Automatic Shift Boot project - G/I... fabrication, cost and fitment

[Vbelisle]

^sounds great looking forward to getting one of these!

[Ditchhanger]

I'll be ready to order a tan AT shift boot (maybe with a snap depending how it looks with or without) when you are ready!

[D_J]

it's all about whether or not the chrome bezel ring fits back on without having to break it...

also it would nice if the top of the boot mounts securely to the shift knob base.

[Soda Popinski]

Even the manual shift boot doesn't "securely fit" to the knob. It has a snaped collar th at fits around the shift knob which is shaped different. The auto-shift knob has a beveled, conical chrome trim that points downwards... in which the boot material is stiff enough (something I wanted to make sure of) to not fall down while using. It losely fits over the end of the cone and you can't see the metal stem of the shifter, if that's what you are looking for.

 

Now, as for aftermarket knobs, I only own the oem shifter... which is why I am going to try to make 2 versions, one with a snap and one without.

[Leonardo]

People can just do the old rubber tube with zipties to the shift rod as to hold the leather against whichever knob.

[Spoonwacker]

This looks very promising!

[Soda Popinski]

Yesterday I purchased some brown-grain leather look-alike material. Just like the black grain but in a tanish/brown. It's the only material I could find that remotely matches the tan interior of the legacy. it may be a tad on the darker side compared to the rest of the car, but it might not look that bad. I couldn't find a light tank color... yet.

 

Pictures will come, but I'm at work. I can't reach photobucket it's blocked.

[Jerboa113]

huh.. I like this..

 

yet.. I feel like I'm a ricer for liking it..

 

isn't this kinda like putting the car in neutral and letting it roll back on hills?

 

$40 seems like a fair price..

 

that crazy shiny wood looks so much nicer than the orange plastic I have.

 

all in all.. I'm conflicted.. dont know if want.. but for more info.

 

question.. the leather of the e-brake boot is color matched to the leather of my seats.. any possible chance of matching the shift boot to that leather? Or do ya think it'd just look weird? I mean its true most shift boots are black..

[Soda Popinski]

the "leather" of the shift boot in a 5 or 6mt, or the e-brake boot is not real leather. It's nylon with a leather grain. If you have one that cracks, you'll see the white cloth batting behind it to give the nylon stiffness like leather.

 

Having a shift boot cover the shift gate on an automatic looks clean, is easy to keep clean, and makes the car look less 'plasticy-just-another-auto-with-an-idiot-guide' look. You have the shift pattern in your head. The gauges show the position anyway.

 

I doubt it looks ricey. The entire project I'm doing on the side here is so it looks OEM without being flashy. If anything, i think red piping or flashy names on the boot or break itself can be considered 'look at this' rice. But that's my 2 cents.

[Jerboa113]

oh no,I think it looks good.. I just have rice guilt.

 

good point.. the redundancy of having the shift on the dash and on the shifter always bugged me.

[skiskank]

subscribed

[BAC5.2]

That looks awesome. Good work!

 

I wonder if that chrome ring would retrofit to the 5MT, and if I'd be a ricer for having it...

[Jerboa113]

honestly.. as long as the opening is the same size.. you should be able to buy a 5EAT lower console and trim ring and do this without a problem.

 

the only issue would be if you have more travel than the boot or the opening would allow in the 5MT shifter than the 5EAT shifter.

 

I dont think YOU'd be a ricer for havig a nice trim ring'd shift boot like this.. I just worry if I would be since I have a 5EAT.. I'd file it under "poser" in the back of my head.

 

that being said, I'll wait till they're production ready before I make a decision for myself. I waffle on decisions a lot.

[nickb98c]

Props for giving me the idea. I would buy one from you, but I happen to have access to a sewing machine and know how to use it. No its not mine Keep up the great work. I was tossing the idea around of making a new black boot for the e-brake.

[Jerboa113]

yea ya know after yall told me about the e-brake boot not being leather I took a look.. now I dont like it anymore.

 

any plans to make one of those too?

 

I dont want the red stitching or anything like that.. I have tan interior.. that'd just be tacky.

[Gmoe]

^ Yep.. if this works out I will for sure be looking to get a replacement e-brake boot also.

[Soda Popinski]

I purchased a new ebrake boot. Since mine has a crack in it I will replace mine and take the old one apart. This should be very easy to do. Tomorrow I'm spending a good chunk of time working on this.

 

I also ordered a new chrome ring.

 

Someone asked about the chrome ring fitting a 5-MT. The answer is no, the cutout for the mt's is about 3 inches wider and taller than the 5EAT.

 

I bought the 6-MT shift boot to take apart for patterns. You cannot mount this underneith with the shift gate in place. The shift gate takes up most of the room, and there's no where to mount it.

[Jerboa113]

ah.

 

made an observation yesterday my e-brake cover is discolored.

 

if you make a matching set.. I'll probably be more interested than just the shift boot cover.

 

I guess when stuff starts getting dented and discolored from wear (lke door panels and arm rests) you know the cars gettin older..

[Soda Popinski]

OK so I took a shot at actual production of these yesterday. I made one from start to finish... and it came out well I think. I used a thinner material, and I'll post a picture up today of it. It's the 6-MT version (I had the exact patterns and I wanted to see how it came out, snap and all.

 

More than that I learned what NOT to do first. There's an order to the madness, or so I learned. Certain seams cannot be done first. The tricky part is doing the side stitching next to the 4th main seam. You have to sew the boot inside out half-way and move it around while you do the last stitch under the snap flap.

 

This is great to know because it now speeds up my manufacturing process greatly.

 

If anyone could please help me locate a good deal on buying soft leather, bride, or other designer fabric by the bolt, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Soda Popinski]

blackberry picture of the materials I have on hand now to noodle with.

 

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u148/cherrybloom203/dirty%20car%20pics/IMG01077.jpg

 

Black Grain Nylon, Light Brown Grain Nylon, Snake Skin Vynal, Black faux seude

 

Looking for more options. My e-brake boot isn't in yet, and I'll start making sets.

[Soda Popinski]

Here's an example of my 1st prototype 5/6-MT boot I made from the actuall patern...

 

I used the snakeskin due to it's easy and thin material (without batting) to learn the stich order and how to fasten a snap.

 

Here's how I now do the inside stitching:

 

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u148/cherrybloom203/dirty%20car%20pics/IMG01083.jpg

 

Here's the closeup of the snap (faces the radio):

 

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u148/cherrybloom203/dirty%20car%20pics/IMG01080.jpg

 

Here's a look at the outside stitching (kinda hard to see, but the thread came out blueish from the flash:

 

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u148/cherrybloom203/dirty%20car%20pics/IMG01082.jpg

 

And a further out picture:

 

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u148/cherrybloom203/dirty%20car%20pics/IMG01079.jpg

 

 

Things to do now: shrink the pattern to come in line with the short-throw automatic shift stem, find new material... practice sewing the pattern.

[Vbelisle]

im interested in a shift boot for a 4eat, there looking good by the way!

[Soda Popinski]

that was just a trial run. as long as your 4EAT has the same plastic chrome ring that goes around the shift gate, then the AT boot will fit.

 

I went to jo-anne fabric today and got some great advice on how to use anti-fray on the ends of the stitch seam, showed her what I did and she gave me some great tips on how to go about quickly producing them.

 

I also bought tan upholstery thread, so I can go ahead and make a tan boot... pictures coming asap.

[snow05gtRI]

i like the looks of this...subscribed...

[Gmoe]

Ooohh... progress! Nice. Someone get the man a good source for materials.