Ford Bronco Manual Gets Even Cooler With Tall Aftermarket Shifter
The new Bronco’s seven-speed manual is sweet, but the stock stubby shifter doesn’t feel like it belongs in a 4×4. This fixes that.
The new Ford Bronco is an enthusiast favorite for lots of reasons. It has big tires, a removable roof, and even a manual transmission if you spec it that way. It's a seven-speed standard with an extra-low crawler gear, which is some real truck stuff. Now, aftermarket icon B&M has given the rig an equally truck-y shifter to replace the stubby knob it sports from the factory.
B&M claims the shifter is nearly 3 inches taller than the stock unit, putting it directly in line with the center console. It's more ergonomic as a result, not to mention more on-brand aesthetically. The look is reminiscent of the old-school, floor-mounted stick shifts we used to get in almost every truck.
It probably feels a lot different than those classics because it's a short throw. B&M says the shifter travels nearly 40% less than stock, which goes against the long throw of pickups and 4x4 SUVs from yesteryear. Logic says it's for performance reasons, but surely I'm not the only one who isn't concerned about snappy shifts in an off-roader.
Regardless, the design looks pretty tight. The shift lever itself is constructed from 303 stainless steel, and this product demo even lets you hear the solid "click-click" sounds it makes. You can retain the factory leather-wrapped shift knob if you want, but then you'd be missing out on the eight-ball-finish B&M knob that I think is better, personally. The gear pattern is even embossed on top with an italicized "c" on the bottom left to denote the crawler gear. Nice.
It mounts up to the factory shift cable and shouldn't be too difficult to install at home. It'll set you back $349.95 through Holley, and since it's the only real aftermarket solution, there's nothing to compare it to price-wise. All in all, if you're spending that much on a new Bronco already, it's probably worth the extra to have it look and feel the way you want.
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