Has anyone done this and replaced it with a non metal gate and had a leather gaiter for instance? Just bought a manual V8 and the clanky old gate annoys the hell out of me.

 

no, because the gate defines the pattern. You'll see a plastic pattern below the aluminum one that guides the shifter.

If it is so annoying, just get some heat shrink tubing and put it on the shaft where it hits the gates. Easy fix. You just have to deal with the look of an inch of tubing on the shaft...