Shift Knob Restoration…Ugh!!

[VA_951]

Hey all,

Wrapping up a mini restoration on my car, and one of the interior projects included restoring the gear shift knob.

When I purchased the car in 1999, the original shift knob had already been replaced with a knob from a 993. Over the years, it started showing some wear and tear, so I figured I would restore it and change out the cap to one with the proper shift pattern as well as change up the color.

I thought this would be simple, but it turned into a lengthy and costly project. Just getting the cap off the knob was a nightmare. The next hurdle was finding a non-6 speed cap that would fit; it turns out they just don't exist. Everything I found was too small in diameter.

To solve it, I went to a local metal shop and had them fabricate a custom spacer/ring to fit right around a 944 cap. This worked out perfectly. I then took the parts to a metal finishing shop and had everything anodized with a grey finish to match the car's exterior.

I wasn't expecting this to be such a challenge, but I'm very pleased with the results. It was absolutely worth the time and effort!

[blueline]

It looks great!

Sometimes (maybe too often), the simplest tasks turn into the biggest headaches - the hanging thread that continues to unravel.

However, the satisfaction of successfully completing whatever was being attempted makes it all worthwhile. Usually.