Had this cheap plastic shifter knob which I never liked. The shifter itself was too long, something I realized after driving Danny’s beast of a Spyder. So I bought this Lokar shifter knob. Very high quality. Heavy and of course with the correct shift pattern. Got a local machine shop to shop 1.5” off of it and put a new 3/8” 24 thread pattern on it. Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest difference in your driving pleasure.
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Touch points are so important.
Just got back from a long drive. It feels like a small pool ball. I’m sure it’s made of poly methyl methacrylate. Lucite. I use it to glue folks vertebral bodies and tale bones back together after falls.
@ 550 Phil From one Doc to the other :~) I use these shifter balls from eBay; white on dune buggy's and I email asking them to list one in beige as needed.
WHITE OL SKOOL SHIFT KNOB 4RDL MANUAL SHORT THROW GEAR SHIFTER SELECTOR UN2 KIT | eBay
@Alan Merklin posted:@ 550 Phil From one Doc to the other :~) I use these shifter balls from eBay; white on dune buggy's and I email asking them to list one in beige as needed.
WHITE OL SKOOL SHIFT KNOB 4RDL MANUAL SHORT THROW GEAR SHIFTER SELECTOR UN2 KIT | eBay
Cool... Which vehicle compatibility do you request,
to be compatible with replica Speedsters and Spyders?
Alan mine cost almost twice that. Mine had adapter and locking nuts for 3/8 16 and 3/8 24. I was shortening mine and placing new threads so I could have gone with the course or fine thread. With taxes the knob cost $46. $42 for machining costs. $88 is pretty much but like I said it really made a huge difference. I love it. Really appreciate Danny letting me drive his car. Since Carlisle I’ve been determined to change the knob and shorten the shifter rod.
I paid approximately Phil's total for my 356 know for my Vintage Speed shifter. I didn't feel a need for a knob with the shift pattern. I know what it is. The 356 knob feels nice because it doesn't have the recess in the bottom like the original knob.
I bought mine from twistedshifterz.com.
It was not expensive and came quickly. That was 2017 though.
Phil, it looks great. Enjoy!
Cool... Which vehicle compatibility do you request,
to be compatible with replica Speedsters and Spyders?
Here's one with 3/8-24 threads in ivory, $30.
https://www.twistedshifterz.co...i-4-speed-shift-knob
You can get any color, different ball sizes, any shift pattern, and any thread with NO adapters from these guys. As I said, they were an absolute pleasure to do business with. Made in the USA, no China junk.
1.75" to 2.125" sizes depend on your hand size.
It was strange that the thread pattern for my vintage motorcar shifter rod was not 3/8 24 or 3/8 16. Course thread like a 16 but the diameter was larger than 3/8. 3/8 16 adapter did not fit. I really didn’t care since I was removing the top 1.5 inches and re-threading it.
@550 Phil posted:It was strange that the thread pattern for my vintage motorcar shifter rod was not 3/8 24 or 3/8 16. Course thread like a 16 but the diameter was larger than 3/8. 3/8 16 adapter did not fit. I really didn’t care since I was removing the top 1.5 inches and re-threading it.
Probably M10 x 1.5.
Exactomundo, Rick. 10 x 1.5mm is what I ordered my shift knob in. I cut the "too long" off the other end.
All I had to do then was drill two holes. One for a 1/4" bolt, and the other tapped for 1/4-28 fine thread.
My shifter rod was from Beck/SE via Carey Hines, and it's tapered. It's a beautiful piece.
IMHO, they're all too long, from either Vintage or Beck. I made mine the same length as the original(but ugly) billet piece from PBS. I think I cut 3-4 inches off of it.
Really nice Phil.
Wow...... Thought that was a fancy toilet plunger for a second, there.
A weighted/heavier shift knob helps the throws feel better and get it into gear easier , as well.
@IaM-Ray posted:@DannyP that site provides different shifters too it seems. I think I misspelled it
Wow. That brings back memories. When I was a kid, we used to have Arts &Crafts camps at my elementary school during the summer. Which was a great way to get to use the “Industrial Arts” classroom. Basically a wood shop.
One of my projects was making paperweights, shift knobs, and various other objects with acrylic resin, pigment and glitter.
How many of you guys had IA in elementary school? IIRC, it was 2-3 one hour sessions a week for grades 3-6. Our IA teacher was a character named Andy Baggs and I lucked out in that the year they did away with IA, Mr Baggs was my 6th grade teacher, so we still got to use all the woodshop stuff. He was a big baseball fan, too, so when the World Series started, he rolled in a TV and we got to watch the series during school!
He was hilarious. Instead of recess he used to make us march close order drills in the parking lot.
I guess he figured all of us miscreants were Vietnam bound so we’d better get used to it. 
