If you’ve been following my blog or YouTube channel for a while, you might recall that last year, during a road trip to Tennessee, the Dudestang had a bit of an incident and left us stranded in Lenoir City. Essentially, what happened was that the bolts that hold the shifter bracket to the body of the car (not a great design IMO) sheered off, shortly after we came off the Tail of the Dragon. This caused the shifter mechanism to drop down and drag against the driveshaft. Fortunately, I was able to get a service appointment at Lenoir City Ford and they got me sorted out.

I haven’t had any issues with the shifter since then but right around the time of the incident, I ordered the Blowfish bracket. I have been meaning to install it for months and was finally able to make some time this past weekend. I wanted to see if I made a difference in how the car shifts while also removing the possibility of a similar failure in the future. The Blowfish bracket mounts the shifter mechanism on a bracket that is linked to the transmission, just above the cross member, while also creating a driveshaft safety loop.

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The installation wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. Fortunately, I found a more efficient way to get the car up high enough to have space to maneuver and get the install done in a couple of hours. My latest video on the installation process, with some more details, thoughts, and first impressions, is available now.

Thanks for reading and watching!