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This is kinda neat . . . !

FM Former Member
It took a while, but I finally managed to dig my 356SC shifter out of the black hole in my cellar. The shifter still has the original "dimpled" black plastic shift knob on it and one of the 356 guys was looking for one.

Anyway, I cleaned it off, and the knob is almost "perf" so I'll just pull it off and sell it, but while I was cleaning the knob, I did the housing as well. So one minute I'm out on the back deck with a sandwich in my hand and the next I've got a brush and paint stripper in it instead. I just stripped the housing, but it's clean and undamaged and will buff up, bead blast, or paint up (krinkle black) like a champ. I was thinking of selling it, along with the knob to the 356 crowd, maybe as a unit, and get rid of everything at once.

Then I realized the obvious! With a minor amount of aluminum shaved off of the bottom, it's the same height as a stock Beetle housing with a quick-shift plate installed under it, AND the entire Beetle shifter housing AND quick-shift plate will fit INSIDE the 356SC housing, NO PROBLEM. Everything hidden within a stock 356 housing. On top of everything, the little stock rubber VW shifter boot will fit on the 356SC housing like it was made for it, AND show off all of the cool bolts and wire clasps and purpose built aluminum wonderfulness.

My housing didn't have the lock mechanism in it, but I found that any number of other things can be fitted into the hole, no problem. Here are some pics to help illustrate all of this.

Shifter housing, just stripped and cleaned. Bare with shifter still attached,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing7-1.jpg

356 housing beside VW housing to show height similarity.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing3-2.jpg

Housing with "Ignition On" light.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing1-2.jpg

Housing with "Ignition Kill Switch."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing5-1.jpg

Housing showing upper flange where stock rubber VW boot would fit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing6-1.jpg


SO . . . how cool would this kinda thing be for Gerd's or Mickey's rides. Do the housing up in bead blast or black beauty grit, leave it in the raw blasted cast aluminum for a "purpose built" look. Polish it for a classic/classy look with some oatmeal square weave-style carpet. Paint it in krinkle black for a little more factory road car look and less of a factory race car effect.

Anyway you go, this neat 356 housing/cover is a whole lot cooler than the usual VW shifter and a vinyl boot that matches the interior deal. Plus they're up on TheSamba, The 356 Registry, and Ebay for sale all of the time.

So, maybe? I'm pretty sure that I'm going to fit something like this into my Pre-A for sure. The SC already has a Gane Berg, which is why this housing was lost down stairs in the first place.

ForUm pRIck
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FM Former Member
It took a while, but I finally managed to dig my 356SC shifter out of the black hole in my cellar. The shifter still has the original "dimpled" black plastic shift knob on it and one of the 356 guys was looking for one.

Anyway, I cleaned it off, and the knob is almost "perf" so I'll just pull it off and sell it, but while I was cleaning the knob, I did the housing as well. So one minute I'm out on the back deck with a sandwich in my hand and the next I've got a brush and paint stripper in it instead. I just stripped the housing, but it's clean and undamaged and will buff up, bead blast, or paint up (krinkle black) like a champ. I was thinking of selling it, along with the knob to the 356 crowd, maybe as a unit, and get rid of everything at once.

Then I realized the obvious! With a minor amount of aluminum shaved off of the bottom, it's the same height as a stock Beetle housing with a quick-shift plate installed under it, AND the entire Beetle shifter housing AND quick-shift plate will fit INSIDE the 356SC housing, NO PROBLEM. Everything hidden within a stock 356 housing. On top of everything, the little stock rubber VW shifter boot will fit on the 356SC housing like it was made for it, AND show off all of the cool bolts and wire clasps and purpose built aluminum wonderfulness.

My housing didn't have the lock mechanism in it, but I found that any number of other things can be fitted into the hole, no problem. Here are some pics to help illustrate all of this.

