I promised myself that when I got this car I wasn't gonna start wrenching on it because I'd rather drive. But I made one exception for replacing the shifter with a better unit, and last month Hurst finally came out with their Competition Plus shifter specifically for the '05 GT. After about 3 seconds of thinking about shorter throws, faster shifts and that cool white ball, the wallet came out and it got ordered.
Finally got time today to install it and heres some pics for anyone interested:
First off, since you gotta do most of this work from under the car so here it is on the ramps.....I had a suspicion that the front valence was too low and far from the front tires to clear the ramps and I was right.....so here you see, in all it's glory, the creative use of the shadetree mechanic's best friend - wooden planks - used to build a "pre-ramp" to get the overall angle of the ramps lowered and avoid any rubbing against the valence, since it needed just a coupla inches to clear the top flat part of the ramp......yeah real hi-tek I know.....just a heads-up to anyone who hasn't tried this car on ramps yet! http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...p/Hurst_01.jpg
Here's the Hurst unit and the stock unit together after removal.....hadn't transferred the bushings inserts to the Hurst unit yet. You get an idea of how the pivot point is a little bit higher on the Hurst unit, and notice the much tougher poly bushing units (red) instead of the soft rubber: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...p/Hurst_02.jpg
H'yar 'tis after being lowered back down through the console and bolted into place...get a helper to work from above while you're below, it's a little bit of a tight fit getting the new unit in with the long front arm and also trying to clear the trans crossmember just below.... http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...p/Hurst_03.jpg
Install all wrapped up and the standard good ol' Hurst white ball shifter knob (provided) in place.....heeeheeee, man I DIG how that old school look just fits right in!! http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...p/Hurst_04.jpg
Also ordered a T-Handle to swap around with just for variety, since that's part of the fun with these shifters and th'wife has fond memories of learning to drive a stick in a '67 Goat with a Hurst shifter and a T-handle. Now she can light'em up just like old times.... http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...p/Hurst_05.jpg
Here's the view from the driver's seat....and yeah I had to add a "Hurst Equipped" emblem to jazz up the passenger side of the dash. Was careful to place it just right so if you look, it says "HURST EQUIPPED AIRBAG"... gives them passengers something to wonder about... http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y19...p/Hurst_06.jpg
As for how it works, well, true to Hurst's reputation this shifter feels EXTREMELY solid and the throw is much shorter than stock. Shifting effort is noticeably higher and it will take some getting used to - this may not be for everybody! Personally, I like it and it's better than "rowing the boat" on the stock soft shifter which had much longer throw than I thought it should for a car like this. Shifts from any gear to the next are very precise and there's no worry about getting the wrong gear although I didn't have that problem with the stock unit either.
The harder poly bushings will transmit a touch more drivetrain noise but I had to listen for it. It doesn't "snick" smoothly into gear like other Hurst-equipped cars I've had, this gives a very "notchy" feel. From what I've read and seen, this is to be expected due to the remote shifter design Ford implemented on this generation Mustang. You clearly feel that you're waiting on the trans, and you still feel that it wants just a little extra time for the synchros to do their job. You CAN bang it around but, well, the whole combo doesn't feel as happy about that as the Hurst/Muncie combo in my old Cutlass 442 did......
Overall I'm pretty happy with it, shifts are nice and tight just like I wanted and can't wait to drive around some more and get the full feel!
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Fellow Mineralite on a mission.
'05 GT Premium, Mineral Grey / Charcoal Leather / Stock Bullit Rims / Manual Trans / IUP / ActiveAlarm
2 months from order to delivery of "Jaws" S/N 771, thx to Mike Gundling @ Battlefield Ford, Manassas VA!
Mods: Hurst Competition Plus shifter, Jack-In-The-Box-Head Antenna Ball, protective coat of bird guano...
God! I wished you lived next door to me, we'd be great friends. I'd be calling saying "Hey you gotta a second I need a little help with my ( insert the name the project on my GT here). You'd say "Yeah I got all afternoon bring MIDNITE CRISIS over to my garage and we'll take a look at it."
we'd be doing a supercharger and all kinds of **** and then I'd take your supermodel daughter to dinner and the sack. Lets make this happen. Whats your address...lol
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2005 Black on Gray Prem GT. 5 speed Trans, Pro-Kit lowering springs, Bassani exhaust, Steeda CAI, Diablosport Predator flash tune, Nitto 555 extreme 275/35/20 R 255/35/20 F. 20" 9 1/2 rear wheel, 20" 8 1/2 front wheel. Tinted windows, painted calipers. And much, much more to come.
Last edited by theyogawarrior; 08-13-2005 at 06:23 PM.
...then I'd take your supermodel daughter to dinner and the sack.
LMAO.......well, I hate to dissapoint you but the Mrs. and I produced 3 sons, but no daughters...So that part definitely ain't gonna happen!
Not that I'd mind helping a fellow enthusiast out anyways...actually, better your car than mine becuase other than this, I'm gonna enjoy keeping the Stangulator pretty much stock, I like it that much. It just needed a little help in this one area and the install took care of my wrench-turning urge at the same time!
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Fellow Mineralite on a mission.
'05 GT Premium, Mineral Grey / Charcoal Leather / Stock Bullit Rims / Manual Trans / IUP / ActiveAlarm
2 months from order to delivery of "Jaws" S/N 771, thx to Mike Gundling @ Battlefield Ford, Manassas VA!
