louloumax

here are my cheapie custom mods:
#1 i used a real 7 ball to match the MonteRed paint very closely. total cost $11 (on ebay) plus a set of drill bits. fits nicely in my hand for shifting and i lowered the height (shortened the throw a little) by drilling the hole deeper in the pool ball. top of the ball is 3 3/4" above console.
#2 knee pads, L & R. i was always banging or rubbing my knees on the hard plastic console or the door. i bought a mouse pad with wrist protector at staples, cut off the mouse pad and used double stick velcro to attach it to the console on the right. on the left, i got a piece of felt covered foam--actually a piece of a rifle butt shoulder pad, cut to size and attached it the same way. removable/reversible when you sell the car to put it back to stock or if your friends think it looks too hokey.
#3 i find my foot slipping off of the clutch pedal in wet weather if i've walked on oily cement, like at a gas station. i coated the pedals with plasticote--the same stuff you dip your tool handles in to give them that soft and grippy feel. if gives a bit more grip than the plain metal without raising the height of the pedals. in 7k miles, it has worn back down to the bare metal in spots, but still does what i intended it to do. comes in jazzy colors, too.

artistnsports

pictures don't work.... They are also .jpg.jpg which might by why

louloumax

thanks for the heads-up.
pictures fixed?
they work at my computer, but then again, i have the files right here, too. let me know.

CodyC6

Good ideas. I really like the billiard ball idea. If I didn't have an A6, I'd be in search of a #3 Red ball.

AORoads

very innovative! and looks good. plus the benny of having a shorter shifter for almost nothing!

Shrike6

How did you get the 7 ball locked onto the shifter?
GM

louloumax

the old **** come off easily with one bolt. no threads on the c6 shaft. it is 14mm or 9/16th " in diameter. if you can find that size drill, it should slip right on with a little tweaking.

i used a 5/8" drill and had to wrap a piece of duct tape around the shaft to make it a little thicker. i drilled a 1 1/2"+ deep hole in the ball, starting with small bits and ending up with the 5/8" diameter hole. (deeper gives more stability to the ball and a shorter shifter).

to secure it to the shaft so it can't rotate or wiggle, i drilled a hole in the ball and shaft and inserted an 1/8" roll pin: align the ball for proper fore/aft position in neutral, mark the position so you remember it. shift to 1st for access to the lower part of the ball and drill the 1/8" hole as low as you can thru the ball and shaft. i drilled all the way thru, so if you need to remove the ball you can tap the roll pin out. seal the roll pin end with revlon valentine #730 nail polish--another close color match.

i've had the ball on for 7000 miles and no sign of wiggle or looseness. the ball was $11 including shipping on ebay. easy search and just wait til your color comes up.

aero400

What is that 7 ball made out of? I didn't know you could easily drill into a typical pool ball.

I have always wanted to add a round ball type shift **** to my car, like the old Hurst white or black ***** - but I have yet to find a round ball made to fit onto a stock shift lever.

Does anyone know of a ball **** made to fit the stock lever? A vintage Hurst style ball, not a leather momo type thing. If not, does anyone sell an adapter that will allow traditional screw-on type ***** to be added to the stock lever? If not, that would be a great part for the aftermarket.

I was hoping to get a solid black ball ideally. Or maybe I can get an old 8 ball and drill a hole right where the "8" is.

The stock **** is good, but it might be fun to experiment.

CodyC6

I believe all of the Camaros in the 80's and maybe later came with a black ball shift ****. Not sure how they attached, but those may be real easy to find.

User 020720

The 7 ball is a cool mod.

What part of West Chester? I grew up near Boot Rd and Phoenixville Pike.

JFTaylor

louloumax

near paoli pike and boot rd. not far from your childhood home. the area is much changed. traffic? we got traffic!

louloumax

the ball is some sort of ceramic. drilling creates a lot of dust, but the material doesn't flake or disintigrate like you might think.
i did a blue #1 on my 02 z06. it was still on there at 45k when i traded it. the 02 had threads. on that install, i basically threaded the ball onto the shaft. then unscrewed it, coated the inside with model cement--careful not to sniff any--and tightened it back on.
the camaro and hurst 8 ***** and similar had a locking set screw to keep them from unscrewing. not possible on the pool ball installation.

it's a cheap experiment and easily reversible if you have a few hours to kill.

ttomczak

I like your non-slip idea, walk across any car wash area with tire dressing and you are slipping for a while on the pedals...

louloumax

response to rich's email:
because the shaft is unthreaded, the key is drilling the ball to the same diameter. as i mentioned, i went too large because i didn't look hard enough for a 9/16th drill and had to shim the shaft with duct tape to accept the 5/8 hole that i drilled in the ball.
you can drill a deep hole in the ball which gives a lot of surface area contact with the shifter shaft.
it's been awhile since i did this install. the shaft has a dished cutout at the top of it. i put a piece of wood shim to fill this cutout making the shaft totally 'tubular, round, cylindrical--not sure what word describes it best. it was probably overkill, but the tighter the fit the better.
the roll pin drilled near the base of the ball and thru the shaft holds the ball from being removed and/or spinning.that's the sloppiest part of the install because there's no room to work, but the hole and pin, facing front to rear, don't show because their so low on the ball. you can feel where the pin enters and exits if you wrap your hand around the bottom of the ball, but big deal.
because the ball and shifter are now lower, the original boot meets the ball without being attached to it.
a real hi tech install would probably include a rubber grommet on the shaft to lock in the boot, like it locks into the original shift ****. i thought about that afterword and didn't want to remove the ball to install a grommet.

louloumax

it took awhile to find the coating. the can says PERFORMIX PLASTIDIP, JR multi-purpose rubber coating. made by plastidip.com.
the opening is too small to ''dip'' the pedals, so i brushed on 2 coats, front and back of the pedals.

Mikesan

I have built hundreds of golf clubs and am quite certain that golf club epoxy will hold the ball in place. Just an alternative to drilling an extra hole. You'll need a heat gun to remove it once it's set.

User 020720

Wow that's like a few miles from the neighborhood I grew up in on Knollwood Drive.

Yeah the satellite images look a lot different now from what I remember back in 1983.