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I just installed a 5.0 by taking out the tunnel. Disassembling the shifter is a great idea but, even so, it's a tight place to work. Also, I'm coming to really dislike lying on a creeper and working on my back (the next big garage item will be a lift). Following a discussion with Randall Thomas of Cobra Valley, from whom I bought the shifter, I decided to take his advice and yank the tunnel. Taking out the tunnel was a real b!tch but now that I've done it, it'll be MUCH easier the next time. To elaborate a bit on the procedure outlined on the SCOF website: The seats come out with 4 bolts each, then remove the two nuts which hold the parking brake handle assembly and disconnect the parking brake rod. You'll need to peel back the carpet around the edge of the tunnel. Remove the 11 flat head Allen screws which hold the tunnel, then, from under the car, work a putty knife into the joint between the tunnel and the surrounding body. Carefully separate this joint which is sealed with some awful, sticky, gooey tar-like stuff. As the joint pulls apart, the tunnel becomes easier to lift. With the tunnel out of the car, most of the transmission is exposed; also the driveshaft and the front of the differential. This is a great opportunity to grease the driveshaft, paint it if you're so inclined, and upgrade to the new emergency brake if your car doesn't have it. Now you can carefully heat the sealer with a heat gun or hair dryer and scrape it off. WEAR GLOVES! To seal the tunnel back on, use foam stick-on weatherstripping on the body. To keep the weatherstripping from sticking to any residual sealer on the inside of the tunnel, I ran 2" wide aluminum tape (available at home centers for sealing gas heater flues) around the inside edge of the tunnel. This was a LOT of work, but...the next time I have to remove the tunnel, I'll be able to just unbolt the seats and the e-brake, take out the screws holding the tunnel and lift it out. Another advantage to removing the tunnel: If you're upgrading the e-brake, the rod is much easier to fit if you can see where both ends go at the same time. There isn't anything hard about this; it's just tedious and filthy, but I think it's worthwhile. I'd much rather do it now than have to maybe do it in the middle of July sometime when I need to get at something under the car. Randall also made the point that it's much easier to change the clutch someday down the road if the tunnel is removeable.
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