Setting The Record Straight

anthony05gt

Active Member
Mar 18, 2006
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Maryland
Setting The Record Straight

I just received my November copy of 5.0 Mustangs and Super Fords today. I see they have an article titled ''Stick Shifted'' written by KJ Jones giving Todd Uzzell and Mike Akerlund of www.bieberfever.com credit for the 1st S-197 automatic to manual transmission swap which supposedly took place a couple of months ago.

I THINK NOT!

I know that anybody that really matters are on the forums, not in Wal*Mart buying a copy of this magazine. I performed the first auto to manny tranny swap in late '05. I wrote to all of the main Mustang magazines at the time (including this one) telling them about this and offered access to a shop lift and photos or whatever they may have needed for a feature on this subject. My main focus was to share the results of my research for all to use. Of course, none of the rags responded. I guess when you're not a paid advertiser you get the trash receptacle. I even waited for www.bieberfever.com to come out with a swap kit calling them every month or 2. Finally, I just got tired of waiting and bought a wiring diagram manual, kept it by my side for a week or so and made notes. I went ahead and rounded up the parts and found it's quite a simple swap, not a major achievement as KJ Jones would have you believe.

Anyway, I'm here today setting the record straight. Also I might add that www.bieberfever.com replaced several parts that are not required including the pcm and wiring harness. The harness can be easily modified and the pcm can be re-engineered (except on '07 cars, by the way, I did the first '07 too) which will save you hundreds of dollars.

Thanks for reading this. It's the truth. Here's a link to the manual I created for all to use back in early '06.

http://www.geocities.com/anthony05gt
 
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I haven't heard about the article, but I vividly remember you posting this up here and on MF a while back and looking for help on how to do it. And I guess it's expected that if you don't advertise in their magazine you get shoved to the side.

Sorry to hear about the misfortune, but anybody that gives 2 ****s knows who did the first one.
 
:nice: to you anthony05gt!!!!!
When I had my previous Stangs, I subscribed to MM&FF for years. I let my subscription run out after selling my '00 GT in July of '03. Days after purchasing my '06 GT, I bought a copy of MM&FF to see what aftermarket goodies were available. Then a few days after that, I stumbled upon StangNet...I haven't bothered looking at another Mustang mag since:D I followed your lead as far as painting the stock grill(which to this day still amazes me on how much better it looks over stock). I remember reading your post last year about the trans swap. I love :SNSign: Keep up the good work and people will know who does what and when:nice:
 
Yeah I had to laugh at it. Way to be on the bleeding edge. Too bad they are more worried about selling mags than getting the truth out, any good internet search would lead to the numerous posts on this subject.
 
Yada...yada...yada... {Jenn paraphrasing here "I don't agree that you are upset...''because some big name magazine does a swap article and tries to steal your thunder. And in NO WAY is this a tech article. This is a talk thread.


Jenn's change here:
I believe that both of your insults are in violation of Stangnets' TOS. :)
 
Any idea how much it costs to get the pcm reprogrammed and can any dealership do it? I read your article on the swap but I'm curious about the back up lights. It seems that is the only area that requires splicing into the harness with the new pigtails for the other part. Am I correct on that part? If so, have you heard of any other fixes for it without running new wires? At first, it seemed like the swap would be pretty lengthy but the more I read it, the easier it seems...... still worry about the pcm issue tho.

Oh BTW, congrats on being the first but don't worry, the mags pull that crap all the time.....

LB


PS: No longer talk :)
 
If the magazines knew about this, then they have no excuse. Otherwise they should say one of the first swaps, not THE first.
I was a newspaper editor for more than 20 years and now teach journalism. You must be careful of how you word something because who can prove who was the first?
And, to be honest, someone else could have done the first and no one knows about it.
That's why it's better to say one of the first.
 
Any idea how much it costs to get the pcm reprogrammed and can any dealership do it? I read your article on the swap but I'm curious about the back up lights. It seems that is the only area that requires splicing into the harness with the new pigtails for the other part. Am I correct on that part? If so, have you heard of any other fixes for it without running new wires? At first, it seemed like the swap would be pretty lengthy but the more I read it, the easier it seems...... still worry about the pcm issue tho.

