Ducati Guy

My neighbor has a C7. Manual. I recently installed a short shifter in my C5. He really liked the way it felt. Asked me to research what it takes to do the install on his C7. Found MGW's install video on Youtube. Install is pretty much the same as our C5's.

Then I went to the C7 forum. Did a search on short shifters. Found a good number of posts. But was a bit surprised how many were talking about either having had it installed by or were going to have it done by a pro.

Small sample size so to speak. But I found it interesting that a lot of the owners wanted to have it done. VS here most did it themselves.

Eaglerulez

Maybe it's just me...but considering how old our cars are...there isn't a huge risk for installing something ourselves and having it messed up. Likewise, our cars have a lot of little creeks, rattles, and small electrical things that need a little TLC. You kind of have to be a little hands-on with the car to make it function better.

When you have $50-80K in a car that probably already feels perfect from the factory...maybe it's just more worthwhile to have things done professionally.

jackjohnson_218

Probably afraid of voiding warranty.

~Josh

Lots of guys these days don't have their man-card anymore. Suspended.

Koufax

I lost my card long ago. I had my MGW installed professionally on my C5.

Koufax

Some of it may be how you value your time. If the cost of having someone else install the shifter is less than the money I can make doing what I do professionally in the time it would take to learn how to do that installation, then the smart choice for me is to do my job and let the mechanic do his. Division of labor and all that.

Patches

A lot of guys in the C7 forum do their own work. I have been here since '01 since I bought my C5 and the percentage of guys doing their own work back then was comparable to what I see on the C7 forum now. As the car ages and warranties expire, people tend to do more of their own repairs - and their own mods. Lots of these C7 owners owned earlier-gen vettes so working on their car is nothing new. The only stuff I don't do on my C7 is warranty stuff. I treat my C7, mod-wise, just like my C5.

striper

I can make enough per hour to offset paying someone to do it for me. It still bugs me to pay for a service I can perform myself, plus then I'm assured of the quality of the work when I know who did it. That's why, since new, my car has only been worked on by myself. Even when in warranty, I had the dealer give me a part and installed it myself.

grantv

Doesn't surprise me at all. Buyers of a C7 are generally able to pay for things to get done easier than those of a C5 owner.
Koufax said it pretty close to my way of thinking also, even though I personally couldn't pay for someone to do my mods.
As hands on as I am, I am starting to value my family time more and more. We want to cut 2 trees down in our front yard, before my girls were born I'd never have considered paying someone to do it...

Nyt_Muves

That's how I ended up with my C5. My best friend owned it. Had me help with or do the repairs and mods on it. When he moved on to a BOSS 302 and then later his 350 GT I took the opportunity to purchase it. I already knew it inside and out. He's not a bad mechanic but he prefers driving to wrenching. Nothing wrong with that.

Vetteman Jack

Not everyone that owns a Vette is mechanically inclined or even wants to take on modding the car themselves. I don't see anything wrong with that - a person has to know their limitations. And as mentioned, sometimes it is cheaper to just have someone else do the work depending on the value of your time.

Roddy13

Money crowd (C7) versus enthusiast crowd (C5)..Not always the rule but often holds true.

Water_Walker

Time with the MGW shifter

or

Time with the wife and kids


I will take the time with the wife and kids and let the "just unbelievable" crowd remain perplexed.

El original

[QUOTE=Patches;1595019808]A lot of guys in the C7 forum do their own work. I have been here since '01 since I bought my C5 and the percentage of g.......

Happy to see you are still here Patches...just read you DIU headlight actuator rebuild from 2007, lol. Long live Patches....Greetings, Rob

PS thank you!

MAC5

Saw the same when the C6's rolled out.

capevettes

I'm still wrenching and playing with the older cars even though I have a new C7 Z06. I just enjoy it. Not too much to do with a car under warranty that doesn't need fixing. Just did exhaust and ported Throttle body on the Z. Sounds better and pulls a little better. The old cars are alot easier to wrench on. The new stuff is basically plug and play.

Pounder

it takes very little time to install a MGW !!!!!!

Ducati Guy

I am the OP on this thread. Per viewing the MGW Youtube install video it is not a big job. Very similar to doing the swap on our C5's.

friou

In years gone by I was a fairly decent wrench guy, but as time has passed and knee and back injuries of old now revisit me on a daily basis I find myself in the position of not really being able, or wanting to, crawl around under a car, bending over an engine compartment for hours on end or wriggling around under a dash. I fall, very happily, into the "retired enthusiast driver" category and am willing to compensate a younger guy who is still working to provide for his family and his future. Everyone have a good day!

doublenut9

In my younger days, I would not have hesitated to work on my car in any kind of weather. Now that I don't function as well physically, I have to rely on a mechanic to do the work. Kind of sucks, but that is life.