Shawn's World

My first car was a 1971 Duster. Although is started life as a meager slant six, it ended its life with a V8 4 speed. When I installed the 4 speed I also installed a Pistol Grip Hurst shifter from a 71 Challenger. I knew when I ordered my 2010 challenger I needed to get another shifter like that one.

To start this upgrade I bought a Hurst Competition/Plus 2 short throw shifter upgrade.

This came with a very nice handle and classic shift knob, but I could not settle for this. I purchased a Gunslinger Pistol grip shifter handle as well. The handle has the classic Challenger style but is finished in carbon fiber which matches the interior trim much better than the original wood look. It also has a six speed indicator on the handle.

The install was quite simple, the only concerns are that a lot of parts snap together and removing these felt like they were going to break every time. The sequence is a follows:

1. Unsnap the shifter boot bezel
2. Remove 13mm bolts holding shifter handle on and remove.
3. Unsnap upper console by pulling straight up. Remove 12V  power cable and cup hold light cable. Remove upper console from car.
4. Unscrew two screws at front of lower console. Remove 4 8mm bolts from inside storage compartment at back of console. Lift and remove ipod cable and rear 12V power cable. Remove lower console from vehicle.
5. Lift rubber boot above tunnel cover and push forward. This is a pain as the boot does not seem to come out but just pushing it forward does not leave any room to remove the front tunnel cover nuts.
6. Remove 6 10mm nuts holding tunnel cover. Remove 13mm nut on rear shifter mounting tud. Remove tunnel cover.
7. Remove rear shift link nut. This is very tight as there is blue loctight on it.
8. Remove both front pins hold shifter in. Each pin has a clip that has to be pried loose and then the pins can slide out.
9. Remove shifter from vehicle.
10. Remove original lower and upper rubber shifter boots.
11. Install original boots onto Hurst shifter.
12. Perform steps 9 through 3 in reverse order.

At this point I test fit the Gunslinger shifter into the vehicle but was not happy with how high the shifter sat. I decided to drill a new hole in the shifter so I would sit lower. I drilled a 0.375" hole 0.875"  above the top mounting hole. This drops the shifter almost an inch. Mounting the shifter handle lower does not cause any interference so you do not have to trim the lower portion of the shifter.

1. Remove clip around original shifter handle to release boot from handle.
2. Slide boot around Gunslinger handle. Use a tie wrap to strap boot to handle
3. Install handle to right hand side of Hurst shifter. I used blue loctight on button head screws that  hold shifter in as its hard to tighten these bolts as they are Allen key heads.
4. Snap shifter bezel back into console.

And here are some pictures after the install.

1st Gear

Neutral

2nd Gear

I am quite happy with the look and feel of this new shifter. I am not quite happy with how the leather boot looks. I will probably change this in the future.

I installed my first performance mod tonight, a K&N Cold Air Intake (63-1114). Removing the original air box was a very simple procedure of popping out the air inlet temperature sensor, removing the clamp around the throttle body, and removing the single bolt holding in the air box itself. With all these removed the entire air box pulled right out.

While the original air box was out, I took the time to install my Billet Tech catch can. I mounted the catch can on an existing stud on the front of the engine. After cutting the new braided lines to size and slipping on the aluminum end caps I pressed the hose on the engine fittings. The lower one was a real pain, it seems to be a little larger diameter than the upper fitting. I tried twisting the hose while pressing it on and found that the fitting started to unscrew from the intake manifold. Not sure why it is so loose. The other ends went on fine. I also installed a Billet Tech oil cap and dipstick handle.

Installing the CAI was pretty easy as well. The hardest part was putting the liner around the heat shield. The heat shield was not a great fit. It sits very close to a connector in the inner fender well. So close in fact that the wiring harness has to be bent very sharply to prevent the shield from rubbing the wires.I am worried about the long term effects of these bent wires.

The plumbing of the filter was straight forward and fit well. Once all the clamps were in place I was surprised how rigid the assembly is. After reinstalling the AIT sensor and the intake breather tube I took her for a drive to ensure all was functioning. No check engine light came on so I guess everything was installed correctly. It did not feel or hear any differences from the stock intake but I did not have much time on the vehicle so I may simply have not noticed the change.

Completed Install

I also installed some Billet Sill Plates and a new Nose Badge while I was in the install mode.