Shift Knob Adapter

[Rodnacious]

I need to replace the shift knob on my 986 but haven’t found an easy solution to get past the rectangular stick.

Other than a bench grinder what have you done to put on an aftermarket round knob?

[Dave80GTSi]

Send a PM to member A 986 S here.

Yet another fellow Buckeye (he's in the NW), he turns custom made wooden knobs on a lathe, and can advise you how he did it.

Thanks - DM / C-Bus

[jaykay]

Made it myself. Rennline and Function first both make them. You can find custom solutions on the web.

You can machine a slot in some threaded stock and set screw it on..

[Rodnacious]

Originally Posted by Dave80GTSi

Send a PM to member A 986 S here.

Yet another fellow Buckeye (he's in the NW), he turns custom made wooden knobs on a lathe, and can advise you how he did it.

Thanks - DM / C-Bus

What a coincidence, I do a lot of wood turning myself and was considering making one. I just have thought about how to get past the rectangular stick yet.

[Rodnacious]

Originally Posted by jaykay

Made it myself. Rennline and Function first both make them. You can find custom solutions on the web.

You can machine a slot in some threaded stock and set screw it on..

Any pictures of the setup? I don’t have machining capabilities but have friends that run machine shops.

[GLImages]

A company called Raceseng makes a nice cnc aluminum adapter. Its expensive though and is sort of designed to be used with their knob. I used it to install a wood knob my father made for me years ago. Works great if you can get past the price. I just tapped my wood knob to match the threads of the adapter. Pic from their website below.

There's also an adapter from 928 motorsport. Its not for a 986, but the concept is the same. As mentioned previously in this thread, its a slotted peice of bar stock. Shift knob uses a set screw.

I have also 3D printed ABS inserts for wood shift knobs that were used on a couple different vehicles. Something similar to these porsche adapters could be modeled and 3D printed fairly easily. It just depends on the knob you want to install (does it thread, use a set screw, etc).

[A 986 S]

My shop made solution was to drill an oversized hole in the knob's base into which I glued a metal tube that I modified to have a nice friction fit with the wide part of the shaft. I then drilled and tapped holes for set screws into the lower sides of the knob to secure the knob to the shaft. With the knob installed the set screws are hidden by the leather boot. This works well for me and I'm well pleased with the result.

When and if I turn another knob for my Boxster I think I'd forgo the metal insert and drill a series of 7mm holes to create a slot for the rectangular shaft.

Of course the quick and easy solution would be to buy an aftermarket knob that was made to fit our cars. These are available from many sources including Pelican Parts and eBay.

This is the walnut knob I turned shortly after I bought the car.


cheers - dj

[Rodnacious]

Originally Posted by A 986 S

My shop made solution was to drill an oversized hole in the knob's base into which I glued a metal tube that I modified to have a nice friction fit with the wide part of the shaft. I then drilled and tapped holes for set screws into the lower sides of the knob to secure the knob to the shaft. With the knob installed the set screws are hidden by the leather boot. This works well for me and I'm well pleased with the result.

When and if I turn another knob for my Boxster I think I'd forgo the metal insert and drill a series of 7mm holes to create a slot for the rectangular shaft.

Of course the quick and easy solution would be to buy an aftermarket knob that was made to fit our cars. These are available from many sources including Pelican Parts and eBay.

This is the walnut knob I turned shortly after I bought the car.


cheers - dj

Looks nice. I was thinking I could drill small holes after I turned one and chisel it to a tight fit then drill a set screw. Black walnut or cherry would look good. I’ll keep thinking it over and maybe turn a few with scrap wood as test pieces.

[A 986 S]

Cutting the slot after turning the knob could be problematic. There a couple of other options that might work. The first would be to drill a series of 7mm holes in the base of the blank to create a 7mm by 17mm slot. This would be easier to do and less likely to blow out the side of the turning if done before turning the knob. A shift arm shaped wooden piece could be inserted into this slot so that you would have a center when turning the knob. After completing the turning the filler piece could be removed and the knob installed on your car.

Another option would be to drill a 17mm hole in the blank (or the completed turning) then turn a cylinder that would completely fill this hole. Cutting a 7mm thick slice down the length of this cylinder would leave you with two half round pieces that could be glued on opposite sides of the hole leaving a slot just wide enough for the shift arm.

The shift pattern medallion that I used came from eBay. I think it was labeled to fit a VW of some sort.

Good luck with your turning and be sure to post pictures of you completed project!

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by Rodnacious

Any pictures of the setup? I don’t have machining capabilities but have friends that run machine shops.

It's much like the product posted above. I am suprised to see this. Essentially one machines a slot open at the bottom and one "side" such that you can limit machining to cutting, end mill passes; drill and tap. The flat fits in the slot and is retained by set screws. A lock positions the knob

[A 986 S]

As an experiment, I decided to see if my theory of how one could turn a shift knob without the use of an adapter would actually work in practice. I dug a chunk of curly maple out of the scrap wood box, trimmed it to a correctly sized blank, then set about turning the blank into a shift knob.

More photos of this project here: https://rx19jones.wixsite.com/projectboxster/shift-knob









The results of my experiment;

1) This is a viable way to turn a shift knob without the use of an adapter. It is a bit tricky to make the slot exactly the right size but it's a straight forward project except for that.
2) I now have an excess curly maple Boxster shift knob. If anyone would like to have it I'd be willing to entertain offers

Cheers! - dj

[paulofto]

Wow A 986 S that looks great. Nicely done. How is the shifter H pattern top piece secured?

[A 986 S]

The clips on the back of shift pattern medallion fit snuggly in the circular slot in the top of the knob. A nice tight friction fit. Visual aids! Take a look!!

[Phat Hippy]

That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Well thought out and executed.
Very nicely done.

[Smallblock454]

Next:

wooden handbrake lever
wooden steering wheel

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Next:

wooden handbrake lever
wooden steering wheel

wooden wheels?

Seriously, that's one beautiful shifter!

[flmont]

will you offer these for sale..!

[rexcramer]

Well done sir.

[A 986 S]

I hadn't planned to start a business but sure I'll sell you one! Send me a PM and we can work out details.

Cheers- dj

[boxxster]

A 986 S, I have a new Raceseng 987/997 adapter if you want to play around with it. Just pay me shipping. It didn't quite fit the 986/996 shift console I tried it on. This is due the fact they initially designed it based on a 9x7 unit assuming it was the same as a 9x6 unit, when in reality the 9x6 lever is very slightly thicker. I actually sent them my old 9x6 console so they could make the current version of the adapter that fits both.

Long story short, it fits a 9x7 console perfectly, but you could probably make it work on a 9x6 console if you file down the lever slightly and/or enlarge the opening on the adapter a little.

It's been sitting in my drawer for a few years and I'd rather see somebody do something cool with it!