HOW TO: Custom shift knob

[Charley Darwin]

STEP ONE: Soak rusty Miata shifter in mineral spirits. Scrub away rust with steel wool. Do not drink mineral spirits.

STEP TWO: Fabricate Rube Goldberg zip tie mechanism to hang shifter from kitchen hardware. Attach 1 lb steel ball (countersunk and threaded to fit Mazda2) to the Miata shifter.

STEP THREE: Using Miata shifter as handle, prep steel ball and coat with VHT satin black epoxy paint. Six light coats work well. If possible, do not paint the shift knob in the kitchen. http://www.vhtpaint.com/products/epoxypaint/

STEP FOUR: Use robot to punch shift knob until it has fully dried.

STEP FIVE: Add high pressure fuel hose and rubber grommets as an inexpensive way to cover exposed metal of shift rod.

 

[Charley Darwin]

STEP SIX: Install in Mazda2.
STEP SEVEN: Enjoy!

 

[Dodge]

Are you say a miata shifter will fit the Mazda 2?

 

[zps2004]

Miata knobs do fit the 2. Same thread pitch.

Any reason you put the rubber grommets on the top of the boot? I would just put washers under the boot, so it came up and matched the shift knob.

 

[inspekt]

Looks awesome! Very nice work.

 

[Charley Darwin]

A Miata shifter does NOT fit a Mazda2, but the thread pitch IS the same (as mentioned by zps2004.) I had a couple of spare Miata shifters in the garage, so I used one as a convenient way of carrying around the shift knob when it was wet. As far as the rubber grommets go, I chose them because they are pleasantly rubber-ish to touch and I thought they looked cool in an 80s shifter sort of way.

Thanks for the compliment, inspekt!

 

[Dodge]

How did you drill a hole in a steel ball?

 

[zps2004]

Well my shift knob from my 97 Miata fit with no issues. What issue did you have?

 

[Charley Darwin]

Buy a 2" diameter steel ball from an industrial supply shop on the internet.
Give steel ball and measurements to friend with lots of fancy equipment in his shop.
Witchcraft happens, and the steel ball is now threaded for your Mazda2.

PS: An old photo for ZPS:

 

[zps2004]

Yay another turbo Miata. Do you still have it?

Also doesn't answer my questions as to why it didn't work. I mean it might not thread down as far, but that is a different issue, than it just not fitting. I had my Miata knob in my 2 for about a week.

 

[Charley Darwin]

I sold it to a guy who eventually rented it out as a track car. It died a Viking's death at a race track down in Texas.

While the Miata shifter will not work, Miata shift knob(s) works just fine. I had two standard Miata shifters sitting in my garage in my spare parts pile. It isn't necessary to use one for a simple project like this, but it kept me from putting my dirty fingerprints on the shift knob between paint coats. I also have leftover SE-R Spec V parts and DSM turbo parts. Every time I have a car for a while, I end up with piles of parts. I am currently accumulating Mazda2 parts. Such is my life...

 

[BigBlueDart]

To clarify, when he says "shifter" I think he's referring to the shift lever, as opposed to the shift knob, which is what I think you guys were hearing. Am I right?

 

[zps2004]

yea, I realized that with his last post.