Cutting Threads on Stock Shifter Shaft

[walt353]

Just checked my dies and I have a 9/16-18. So this looks to be an easy mod. Ive wanted a cueball for a long time. With this mod I can go with white or black or put the stock back on.Im looking a little closer at the finished hieght and other details.This is looking good

[walt353]

Ill have to determine the shaft diameter for the Hearst before I order the knob. If someone dosnt chime in ill just take it apart and measure it . No prob.

[Kenji]

Yes- they are exactly the same size (factory Hurst shaft and regular shaft = 14mm diameter).

[walt353]

Thanks for that info. I pulled up the boot today and measured it. Cue ball ordered and on the way.

[walt353]

Finally got to this yesterday. Thanks Whitey for putting
this up and the pics. Everything went as you wrote and showed. Im an old guy ,60,. This is what you would have on your Camaro in 1967,68 or 69. Love it. I opted for a piece of painted PVC pipe for trim. Again thanks Whitey.

[Whitey 22lr]

Looks GREAT Walt. Glad my write-up helped someone.

BTW- I got you by a year. I'm 61. Had 70 and 73 Z-28's, sadly gone now
:(.
Us experienced (old) guys gotta stick together

[KnightRider]

Hi Whitey, great thread! I just bought a set of taps & die set for this mod.

I want to use a weighted ball knob with a 10x1.5 thread pitch. I guess it means I have to shave off 4mm of metal before I can re-thread it?

[Whitey 22lr]

KnightRider,
I'm NOT a machinist and the only way I think you could shave 4mm off the shaft
would be to remove it and have it turned on a lathe. If you are going to go thru all that trouble, you might as well put in a MGW, Hurst or Barton shifter. The only other thing I could think would be to have the ball re-threaded to 9/16"-18 threads with a tap. Good Luck.

[KnightRider]

Thanks Whitey,
I think the stock shifter shifts just fine so I'm not looking to spend money on short throws.
All I want is to replace the stock gigantic knob with a smaller and heavier knob to enhance the shifting feel. My original idea was to remove the shaft and grind it with my bench grinder to 10mm and re-thread it with a 10x1.5 die. But now I like your idea of tapping the knob instead...this way I don't need to waste time with all that extra work. When I receive my new knob I'll see how difficult it is to re-thread it.
Thanks!!

[outlaw2]

Thanks Whitey, on my way to Reno today and getting the same ball from Summit...Outstanding write-up

[KnightRider]

I finally get around to do this mod. After I received my Taps & Die set I realized the largest size is only 1/2" (bummer!). So, instead of buying another set of 9/16" taps & die I decided to stick with my original plan to remove the shifter, grind it down and re-thread it into 10x1.5.





M10x1.5 die








This is the shift knob I'm using. It's a very heavy knob that weights over 1 pound! The counter weight makes shifting into gear much smoother than stock. I love the way it feels now!

[Whitey 22lr]

Wow, That was a lot of work, but the results were worth it. Nice job and pix.
Is that Blue Chrome or does it just look that way?

[Whitey 22lr]

Wow that was a lot of work! But it looks great and nice pix too.
Is that a black or blue chrome knob? Glad it worked out for you.

Whitey

[KnightRider]

Thanks Whitey! I wouldn't have thought about this mod without your inspiration.

I pretty much spent the entire day on it but the end result is well worth it, not to mention I have a tons of aftermarket shift knobs to choose from now.

The finish of this knob is called "Neo Chrome", which has a chameleon chrome finish with some blue, purple and yellow hue to it.