outer shift boot question

[btoran]

i recently replaced the inner shift boot because the foam on the old one was deterioriated. it made a huge difference in keping noise and heat out of the car and i'm very happy with it. now i'm turning my attention to the outer shift boot.

when i purchased my car it came with a black vinyl shift boot which a) doesn't look very good and b) doesn't stay up. i think i want an outer boot that is rubber and looks much like the inner one (except it would be round in shape and not have the foam padding). i'd like the rubber boot to stay low on the shifter, with space between the top of the rubber boot and the bottom of the shift knob to show off the shifter itself.

does anyone have this type of shift boot on their spider or researched it? if so, what have you found / done? pictures would be great.

thanks.

[TX82FIAT]

I don't have that type on my spider. I would think the diameter of the shift hole is the critical consideration alonfg with the semi expanded hight of the shifter boot since the rubber is fixed in diameter and you would want it to look nice. Given the design of the shifter you may want to give some consideration to installing a short shifter that will present nicely.

[btoran]

thanks. i've got the michigan short shifter installed.

[vandor]

You could simple take the outer boot and push it down, so the 'upper' part is actually at the bottom of the chrome piece.
I've seen this on many Spiders, it's just that the hole in the center has to be large enough.

[btoran]

an update...... from evilbay, i purchased a new outer boot and chrome retaining ring from an early mg (i know....the sacriledge). i received the parts and test fitted them last night.

look: the look is great. it's exactly what i was after. in my opinion, the shifter looks classy and made for taking care of business. i'll post some pics of it over the weekend.

mg upper boot: fits perfectly over the stock inner shifter and stops just at the start of the michigan short-shifter. coudln't have asked for a better fit.

mg retaining ring: looks great and fits the mg upper boot well. however, it is just slightly larger than the cut-out hole in our shift consoles. if placed directly over the cutout, the right hand side of the retaining ring would be too far to the right on the console. if shifted left and forward, 2 of the 4 screw holes would line up into the empty space below the cutout.

i looked carefully for the first time at the cutout hole on our consoles and noticed two things. first, the hole is off center (ie too far to the right and back too far). second, the hole seems way larger than needed.

i'll be working on a dash / console project over the winter and was going to put a mohogany laminate over the existing shift console piece. i think i'll just replace the piece entirely with mohogany (or mdf with a mohogany laminate) and make a slightly smaller, centered cutout for the shift that will accomodate the mg retaining ring. i'll test this first with a cardboard template to ensure clearance for the shifter, but does anyone see an issue with this approach?

[btoran]

here's a picture of dubious quality.

i ended up making the shift console out of some very thin plywood. i then centered the retaining ring near the bottom and made the cutout. i still need to stain / finish or veneer the wood to make it match the steering wheel. the mg boot comes up just short of the michigan shifter. i'll see if i can figure a way to get them to stay together permanently.

[backyardbill]

btoran:

I know your post showing the MG style rubber shift boot and chrome retainer ring is a year old now. But I just found it when searching for an idea as what to do about mine. I mildly customized my center console a while ago and never resolved what to replace the original boot with. I too like the rubber bellows type of boot. Then I saw you photo. Perfect. It's exactly what I wanted. So thanks for the idea and hope you don't mind me stealing it.

[btoran]

i'm glad my post helped you out. i updated the original post in the hopes that someone else would need the info in the future. no such thing as stealing when the info is posted here. i'm also happy to give back to the forum as it has helped me tons since i got my spider.

btw, if you've got the michigan short shifter, i found an easy solution to rising the boot up slightly so it contacts the lower end of the short shifter. i'm working on a separate project where i'm replacing the dash with mohogany to match my steering wheel and also adding mohogany pieces to the radio console and center console to carry the theme toward the back of the car. i used the wood in the picture below as a template and cut another piece out of mohogany. when i test fit the new piece, i layed it on top of the existing one and voila, it's the perfect height. so, if you're replacing the wood on the lower console, just use a piece twice as thick as the existing piece (or stack two thinner pieces together).

[backyardbill]

Yes, I have the short shifter. I will have to shim the boot/retainer as you pointed out. My console is a bit skinnier than the original and the wood trim is thinner. I should have the boot/retainer by this Friday. Then I can see what I have to do. Your shifter looks shorter than mine does right now.

I don't want to have to cut the original shift lever. But if I have to I will.

[btoran]

good eyes. i cut the shift lever a bit because even with the short shifter, it was still a bit too tall for my liking.

[azruss]

I used something similar many years ago. Came from an old Nissan or Toyota. It was rectangular at the base and i just tucked it under the wood. To me the big issue is how much the rubber contorts when in gear. With mine, it definitely took the rubber to its limits.....guaranteed to crack with a few years of sun and heat on it. Would like to see some pix of the boot with it in gear.

[backyardbill]

btoran:

My MG boot/retainer came today. It fit perfect, no mods needed.

[btoran]

very nice! i love the look / fit. nice job.