Gen I Inner Rubber Shift Boot Replacement

[Flyng Low]

Fellow proud Gen I owners, you will need this:

While putting a shorter shifter shaft into my Gen I (great), I found out where a lot of the heat was gettng into the cabin. My inner rubber shift boot was ripped. Neither my local dealer, Chuck Tator, or JohnB could come up with the replacement Gen I boot, so I ordered the Gen II boot (Part No. 4848038 $63.95) from Chuck, figuring I could make it fit.

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The Gen I biit has much more rubber than the Gen II, but the Gen II boot fits perfectly - even has the same rivet holes, plus an extra one on the driver side that I chose not to drill an extra hole for in the car because I wasn't sure what was under that area of the tunnel. I drilled out the old rivets (while vacuuming) and put the new boot in with 3/16" steel/aluminum rivets. No sweat.

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While driving with it off, I saw how much heat comes through this area after the radiator opens, I decided to add a hose clamp to close the hole that the shifter comes through. It looks fine so far, but I plan to drive with the tunnel cover/leather boot off for awhile to see if this clamp is a good idea, to make sure it doesn't strain the rubber, and keeps the heat out.

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I'll let you know if I decide to take the clamp off.

 

[99 R/T 10]

Curt,
That is a great write up! Thanks for the info!

 

[Vip-RT10]

I did the same to mine, but didn't want to tie up the piece around the shifter. Good read...

 

[Rollin4]

Thanks for the info. I'm getting ready to do the same on my car. I think a wire tie might be a better solution than the hose clamp if you can get it tight enough. Love the surfboard spoiler in your avatar, bet it reeeeeely helps with downforce or is that lift?????

 

[Flyng Low]

Just back from a long drive on the freeway and this is a HUGE improvement. I used to be able to tell instantly when the radiator opened, as the heat would well into the cabin. It's the main reason I use the air conditioning - just to balance that unwanted heat. The new boot and hose clamp is working to keep it all out.

There would be significant air coming through the gap between the inner rubber boot's one inch hole and the shifter shaft. Maybe this thing does OK with the fatter stock shaft, but it would be way too loose on my shorter after-market thin shaft. Even with the tunnel cover and leather boot on the car, any hot air that gets past the inner boot will find its way out the sides and front of the panel. That's certainly what I had, and there is NO hot air coming in now, even without any interior panels or leather boot on. There does not appear to be excessive strain on the rubber in any gear with the hose clamp.

Rollin4: The rubber boot is slippery and hard to grab. I tried black electrical tape first to hold it while I installed the hose clamp, and it just got more slippery. I canned the tape. It worked well when I installed the clamp slowly, with two rubber folds 180 degrees out, and with about 1/8 inch of rubber out the top of the clamp. This seems very secure. This will all be covered up by the leather boot.