Aftermarket Shifter Boots for the M35

Those driving the M35 military truck either for fun, war, or work may have 'noticed' that in the summer, the inside of the cab is like an oven. This is due (besides the fact that the truck has no air coinditioning..) to hot engine compartment air entering the cab through various holes large and small. The worst offender by far is the transfer case shift lever hole. It's at the rear of the transmission tunnel and the hot air blows up through there like a heater. The hole is about 1.5" wide and 6.5" long and is mostly unobstructed. The lever occupies only a 1x1" space in that slot. The second worst offender is the transmission shifter hole. It's not as bad, but it's bad enough. This hole also admits any oily dirt and dust from the engine area. Not that we care about getting dirty. The whole thing looks alot better afterward, and the cab floor will stay alot cleaner. The boot used is the Mr Gasket "Super Boot" #9649.

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The metal hardware has two sides, one is chrome and one is brushed aluminum. The subdued side was selected.
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When the transfer lever is in the low range, the boot is at its maximum potential. On the shift lever there is a 'bulge' about 1/2 way down, The top of the boot rides on this. It can be shoved over it, but then it interferes with the shifter's LOW position, stacking up under the lever. The metal escutcheon plate that comes with the boot was left off of this one because it interferes with the bracket to the right of the shifter when the shilfter is pulled up. (for comparison the escutcheon is installed on the transmission shifter boot)
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The lever is in the high range in this image. The boot looks lopsided, and that is because the shift lever slot is close to the left side of the transmission tunnel. Therefore the boot must be mounted off-center. No smaller boot would be able to do the job.