Split Boot

While I'm griping about problems with my Beck: has anyone ever had the gear shift boot split up the back? Mine is totally split from top to bottom on the proximal side. It always seemed awfully stiff to me anyway, so I'm not surprised it split. However, my son did some serious driving in Spydie when he was here at Christmas and I think that's when it split. And it's been cold off and on; that might make a difference--but it still should stand up. What I want is a malleable one that can take the cold and the hard driving. I hope to autocross Spydie this season. Everyone pray for me (I've never autocrossed before--just watched). v

prox-i-mal (prok'suh muhl) adj.
1. situated toward the point of origin or
attachment, as of a limb or bone.
Compare DISTAL (DEF. 1).
2. of or designating the surface of a tooth
nearest to a specified adjacent tooth.
3. nearest; proximate.
[1720-30; < L proxim (us) next (superl. of prope
near) + - AL 1]

George--are you trying to be a smarty pants?? ha
Thinking about the center of the car, the proximal side of the boot is toward center, and distal is toward the front of the car. It's split on the proximal side. v

Heh, heh, Never thought of it in nursing/medical terms. ;>)

Vicki:
I removed the Jamar shifter which was installed in my old Beck and replaced it with the Brandwood cable shifter. It comes without a boot, so I went down to my reliable upholstery shop and had him make a custom boot out of leather. It has a zipper on the "Proximal" side to allow removal as the tunnel acts as a warm air duct from the engine compartment and needs a means of shutting off the warm air during summer months. The boot is on the shifter in the summer and removed during the winter to allow warm air to flow into the cockpit. The chrome housing of the shifter looks OK even with the boot removed. Terry

i like chrome

VV;
Yes, I was trying for a little humor there. I had never heard the term, so I looked it up in my dictionary program and posted it here. I should have said something witty to go along with it.

I do have a theory I posted on a Guido thread that you are really a figment of Dave L's imagination and it is really him posting with your name. ;) Is it really you Dave, or is there a Vicky? She/you sounds too good to be true.

GW

Thanks for all the replies! George--there really is a Dave. And there really is a Vicki V. And we are two separate people. And I am NOT Guido! But who is?

You know, I tease about being the only Spyder owner who knits and crochets, but, I must say, in addition--that leather shifter boot that was mentioned in the previous email--well, I am also a seamstress and can make one of those if I can come up with the leather. I had a similar one in my NuNu (Speedster) and it worked fine, except it always rode up and exposed the ugliness under it, so I wore myself out keeping it down, and finally replaced it with a rubber one when I got a Nardi shifter knob. I miss my NuNu, by the way.

Well, we are going on our first road trip in Spydie tomorrow--Paducah Kentucky on the Ohio River, to meet his parents for some fun. The weather is supposed to be really nice--in the 60's. If I can shift into 1st and 2nd and not grind reverse all to hell, it will be a great trip!
v

Vicki -
As your field of talent is rich (you autocross, crochet AND sew) you can make a boot yourself out of leather pretty easy. The trick as you pointed out, is keeping it from riding up. If you already fixed it, just ignore this.

The guy that made ours showed me the trick (don't know how to sew, had to hire a dude to sew it up). Around the base of my shifter is a metal plate with a raised edge. It's small around the very bottom than it is further up so if you could get something around there and tighten it up, then the boot would not ride up.

He sewed a hem into the leather and fed a wire through it. I installed the boot and then pulled the the wire tight with pliers. When it was tight, I twisted the pliers (thus twisting the wire). This keeps it tight. Tuck the short end of the wire out-of-sight.

Works well, it's cheap and leather feels so nice....
angela

A long nylon zip tie will also work and may be more desirable in situations where exposure to mosture might be an issue. They are inexpensive, come in varying lengths, easy to use and easy to splice if the length isn't just right.

Hey, thanks for the tips. Angela, funny you hired a dude to sew. ha
I took Spydie over yesterday to Cannonball's shop (he can fabricate anything), but Cannonball wasn't there so I have to take it back Monday. If he can help me work out a solution and sell me the leather, all I need is a leather needle. The wire or twist tie idea sounds perfect. v v