Shifter housing, just stripped and cleaned. Bare with shifter still attached,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing7-1.jpg

356 housing beside VW housing to show height similarity.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing3-2.jpg

Housing with "Ignition On" light.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing1-2.jpg

Housing with "Ignition Kill Switch."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing5-1.jpg

Housing showing upper flange where stock rubber VW boot would fit.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v136/TeamEvil/housing6-1.jpg


SO . . . how cool would this kinda thing be for Gerd's or Mickey's rides. Do the housing up in bead blast or black beauty grit, leave it in the raw blasted cast aluminum for a "purpose built" look. Polish it for a classic/classy look with some oatmeal square weave-style carpet. Paint it in krinkle black for a little more factory road car look and less of a factory race car effect.

Anyway you go, this neat 356 housing/cover is a whole lot cooler than the usual VW shifter and a vinyl boot that matches the interior deal. Plus they're up on TheSamba, The 356 Registry, and Ebay for sale all of the time.

So, maybe? I'm pretty sure that I'm going to fit something like this into my Pre-A for sure. The SC already has a Gane Berg, which is why this housing was lost down stairs in the first place.

ForUm pRIck
FM Former Member
Here's one on Ebay with no bids and only a short while to go.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsche-356-B-C-Transmission-Gear-Shifter-and-Bracket_W0QQitemZ370188530558QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item370188530558&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A1205|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

Needs stripping and cleaning, but it's about where mine was when I first started in on it this afternoon. They clean right up.

Right now it's not a terrible price in that you can pull the shaft and knob and sell them separately to a 356 guy and make some of the coin back again.
M mickey356
TC,
Do you think an Empi trigger shifter base would fit inside it? I like the look of that waaaaayyyyy more than the aluminum box I put over mine. If I take measurements can you check yours to see it it'll fit? I'm going to be doing a new coupler, bushing, etc.... soon (just waiting on the parts from Cip1) and guess I could revert back to the old shifter again. I had thought about putting a new shifter rod in it awhile back so I could get a bent shift lever to look more like the originals but decided against it. I like the integrity of the Empi shifter over the stock, but I'm not a fan of the look. Sure would be nice if I could fit that over the Empi base.
FM Former Member
... And looks quite ridiculous.

(That's what TC meant to say, Mickey. Like a mast from a sailing ship parked in the middle of a canoe. Go with it if you WANT to ... but you've come waaay to far to make your ride look like somebody's old Cutlass.)

I know there are tons of SOC-ers with the Berg shifters, and I know we all do what we want to with the interiors and such, but you're on a particularly slippery slope with the Carrera thing, and I think you should go the bent shifter route in keeping with the originals.
I also think you need to show us all what became of that handbrake. I'm not gonna be at Carlisle, and I can't see PhotoBucket from here -- but I'd still love to see what TC did with it.

FM Former Member
OK, Mickey . . .

I'll go out on a limb here, because I just may need practice on doing this kinda thing, since Corey may want one when her returns to us.

Were someone to grab that 356 B/C shifter assembly off of Ebay, and wanted it cleaned and opened up and milled down to accept an original VW shifter housing and quick shift kit, like the pieces that I described above. I could be convinced to do this for them.

If they ALSO were interested in having a bent shifter, I would be willing to weld the original 356 bent handle onto a stock VW lower end so that the inside of the housing assembly would be all VW with a quick shift kit, and the outside would appear totally stock 356 B/C, bent shifter handle and all

I could also be convinced to drill the bent handle to mimic the drilled E-Brake that was already made. And there just might be a sweet wooden walnut shift knob right here to top it all off.


I'm just saying . . . .


ForUm pRiCK
M mickey356
TC,
I think I know someone who may want that set up, I'll ask him. He said yes.

Cory,
You think it looks ridiculous? I think it looks pretty frickin bad-ass with the ignition kill switch on it.


Let me do some hunting and see what parts I can come up with. I think I'll need a different shifter rod, an older stock bent shifter lever and a quick shift kit, as well as the shifter housing for a B/C.
Depending on what it prices out at I may as well buy a Berg or CSP. The bases on the Berg or CSP are (or could be made to look) pretty slick. I'll let ya know.
Lane AndersonLane AndersonMt. Pleasant, SC Supporting Member
There really is no base on the CSP other than something similar to a stock shifter. They do provide a nice black leather boot that could be removed if you wanted.

