Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum. I have a questions. My father purchased a 2007 GT500 with a Manual transmission and shortly after had a stroke. He can drive again but has limited use of his left arm and leg which make clutching and shifting difficult. He can drive it but not very well. Is it possible to swap the tranny to an automatic or would it not even be worth messing with. My guess is it probably isn't worth the trouble if it's even possible but I figured I'd check. They paid way over sticker at the time of purchase and now they would consider selling but don't want to take a huge hit on it. I think if they could get 40k they'd just take the loss and sell it. I know it has less than 2,000 miles on it. Anyhow any thoughts on if it's possible to convert and approximately what something like that would cost to do if it's possible? Thanks
Sorry about your Dad, I had a hard time finding a Automatic with my SGT when they first came out, I really enjoy it, I think it would be really hard to change it over, maybe you can trade for Supercharged SGTw/ auto and have the best of both worlds, Rick
I have seen somewhere where someone did the conversion - purpose was drag racing. It's possible but very costly. Update: I found it. Check here: http://www.stangmafia.com/forum/f61/gt500-automatic-2100/
Thanks for the responses guys. I guess I didn't realize the GT500 wasn't offered in Automatic. I was hoping it was something that would be somewhat standard not a special project. That definitely looks like way more trouble than it's worth. I'll probably look to just sell the car for them and try to buy him something in an automatic that would be fun to drive. I'd like to get them into a classic car that's automatic. If the economy was better I'd buy it off them but I don't have the spare cash now. Again thanks for the responses.
You might seriously look for a Shelby GT with the automatic as it would be nearly as much fun to drive, make good exhaust noise, turn heads and maintain some investment value. Even the over priced (in today's market) the '06 & '07 Hertz have a strong following. I believe most were automatics. I would sell the "07 GT500 to cut you losses and hook up the Hertz with low miles. Tom
I concur with this. I had two Barrett Jackson SGTs (thus the name twobjshelbys). I love the manual but my copilot won't drive a manual, so that was the one that went. We still have the automatic and that is the one I put the Kenne Bell supercharger on -- except I put the KB on the Manual before we sent it to the auction for CSCF. If you're looking for a modern Shelby with automatic, the SGT is your ticket. If you want to make it hoot to drive, send it back to Shelby (or one of their mod shops) for a supercharger upgrade. Now my 5-speed is a Cobra. Mr Snake sat idle this weekend while Mr Stallion got road time. Both are fun for entirely different reasons. I can't get these pictures to be in the avatar so here is the one I use in the other places: Good luck.
Sorry to hear about your situation. Hopefully use of his left side will continue to improve day by day but an automatic sounds best. I agree with Tom. Look for a Shelby GT auto or a Hertz. I think he would have a great time driving either one. Randall
Put a for sale ad up on this site and Team Shelby with willing to take a Shelby GT automatic on trade. I had my 2007 for sale over on Team Shelby (decided to keep now) and I had two guys want to trade me their Shelby GTs and cash for my GT500 and both were automatics!! Might be an alternative for you dad....as he can still enjoy the cars....
I know this post is 6 months old....but I just joined and wanted to throw my two cents in. I am an above-the-knee amputee ( left leg )....at one point I had a serious interest in finding a pre-owned 2007 Shelby GT 500 and converting it to an automatic. I contacted Hennessey Motorsports in Houston and ask them about the conversion. They were EXTREMELY nice and accomodating and explained that it was a very involved process due to the transmission monitoring computer software but that they had already performed the conversion for a client. COST......$18,000........little too much for me but it can be done.
I know this is an older post but, here is a link with details of a shop that has done it I know this will help. The automatic conversion is not difficult if you know someone that has a shop. All the part are available and there are very minor issues that can be addresed. http://www.westcentralauto.com/gt500_trans.htm If the link does not work just google westcentralauto, Oscar