Mods: Hurst Competition Plus shifter, Jack-In-The-Box-Head Antenna Ball, protective coat of bird guano...
Nice touch Dude . Ithink it looks good. I also think the throw on the stang is too long. Unlike you i have gone from 3rd back to 2nd getting on it and I just cringed when i did that . I consiidering onreplacing my shifter too.
PICTURE FIVE !!!! hahahaha What ya got in the baby bottle! hahaha! I keep Gin/Tonic in mine. "No Officer, that's breast milk, I'm won't touch it..." hahaaha
Great purcahse and improvment. I was planning on the Steeda Triax but now I WANT the "Hurst Equipped" on my dash too. It looks awesome! Do you KNOW how it compares to the Steeda?
I have seen several people with the Hurst badges... Did you get them directly from Hurst or from another source? Cost and part number? I plan on ordering tomorrow from a local shop. He has them for $199.00 with the white ball and next day delivery.
LMAO, I had a feeling that someone might make fun of my lil' sippy cup (full of ICE WATER, Occifer) in that picture.....hey laugh all ya want, that thing saved my life under the car yesterday...man it was HOT I'm tellin ya!
I don't know much about the Steeda other than tha I've heard it's a bit pricier, made of billet, looks really rugged, generally install is quoted as a bit longer and there've been some complaints about the amount of driveshaft noise it transfers. How much of that is actually true and in comparison to this unit I can't say, although I will confirm that I realy can't detect any additional drivetrain noise or vibration with this one. Some other details about the shifter, install, feedback from other folks etc. can be found here: http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=11505
I ordered it from LMPerformance and the badge itself was not expensive at all. I paid $215 for the shifter unit itself which came with the white knob, then $24 for the T-handle, then added the badge and with tax I think it all came to $247, so the badge had to be like 5 bucks or so (got free shipping) ...... seeing how it matches the aluminum trim on the IUP it's a MUST HAVE: http://go.mrgasket.com/ProductDetail...minselection=0
Been driving it all day and getting used to the tight, precise feel......VERY happy that I did this!
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Fellow Mineralite on a mission.
'05 GT Premium, Mineral Grey / Charcoal Leather / Stock Bullit Rims / Manual Trans / IUP / ActiveAlarm
2 months from order to delivery of "Jaws" S/N 771, thx to Mike Gundling @ Battlefield Ford, Manassas VA!
Mods: Hurst Competition Plus shifter, Jack-In-The-Box-Head Antenna Ball, protective coat of bird guano...
One final bit of feedback: This isn't for everybody as stated before. While I like the precision and "notchy" tightness, my wife now states she doesn't.....actually "she's not crazy about it". Hey that might be a good thing!
Anyway, point is don't expect it to be a silky-smooth snick-snick into gears like some cars. Definitely need to use more than a couple of fingers on the stick now.
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Fellow Mineralite on a mission.
'05 GT Premium, Mineral Grey / Charcoal Leather / Stock Bullit Rims / Manual Trans / IUP / ActiveAlarm
2 months from order to delivery of "Jaws" S/N 771, thx to Mike Gundling @ Battlefield Ford, Manassas VA!
Mods: Hurst Competition Plus shifter, Jack-In-The-Box-Head Antenna Ball, protective coat of bird guano...
Did you have to pull the drive shaft to install this?
Nope. didn't remove my driveshaft becuase the instructions state it is optional and that's just one more thing I didn't want to muck up.
Doing so would make it easier to put the new shifter in position as opposed to working it down through the hole in the console/trans tunnel. That part did take a while, I gave up trying to do it myself and got the wife to sit in the car, and work it in from above while I guided it from below. The rear square poly bushing can slide forward on the unit to help clear the hole while you're trying to work it through.
Install time for me took about 2.5 hours but I'm old and slow with a creaky back these daya, plus a big part of that time was spent in making my wood "pre-ramps" and a wooden crutch brace to lock my ramps against the garage wall since they like to slide around on smooth concrete when you start to drive up them. Yikes!
Otherwise, dealing with the little chingaso bolts at the rear flange took up most of my time and I'd say a good long 10mm DEEP socket is an absolute must. My arm just didn't want to fit up there where they were so it was painfully slow going on those two bastids. Otherwise woulda been a cakewalk.
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Fellow Mineralite on a mission.
'05 GT Premium, Mineral Grey / Charcoal Leather / Stock Bullit Rims / Manual Trans / IUP / ActiveAlarm
2 months from order to delivery of "Jaws" S/N 771, thx to Mike Gundling @ Battlefield Ford, Manassas VA!
Mods: Hurst Competition Plus shifter, Jack-In-The-Box-Head Antenna Ball, protective coat of bird guano...
Thank you for the great job sharing your work. It would be a great write up for the monthly club magazine.... (hmmm I wonder if there's an '05 Mustang Club?....)Thank you, I appreciate your answer; a lot less work for me now!
Russ
I put mine in last week. Everything you say is true. I think the notchiness will go away with a little use. It took two of us about the same length of time to install. I used jackstands on one side of the car since mine is lowered. I put my HURST equipped tag on the lower right side of the trunk next to the tail light so people would know what they are up against. I bought it from LMP also.
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MCSD ACTIVITIES
PARIS-05 GT Vert Auto Torch Red 290 RWHP 18x9 Chrome Bullitts 255/45/18 Silver cam covers Carbon fiber/billet/chrome dress ups C&L w/Predator 3D Carbon Tonneau Cover Flowmasters.
Hurst Shifter Installed 
Good mod anyway.
