Squarebody Shift knob options

[ShortHaul]

I've been looking to upgrade my stock shift knob on my 75 C20. The plain old rubber knob is not that interesting, and mine is loose and slipping off the lever so I figured it'd be a good time to swap it out... Thing is, the lever is not threaded, like 99% of all shift levers in the known universe, its splined...

There are a million cool options for shift knobs out there, #14 billiards ball (green and white to match exterior, wood to match woodgrain interior, cool marbled epoxy or glass etc etc etc, but they all have threads instead of splines...

I'm wondering if anyone knows of a spline to thread adapter that could slip on the splines, but provide a threaded exterior to accept a threaded knob? I've done lots of googling, but no luck so far. Also have searched far n wide on this site and found nothing.

With all the cool custom squares out there I can't imagine I'm the first guy to want to ditch the boring rubber knob for something cool!?

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[ShortHaul]

Some knob ideas...

[kipps]

If I were attempting what you are--

Identify the thread pitch and diameter of a common shift lever. Find a threaded bolt with that same thread size. Take the shift lever and the bolt to a weldor or machinist, and have them slice off the spline section, weld on the threaded portion of the bolt, and grind it smooth. Get some chrome tape or paint and cover the welded portion. Screw on your knob.

[Dead Parrot]

Depending on what you have in mind for a knob, might be a simple as smoothing up the splines and threading the resulting rod. They will be out of sight so they don't have to be perfect. Might not match standard threaded knob size but if you were doing the pool ball thing just make sure the insert matches your threads.

Pick up an old shift lever from a pull-a-part yard and experiment.

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by Dead Parrot

Depending on what you have in mind for a knob, might be a simple as smoothing up the splines and threading the resulting rod. They will be out of sight so they don't have to be perfect. Might not match standard threaded knob size but if you were doing the pool ball thing just make sure the insert matches your threads.

Pick up an old shift lever from a pull-a-part yard and experiment.

That's a great plan. I had thought of doing the smooth and cut threads idea, but I'm also hesitant to ruin my perfectly good shift lever... A junkyard find would provide a great practice piece!

[TrailerTrash]

I have an old beer tap handle on mine just for the hell of it. All I did was take the stock knob off, get the size of the shifter rod, drill the tap out to that size, and glue it on. That bad boy is freakin on there it was a tight fit. If you find just a plain billiard ball or a wood knob of some sort you can drill the hole out like I did. I had an old wooden file handle on my civic at one point that I did the same way.

But keep this in mind
Depending on your steering wheel size and the size/shape of the shift knob, you may have trouble actually shifting because the shifter has to be pulled toward the wheel to shift. I had originally had a different shift knob in mind but it wouldnt clear my Grant steering wheel. May not have even cleared the stock wheel. Just something to think about

Cutting the splines off and threading the rod is a great idea. 10x1.5mm is a common thread pitch among imports and some domestics

[ShortHaul]

Scored a lever (and a few other goodies) from a local pick n pull... Now time to grind off those splines and see if i can cut some threads!

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Thanks to this big beauty for donating...
Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[ShortHaul]

welp I managed to cut some threads in it. 5/16-24. It was a bit challenging because the end of the lever steps up in size, so I was using a table grinder to try and bring the OD to one uniform size. That resulted in a few flat spots in the thread, but overall I think it should be able to grab a threaded insert of a shift ball... we'll see...

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[sweetk30]

i wanted to do this for a key but it would need to be a stubby screw driver handle or a stick shift on the floor setup as our auto on lever would be in the way .

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

i wanted to do this for a key but it would need to be a stubby screw driver handle or a stick shift on the floor setup as our auto on lever would be in the way .

[Dead Parrot]

Good work on the threads. Some sealant tape to tighten things and some thread locker and it should work. Not really a high pressure fitting.

[TrailerTrash]

Originally Posted by sweetk30

i wanted to do this for a key but it would need to be a stubby screw driver handle or a stick shift on the floor setup as our auto on lever would be in the way .

I've made a few of those with stubby screw driver handles. Heat the metal(screw driver tip) with a torch then itll melt the plastic and you can slide it out. Then grind the key head down a bit and heat the key up nice and hot and jam it into the handle

[sweetk30]

clamp shaft in vise .

block of wood .

hammer handle off easy .

[ShortHaul]

Originally Posted by Dead Parrot

Good work on the threads. Some sealant tape to tighten things and some thread locker and it should work. Not really a high pressure fitting.

Thank you, Yeah I ordered up a shifter and a thread adapter kit, I think it oughta do the trick. Once I get that on there the next task is to swap the levers out. I watched a video and it looks like you just have to punch out a pin that holds it in. Tricky part is to make sure you don't lose the spring that's in there..

[skyphix]

Its not fancy or flashy, but this is the one I put on to replace an absolutely terrible one that came on the truck... it was cheaper than a stock replacement which is actually what I was looking for.

[ShortHaul]

Got the 14 ball from American Shifters, along with their adapter. The ball is definitely genuine, looks like it came right off the table of some old pool hall... Adapter threaded right on to my home made threads and I locked the ball in place with the jam nut. Now all thats left to do is swap the levers...

I saw a crappy video of how thats done, looks like the little pin gets punched out, but theres a retainer spring that has to be accounted for...I guess we'll see when we get in there...

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[ShortHaul]

Got it installed... I think it looks pretty cool! kinda dorky, I may swap it for something a tad bit smaller, and more low profile, like a nice turned wood piece. But I achieved the goal I was after. The retention pin popped right out with one smack of a hammer and punch, but getting the replacement lever back in was a chore. There is a tiny little spring in the bottom of the hole that gives your lever the springy feeling (for lack of a better term and it needs to be depressed while you slip the end of the lever in. I tried a handful of different items but eventually used the end of an old hacksaw blade. It fit right in the hole and held the spring back while I inserted the end of the shift lever. Once in place i just yanked the blade out and voila...

Anyways, here it is. Kinda cool, sure as hell beats the boring old plastic one that kept falling off!

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

Still plenty of room between the steering wheel in the tilt setting I use. When fully tilted up, it makes contact going in and out of park, but not in the setting I use.

Untitled by awesome_adawson, on Flickr

[TrailerTrash]

Awesome.

Looks good plus now you can throw just about anything on there that you want