JadesAn89

As you may know from previous posts, I have an 89 Camaro. It's an automatic (which I settled for....) and the interior looks about 13 years old. I am in the process of updating my interior, but I dont have the money to replace everything with a 4th gen as I'd like to. So for now, I'm doing some painting and other inexpensive (i hate the word cheap) things to upgrade the interior. I was in a Vette the other day and it had a nice leather shift boot, but it was an automatic - what a waste of a vette. Anyway, how the he!! can I do this? May be a dumb question, but stoopid peepl want to know...

Thanks
Jay

MDv6man

I'm not sure what you're asking... how to upgrade the interior or how to put the leather boot on? Check the appearance and detailing board or the body and interior board... they can help ya better

JadesAn89

Sorry if I wasn't specific. I want to know where I can find a leather boot for an automatic. And how hard would it be to put it on. I don't imagine it would be hard as the shifter plate comes off with 4 scrwes, but I would also imagine I'd need a new plate. Thanks in advance....

Jay

Also, I'll go check out the interior board...thanks.

90RS3.1

Pep Boys has universal Leather boots, they are made for stick shifts but you can make them fit on the auto. Alo some automatic firebirds came with the shift boot i think as well. check junkyards n youll probably find one.

TomP

Screw the stock shifter, get a B&M Console Megashifter. Took me a few hours to install- you'll love it! Comes with a bitchin' boot, too. http://www.bmracing.com Buy it from http://www.summitracing.com !

Nixon1

Ratchet shifters are the best! But if you're dead set on fitting a boot on your existing shifter, I'm sure it can be done...you have the flimsy little plastic strip going in the shifter's movement area, with a hole in it where the shifter goes through? I FIGURE if you remove that thing, and take the screws out and get the plate up, you'll be able to get the boot under there..attaching it is another story. I wouldn't recommend screws or anything unless you really carefully drill and set them in. The plastic pieces like that one in these cars are CRAP..incredibly frail. Although I can't imagine how you'd use screws unless it was an incredibly large boot...the range of movement forward and back is pretty big. Now, be VERY careful taking the 4 screws out too. I started to take mine out to get the panel up a tad, and the plastic started to crack up around the screws..and I was being gentle. Also, you can take the top of the shifter off by..I think getting a butter knife and jimmying the little metal pin thing on the front of the ****...that is if you have the square one. The 9-ball *****, I'm not sure. One last thing, aftermarket stereo install kits tend to stick out a little far so you might not be able to get the panel all the way up..I know I can't!

JadesAn89

Hey TomP - I love the look of those B&M Megashifters, but how do they look in our cars? Do you have access to any pics of it matched with our interior? I'd like to see it before I commit myself to it. I was really just looking to put the leather boot on it, but a new shifter wouldn't kill me. Lemme know if you have any pics of it. Thanks.

TomP

I thought I took a picture, but looks like I didn't. If I remember, I'll take a pic of it during lunch... still have the pen-cam at work. It fits nice; it fit my console top exactly. The top of the shift plate is just "below" my ashtray button, and the bottom of the shift plate is just "above" my power window switches. You won't have to do as much console modification as I did; the shifter is meant for Camaros, but -can- fit in a Firebird. Difference? The console top. Mine is a one piece plastic top, that snaps into the console. Your top has screws.

And since I put it on in '97, I've only had two major problems. My shift cable wore out a few months ago, had to replace it. (Shifter was VERY hard to move, and couldn't engage "park" on the trans. https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=122029 I've also had to replace the switch for the reverse lights- and looks like I'll be doing that again. Can't remember when I first replaced the switch, it was a few years ago... '99, maybe? I also had a stupid problem; I armor-all'd the rubber boot... don't do it!! The armor all dried the boot out and cracked it all to hell... looked fugly. I put a new boot on, kept the armor all away from it, and it still looks great.

Nixon1

Tom, what did your car do when your reverse light switch thing went out? Whenever I click mine in reverse, the lights blink and shut off and never come back on while I'm in reverse...so everyone around me just gets a reverse warning blink.. Haven't been able to figure out why...

Skatepunk60

As for a boot there is a guy on eBay that is always selling custom auto and manual shiftboots w/ tons of colors and "firebird" "formula" "iroc" ect embroidered into them