up in the air and started removing the old stuff and hanging the new brackets only to find the hardware had not been put into the kit. 😡 So we installed what we could and rehung the old until the hardware arrived. I was able to get the shifter put together so it was ready to go into the car once the brackets were installed to the transmission.
This week the hardware arrived, so we were able to get the car up on the lift and the brackets installed on the transmission on Friday evening...
On Saturday, I went over to the shop and got the shifter installed after working thru a few gremlins with the shifter install..... someone at Ford should have their ass reamed for not moving/increasing the size of the shifter floor cutout so all 4 bolts could be accessed from above. One hole was partially cover by the sheetmetal, so using a pair of channelocks, I rolled the sheetmetal up out of the way so I could get the fourth bolt out.
Also, someone should be chewed out for hard attaching the floor wire harness connector to the console shifter bezel rather than the console harness connector so it could be unplugged and removed for bench work. Was trying to get the shifter boot unsnapped from the bezel with it tethered to the floor, but after a while, I finally bit the bullet and cut the floor connector loose from the bezel and unhooked the console harness and went over to the workbench so I could flip the bezel completely over and see/access all the clips that retain the boot to the bezel. Was finally able to get the boot freed up so it could be modified a bit to fit over the Hurst shifter base.
With the shifter installed and everything put away, I went upstairs and finished installing the oil pan on the engine. I plan on taking this Friday (day after Thanksgiving) off so I can go over and put in a full day on the Tomato dropping the engine back into place and rehanging the sway bar. Then on Saturday, reinstall the driver side fender, headlight buckets, grill header and the hood in preparation for setting the car back on the ground for the first time in several YEARS!
Stay tuned........
ZEBRA 3 OUT
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