EDIT: Spoke too soon. I just checked my car and yes, there is some sort of base in there. Sorry 'bout that. Musta had a senior moment. The look may not be original, but the feel is so much better that it's worth it. You are welcome to try it out at Carlisle.
FM Former Member
The Hurst and Empi shifters cam with a little pebble grain injection molded plastic housing that fit tightly over the squarish base. It had a fragile round shifter "boot" that was really much more of a collar than a boot. The later ones on the Empi ended up just being smooth ABS, I believe.

Honestly, I think that the VS color keyed boots for the e-brake and shifter look really sharp, maybe to sophisticated for an Outlaw, but just right for a nicely done up Speedster. The Pre-A will most likely end up with a good amount of VS interior pieces. All of this alternative stuff that I play around with is for the 356 SC Coupe and I've been doing it because the parts used are genuine 356, even if the car isn't any more. At shows or events or in pictures, all of the little touches, based on altered 356 bits, parts, and pieces will serve to confuse some and delight a lot more. I just love these little detailed smalls, I think that, in a way, they begin to accumulate and push certain cars right over the edge into PISSA. Where as, sometimes, the basic off-the-shelf after market items detract from that.


ForuM PrICk
M mickey356
I just wish there were more options for this kind of stuff. I know it's a miniscual market.
All of the smalls, as FP refers to them, are as important to me as the rest of the car. I spent a good part of last summer redoing the mechanicals of the car and now it's time to focus on the interior. Most of the stuff I see that appeals to me will eventually make it's way into my car in some form or another. For instance, the 914 pedal cluster: Before I go that route I plan to get a used VW cluster and try to drill out the pedal arms and paint them grey. I'm also going to try to creat an aluminum plate shaped the same contour as the floor and firewall of the driver side.
The shifter will be a constant evolution until I finally settle on the right look. Who knows what I'll find that will "turn the light bulb on"? I just know that I don't like (at least in my fake Carrera) the stock VW shifter. I've found a nice solution in the handbrake thanks to TC. AS much as I'd like to move it I really do use it often and it's VERY nive having it right there, even though I don't like the look.
So any of you running across cool looking vintage racing pics out there, post them for inspiration. Thanks
FM Former Member
Mickey, it's more a matter of scale to me. A giant T-handled shifter in the midst of refinement and grace just looks out of place. In my car, even without the carpet pieces and other ground clutter that used to be there, a Hurst-style shifter would look gigantic.
Your efforts at drilling holes and making the car's components look lightweight seem to completely 180 the idea that a big shifter belongs in the middle of that beautiful interior.
I don't know what else to say; it's only an opinion.

As far as drilling holes in the pedal stalks ... you might want to do the standing-on-the-brake-with-all-your-weight-and-force test first. It probably would look really sweet, but the ONE day when you lock up your brakes to avoid the big truck -- is not the day to find out that you weakened the pedal stem too much by drilling holes in it.
(You could paint a bunch of matte black dots on the stems and create the illusion, though. Somebody would have to put their face really far under the dash to tell the difference.)
M mickey356
In regard to scale I see what you're saying Cory. I'm not doing anything immediately. I'm just considering options. Ultimately I'd like an original looking bent shifter lever with a small boot and an ivory knob. Is there anyone out there that has a stock shifter that shifts smooth?


Does anyone know if the Berg "knock off" Empi makes is any good and will it fit a Berg handle? Berg offers a Ball knob with a reverse lockout button as an option to the t handle and if it would fit the Empi shifter I may consider that as an option. My current Empi trigger is fine I just don't like the "loop" trigger. I could get the knob and paint it ivory and the button "ejector seat" red! Or I could just suck it up and buy a Berg, but that would be too easy.

I'm gonna be doing a lot of looking at Carlisle.
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