My New Shifter

[baysinger]

Ordered my new shifter last Thursday from Barton Industry and received it Tuesday afternoon. First thing I noticed was the top notch quality of the workmanship. The install went very easy (even the rubber boot) which my wife put on with her small hands. We had the use of a friends lift in his air conditioned shop at his home which was very helpful. I do not think I would have tried this on jack stands in 100 degree heat at home. I did put teflon tape on the shifter assembly and the ball threads to help prevent any possible rattles. Not sure if this was necessary or not but read somewhere on here people had done this also. Had a little difficulty getting shifter into the shifter housing, very tight fit even with plenty of grease on the two o,rings. This took a few minutes of pushing with everything I had to get it in. I did not have to loosen the trans support brace I had enough room. On the inside I screwed the flat stick almost all the way down to assure the shortest possible shift, tightened the 1 inch nut, and then installed the white ball on the shifter. Took the car for a drive and am totally amazed at the difference this sts makes. NO rattles, smooth precise shifts. I am going to run it a few days like it is but am thinking I might back off on the flat stick a few threads to give a little more travel to the shift throws which may be more to my liking. Dave at Barton Industries is one of the best vendors I have ever done business with and makes a top quality product in my opinion. I love this shifter and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a (STS)

[Bama_SIM_Cam]

Just got my Barton installed by my local dealer -- whose mechanic did a nice job BTW. If I had a lift I would have done it myself.

I was surprised at the difference in the feel of the shift, it is definitely an improvement - and I really wanted a white ball shifter. The stock was just too generic for my taste.

I am very pleased with the price, performance and looks of this shifter.

One note for the V6, the V6 has centering springs in the upper stick area which apparently the v8 does not. For what it is worth, the mechanic that installed mine said they were a bear to reinstall. The Barton instructions say these can be left off, I don't know how the shifter would feel without them or why they are on the v6 and not the v8. Anyone have any insights on this?

The Barton option I got included the polished (tapered) stick and an OEM style stick, I don't plan on using the OEM stick but the centering springs, if left in, might affect how easy it is to swap these out. The flat stick is also offered. I didn't think to ask the mechanic (too anxious to start driving I guess) whether the v6 centering springs have to be removed to replace the upper stick.

Anyway -- Love the Barton!

[2010 SSRS]

looks nice