Oh BTW, congrats on being the first but don't worry, the mags pull that crap all the time.....

LB


PS: No longer talk :)


If you replace the engine portion of the wiring harness you won't need to run a custom reverse light circuit. The harness is easy to replace, but I don't know the cost. The custom circuit is also easy to do. I know a guy that will re-engineer the pcm ('05 & '06 only) for $200. A pcm will cost around $500-$600 plus you will have to go to the dealer to have it recognize your keys. (both keys) The guy that can re-engineer the pcm will do just that. You won't need a trip to the dealer, just drop it in and go. The reason you need a custom circuit with the auto harness is there are no pins in the pcm harness plug to adapt to the pins in the pcm itself. If you decide to do this I'll hook you up with the guy. He'd rather I not put his name on the forums, but he's works for a big company that might not like him doing side work. Most dealers have no idea how to do this because it's not something they do at all.

As far as the problem with this thread goes. Just like I titled it ''setting the record straight'' is what it's all about. No crying here, just setting the record straight, it's as simple as that. If some smart ass wants to act like a child because of whatever reason, I'll respond to that too. Anybody with a little common sense can start reading at the top of the page and see what's what as far as the personal attacks go. Back in '05, I was the only guy in the world (as far as I know) who had the balls enough to do this swap. I wanted to share the information which I did on the forums, but 5.0 Mustangs and Super Fords wasn't interested.

Dawgpoop, just steer clear of me OK?
 
This is a copy of the letter I sent to the editor in chief.


Dear Editor in Chief,

I am writing to you today in response to an article titled ''Stick Shifted'' written by KJ Jones in the recent November issue. This article repeatedly referred to the transmission swap as ''the first'' or ''this landmark endeavor''. This is completely untrue.

I performed the first S-197 automatic to manual transmission swap in late '05. You should know this because I wrote a letter to you in early '06 expressing my interest in sharing this information with the Mustang crowd. I offered you photos, a local garage in Maryland for your crew to examine the work and so on. I even did the same with the other big Mustang publication and never received a response.

Before I decided to do this swap I repeatedly contacted www.bieberfever.com asking them when a kit would be ready for this particular swap because they are known for supplying kits for previous model Mustangs. After months of no luck with www.bieberfever.com I decided to buy a 2005 Mustang wiring diagram manual and get to work. Upon completion of the swap, I felt it was my responsibility to share the swap information with the rest of the S-197 crowd. Since I received no response from the two publications that I am a loyal subscriber to, I decided to create an on-line ''how to'' manual which has been available on four Mustang forums since early '06. I have recently posted a thread on 4 forums titled ''Setting The Record Straight'' in response to the KJ Jones article explaining the situation. You can find the threads on modularfords.com, themustangsource.com, corral.net, and stangnet.com on the '05-up Mustang forums. I have received much support from these members including Mike Ivy who performed the 2nd swap known.

I'm sorry to bring this to your attention. Maybe my original request for your interest in the swap never made it to your desk, or maybe you weren't the editor in chief in early '06. I think some sort of printed correction in your publication would be in order to set the record straight. It would go a long way for the public record and restore some confidence within the real Mustang crowd that resides on the forums. I have provided a link to my ''how to'' manual which has been available for quite some time now and took several days to prepare. This letter is also posted on the listed forums.
http://www.geocities.com/anthony05gt
Thank you for your time,
Anthony D. ******
 
Alright gentlemen, I was just called out to do a little housekeeping in my most humble Gestapo SS fashion. Anthony - Poop you two keep it clean from here on out. I value both of your contributions on this site (yes, even you Poop :) ), so just play nice. I should issue you both an infraction. However, since you both displayed commensurate exchanges of love and affection, we'll call it a checkmate and move on. :rolleyes:

Rest of you move back to subject. One more comment about cry baby or jerk and I'm pulling a "Night of Long Knives". :) We all clear on this?

180px-Himmler_Hitler.jpg


Holy crap fellas. Reminds me of grade school name calling matches.

Jenn/out