Two DIY freebies :)

Indy

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Had a bit of time to tackle two little projects. And best of all, they're free :nana: Both have been done before, so I'm not posting anything new, but just wanted to share how they turned out.

First was painting the hood liner. Soaks up the paint like a sponge, so it took quite a few coats. Nothing fancy, just white and red.

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Second was shortening the shifter. Not a full short throw kit, just the main shaft. Took out the lower shifter connector, and shortened it by 1.7". Again, quite a few have done this mod here on the forum, and considering it didn't cost anything, this is one of the best mods I've done so far. Shifting is soooo much better now. Don't really notice a change in shift effort, but the throws are a lot shorter, plus the rubber bushing is gone, which makes the shifts much crisper and direct. This is a fairly easy diy mod if you don't mind a bit of cutting, grinding and welding.
Anyways, here's what the connector looks like stock:

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This is the modified part:

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Installed:

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cheers :nana:
 
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Indy

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I made it myself and used some parts from the original connector. If you don't want to cut and weld, there are similar ones available to buy as well. They come in various sizes between 1" to 2". There are quite a few threads on this if you do a search and I have yet to find somebody who doesn't like this mod. Shifting is so much nicer.
 

GTSHolgi

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I really like the painted hood liner. Looks so much nicer. I guess you have to remove the hood liner to paint it, right? Can you reuse the clips or will you have buy all new ones?

Thanks.
 
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Indy

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It is a LOT easier to paint if you take the hood liner off...I left it on the car and it is a tight place to work and you have to stand at an awkward angle to reach it. If I would do it again, I would definitely take it off and do it that way. The hood clips will break off if you try to remove them, so you need to get new ones. They sell them cheap online for a few $ for a whole bunch, so it is well worth the effort to take it off.
 

Tagoo

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Just take the hood off the car. It is SO simple to do. I believe there are only 4 bolts to remove the hood from the hinges. You just need 2 friends to hold the hood (one on each side) while you unbolt the hood. then place the hood on a blanket with the pad facing upward. Now paint the pad. No muss, no fuss. The hood does not need to be re-aligned when you re-install. It will bolt back on in the exact same position. It is so easy to remove the hood (assuming you have two friends) that it makes sense to do so any time you will be working on the engine for more than a few minutes.
 

Tagoo

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Take the pad off if you want to do more work. Take the hood off if you want to do less work. Your choice.
 

LifeIsGood

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I removed the hood pad. I painted mine outside and had to bring it in and out of the house multiple times since I put 10+ layers of paint on over a few days. I didn't reuse the clips, new ones are inexpensive...

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GTSHolgi

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LifeIsGood: Your write ups are awesome. Have you ever thought about publishing a DIY manual? I am sure, many of us Gen II owners would buy a copy right away :2tu:

Back to the clips: VPA sells them for 3.89US$ each. They also say, you need 23 of them for a silencer pad so that's 90US$ in total :rolleyes:. When you say they are cheap I assume you buy them somewhere else?

Holger
 
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Indy

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Ebay sells plastic retainer clips (you just need the simple round ones) for cheap....you can get all of them for under $10.
 
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