idea for a shifter

[FoxyRoadster]

So I got to thinking about my shifter handle and how this stock ball looks well.. bland... I just happened to have the idea hit me out of the blue it was making my own sword handle for my shifter. http://pages.prodigy.net/tlbuck/tsuka/tsuka.htm I found these instructions and think I'll make myself my own custom shifter.

 

 

myself I really don't care if it looks goofy to others, I think it would be awesome and fits the car since its a datto.

[sick620]

PRETTY FAWCKING TIGHT IDEA IF YOU ASK ME!!

[fisch]

PRETTY FAWCKING TIGHT IDEA IF YOU ASK ME!!

 

I've been thinking about doing a Katana sword shifter for long time so I don't think it is crazy at all!

[datzenmike]

It's a great idea and I encourage you to express yourself... it's your car right. Personalize it!

 

I used to have a new '70 Dart 4 speed. Everyone then had those Hurst T handle shifters, you know, the solid aluminum shift knob shaped to fit you hand. So of course I got one and put it on. I found that the position that worked best for 1-2 and 3-4 wasn't good for the critical 2 up and over to 3 shift resulting is a balky shift the faster you tried. On top of this they were much heavier than the stock knob and felt like a brick in your hand. If you drove with your hand resting on it, it felt odd. On power shifts there was a tendency to grip it too well and pull backwards and up... hard to explain.

 

I threw it away and returned the stock round ball. Light and fit your hand perfectly. Worked like a ball joint and swiveled in the palm of your hand allowing your wrist to flex naturally through 1-2-3-4 . The point is, it may be interesting to look at, and a sword handle may be designed to fit your hand but it's intended for a different use than an upside down position and shifting gears.

 

My use was more for street performance use where it mattered how fast and hard you could shift. For a DD this isn't so important, for an auto-X it might.

[FoxyRoadster]

It's a great idea and I encourage you to express yourself... it's your car right. Personalize it!

 

I used to have a new '70 Dart 4 speed. Everyone then had those Hurst T handle shifters, you know, the solid aluminum shift knob shaped to fit you hand. So of course I got one and put it on. I found that the position that worked best for 1-2 and 3-4 wasn't good for the critical 2 up and over to 3 shift resulting is a balky shift the faster you tried. On top of this they were much heavier than the stock knob and felt like a brick in your hand. If you drove with your hand resting on it, it felt odd. On power shifts there was a tendency to grip it too well and pull backwards and up... hard to explain.

 

I threw it away and returned the stock round ball. Light and fit your hand perfectly. Worked like a ball joint and swiveled in the palm of your hand allowing your wrist to flex naturally through 1-2-3-4 . The point is, it may be interesting to look at, and a sword handle may be designed to fit your hand but it's intended for a different use than an upside down position and shifting gears.

 

My use was more for street performance use where it mattered how fast and hard you could shift. For a DD this isn't so important, for an auto-X it might.

 

 

I can't stand those t-handle shifters, my bug had one and it was awful.

[datzenmike]

I know! Looks like a great idea but heavy and clunky in operation. Dodge did come out with a pistol grip shifter.

 

 

I have tried it but again your hand is fixed in that position whereas a ball allows your hand to swivel around for proper grip.

 

BTW the idea isn't dorky. It would look very cool in a jap car. I imagined it as a sword sticking up out of the floor. Perhaps if the handle part was the right side up so you hand gripped it with imaginary point towards the roof? Would you also use a Japanese equivalent of a hilt on top?

[hughdogz]

Check this out: Kirin Ichiban Sword tap handle :D

[FoxyRoadster]

Check this out: Kirin Ichiban Sword tap handle :D

 

 

That would make an awesome shifter lol

[MikeRL411]

[quote name= Would you also use a Japanese equivalent of a hilt on top?

That would be a Tsubo. Museum gift shops used to sell reproductions as paperweights, necklace pendants, whatever. A crane [the bird, not the lifter] Tsubo would be awesome.

[7-seven_four-4]

Not a shifter but an e brake.

[intense 620]

i don't think its a dorky idea... i'm trying to figure out how to hollow out the handle on a torque wrench for my shifter! :P