A Nice Fat, Silky, Shifter Knob!

[keithb7]

My ‘38 Chrysler’s original transmission shift knob is crumbling apart. I think its made from bake lite? Anyway, chunks are falling from it near the threads. I removed it to stow it away safely. 
 

My dear friend who has machining tools agreed to spin me up a new shifter knob from aluminum. He has some 3” round stock.  The original knob is 2” diameter. I said lets try 2.5” diameter for my big mitts. 
 

He made me a wonderful polished aluminum knob. It fits my hand great and feels so extremely nice. Its so comfy and smooth. Like butter in my hand. He must have used 2000 + grit jewellers rouge or something.  It’s so shiny and smooth.  It’s not stock but I think I can overlook that. 
 

 To say I’m pleased is an understatement. 

 

[Los_Control]

Looks great I like it ..... seems odd though with so many threads left under it looking at the picture.

 

Trim the shifter down a bit to remove the extra threads?

Drill & tap the knob deeper to use them up?

Add a lock nut under it so it actually looks like the threads are needed?

 

Either way I love it, it looks better then mine.

 

 

 

 

[Rodney_Hamon]

That is a wonderful knob that must feel good in the hand grip. This ivory 8 ball is from my grandfathers bar he had way back when. I want to drill and tap this for my truck.  You are inspiring me to get going with that. Ha

[Plymouthy Adams]

I got the set of 4 matching valve stem caps.....lol

[Plymouthy Adams]

make a

28 minutes ago, Los_Control said:

Looks great I like it ..... seems odd though with so many threads left under it looking at the picture.

 

Trim the shifter down a bit to remove the extra threads?

Drill & tap the knob deeper to use them up?

Add a lock nut under it so it actually looks like the threads are needed?

 

Either way I love it, it looks better then mine.

 

 

 

 

 

turn a matching aluminum cone, drilled and tapped so that it will be a matching jamb nut, kill two birds one stone.

[Los_Control]

Just now, Plymouthy Adams said:

make a

 

turn a matching aluminum cone, drilled and tapped so that it will be a matching jamb nut, kill two birds one stone.

I like that, dress that sexy polished knob up with a extension    

[Sniper]

1 hour ago, Los_Control said:

Looks great I like it ..... seems odd though with so many threads left under it looking at the picture.

 

Trim the shifter down a bit to remove the extra threads?

Drill & tap the knob deeper to use them up?

Add a lock nut under it so it actually looks like the threads are needed?

 

Either way I love it, it looks better then mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That looks like a trombone mouthpiece, lol

[Los_Control]

32 minutes ago, Sniper said:

 

 

That looks like a trombone mouthpiece, lol

??? ..... exactly what it is .... or from some sort of horn.   Just a solid heavy brass trinket I had lying in a junk drawer.

I needed to cut the tail off to length, the inside diameter was just right to run a tap through for threads ..... took 15 minutes to make & better then nothing which is what I had. 

 

I,m not entirely sold on it though. Couple weeks ago I bought a black plastic shift knob for a 50's chebby truck for $2 from Holley memorial day clearance sale.

So when I start installing the seats & working on the interior I will have a choice.

 

 

[andyd]

This white knob was I think a door knob that I had lying around, the one that was on the car when purchased was a spindly grey thing......the white knob matched the white/cream steering wheel...........still miss that car after 10 yrs...........andyd 

[DonaldSmith]

The one that got away.

[Pete]

When my '38 Dodge pickup came into our family forty some years ago, it had a old brass doorknob for a shift knob that's shaped much like Keith's aluminum one. It's been on there ever since. It's just part of that truck.

 

Pete

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by Pete

[vintage6t]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

When my '38 Dodge pickup came into our family forty some years ago, it had a old brass doorknob for a shift knob that's shaped much like Keith's aluminum one. It's been on there ever since. It's just part of that truck.

 

Pete

 

 

Funny, I used an aluminum door knob off of a commercial entry door as replacement shift knob for my Ford 8N tractor. Also pretty much the same shape as Keith's.

[greg g]

When my cousin got a newer car he gave me his 51 Plymouth for a lot car, it was equipped with one of these on the shift lever.

 

[Plymouthy Adams]

looks like he may have been guilty of drinking and wrenching, let hope not drinking and driving.  ?

[Adam H P15 D30]

Vintage door knob...  Why not?

 

[greg g]

Nothing that sinister, his summer job was delivering beer, cleaning and changing draft systems.  These were spoils as tap designs or brands came into the mix.  I had about 20 different  one screwed to a length of 2x4.  Can't remember what became of them.

[Plymouthy Adams]

funny the things folks will collect over time and not even be aware of the why later.....I am guilty for a few of these follies myself.....I had a heck of a logo golf ball collection going and saw that this my never end so I quit that one soon enough.  

[Dan Hiebert]

Who remembers this ad line?  "Only her hair dresser knows for sure."  With a lot of these neat shift knobs the only person who knows they aren't original may be the owner.  (Some are obviously not.)  The average Joe or Jane Citizen may only think that's a nice shifter thingy the car company put in there.

[50 coupe]

On 6/22/2023 at 8:28 PM, Dan Hiebert said:

Who remembers this ad line?  "Only her hair dresser knows for sure."  With a lot of these neat shift knobs the only person who knows they aren't original may be the owner.  (Some are obviously not.)  The average Joe or Jane Citizen may only think that's a nice shifter thingy the car company put in there.

OMG I do remember that add! That is another one 'that would never be allowed today'!

[Doug&Deb]

Shiny things are always good Keith!

[SteveR]

As a teenager in the 60s, my Dad had a 1960 Valiant with a 3-speed on the floor. The shifter knob was a plain off-white pale blue knob. When my brother and I started to drive we quickly changed that knob to a more personised one. That was always something a person would do to personalize their car on a budget.

[bones44]

This is my shift lever in my 37 D5 Dodge coupe which I have owned since 1962. It is a intake valve out of a Cummins "L" series stationary engine that I have for years and finely found a good use for it after all these years.