Jerry Feather

When I did two of my Flush Center Console conversions, both for 5-speeds, I was able to use the original shift ***** and boots by cutting the boots down enough to fit around my smaller boot base. Then We found that my shifter boot plate and opening is probably too small. Then I have redesigned the lower insert for the conversion, but now I feel like I need to also provide a replacement shifter **** and boot to go with the conversion.

I decided to try to make a replacement shifter **** with the integral leather boot and covering. I have two or three of the original shifter **** assemblies, but I also found that the GTS shifter, or perhaps the late GTS shifter ****, I'm not sure which, is a slightly different shape, and from my point of view a little more desirable, but obviously much more rare.

These days many of you guys and others are doing a whole lot of this sort of thing with 3-D printers. I don't have one, so I am going to do my project the old fashioned way, by making a mold off of one of the ***** and then casting a **** in the mold with a hard rubber compound.

What I would like to have is a GTS shifter ****. Does anyone happen to have one, likely with the integral leather boot in poor shape. I would like to buy one; and hope to do so before I get to that point in making the mold. Or I might end up making a mold off of an original shifter **** and then later try to obtain the later **** and make another mold. A couple of the mold components will be the same.

I started the first mold component this evening in my lathe. It is the part that will form the fairly complex recess in the top of the ****. Here are a few pictures of what I have so far.

Rob Edwards

Hi Jerry-

I have the black leather GTS shift **** whose skirt you modified for use with the initial iteration of the flush center console conversion- I would be more than happy to send that to you for your purposes. Let me know if that would work, and I'll put it in the mail to you. (I have a spare GTS shift **** in Marine blue that I can use in the meantime...)

Jerry Feather

Thanks Rob. That is a great idea. That is one that I will also need to recover for the lower insert. Since the leather boot is already now cut too small I won't feel bad in completely removing it to mold the ****. And I think I have pretty much figured out how to recover one of these, and the early ones, with leather over the top and into the opening on top for the little plastic shift pattern insert, and have it look factory, or very nearly so.

By the way, Rob, I finally got the oven wired again to heat up, but when I put the forming jig into it with the plastic in it and heated it up to what I recalled was the correct temperature for forming, about 285 Degrees F, the plastic was not nearly soft enough to form. Then I tried again, but finally concluded that maybe, since it has been quite a while since I used the oven to form some plastic, maybe the target temp was 385. So, I burned the oven out again trying to get it there. Then I finally found enough extension cords to put the 240 volt oven I have had a long time into service. Then, it seems to have a governor set at 375, but when I got the plastic up to that it was melting all over the place. I still need to figure out why the plastic would not form at 285 which I now think is the correct temp. ????

Jerry Feather

After studying that mold piece I decided it needed some minor changes so I made it over this evening. Then I cut some hardwood into pieces to use as the body of the mold. I'll epoxy them together tomorrow after I mill a 3/4 inch hole thru a pair of the pieces clamped together. I'll show some pictures of that when I get to it, and explain about the hole.

Rob Edwards

Shift ****'s in the mail as of this afternoon.

Jerry Feather

Thanks Rob.

Mark R.

Another great undertaking Jerry. Following along with awe and interest.




P.S. - I hope you won't take this the wrong way, because I absolutely LOVE your spirit and generosity and ingenuity.
But when I read the paragraph above, all I could picture was Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) telling that story.


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Jerry Feather

Thanks Mark for that wonderful post. It means a lot.

I am reminded of the time I took one of my Cowl Covers in to show the former Chief Judge who was a friend of mine. He seemed amazed at it, then asked "what is it about this Jerry, is it working with your hands?" I said "no, it is working with your brain." Then I likened it to practicing law in putting what you know into solving problems or figuring out how to do something. I don't think he could make the connection.

Jerry Feather

Here is kind of the next step in this process. Cut some blocks of wood to be glued up into halves of the prospective mold. Since I can't put the resulting blocks upright in my mill and then drill the 3/4 inch hole in one end between the blocks, I decided to make that part of the mold separately to start so I could just drill the hole thru two smaller pieces and then I can simply epoxy them into the other block halves using the metal mold piece I have already made as a guide.

I have cut the block pieces so that they will lay up in a crosswise fashion for some strength. After these set up I'll glue the drilled pieces in, then start hogging the mold cavity out large enough to clear the original GTS **** leaving room around it for some two-part resin compound to fill the void around the ****. I'll be doing that with half of the mold at a time and show you as I go.

Jerry Feather

By the way, I finally finished up the last batch of Gas Cap Pawls in the mill and can now use it more freely to both drill this hole in the mold pieces, as shown, but also to set the rotary table up with some jig to hold the metal mold piece I have made to cut the male end into the three fingers that match the little plastic shift pattern insert. Then I can finally also set up and cut the three-finger gas cap separating tool piece so I can see if that is going to work.

Jerry Feather

I took the clamps off of my glue-ups and sanded the mating surface in the belt sander. Then I decided that it is a good idea to temper the epoxy a little in my oven I put them in at 200 degrees F and they are still heat soaking.

Then I went to the mill and took the mill vise off and centered the rotary table precisely under the quill. I had to make a jig to hold the metal mold piece I have been making and then I milled the top into the three points that will form the holes or recesses for the three prongs on the little plastic shift pattern insert. I milled the recess in the top that will form the bump in the **** under the shift pattern insert for the top end of the shift stick. That all came out pretty nice and the mold piece now will fit into the top of the original **** I am working with until I get Rob's GTS ****.

More to follow as I progress.

P.S. Two of the pictures are out of order.

Jerry Feather

One of the things you might notice if you look closely at the pictures that show the rubber shift **** is that there is a groove formed in the top 3/4 or 4/5 of the **** in the front and back which is a recess for the front and rear seam allowance in the leather covering. You will also notice that at the bottom of the recess is the factory mold mark. I am not sure just how much problem there was in getting the factory ***** out of their molds, but to avoid any trouble, and to limit the pieces of mold needed, I am going to put the grooves in the bottom of my mold halves rather than at the mating edges. That means that I will be molding at 90 degrees off from what the factory did.

Jerry Feather

I started hogging out one of the mold halves using my original **** as a guide. I found it easier to start with the mill and using a large ball nose bit I sort of routed out the very rough opening. Then I'll try to finish it up with a small chisel and I might try my small rotary tool if I can find it and a suitable bit.

I still have to make another metal mold piece to go into the other end of the **** where the shift stick goes. I think I'll make it pretty much like the shift stick but a tiny bit smaller and then the finished molded **** will have a snug fit, but not so much as with the original which I found is way too tight.

rlich8

Excellent! Talent! Go Jerry!

ReDesign by FEATHER

Here is the first half of the mold with the rough recess nearly finished. It has the drilled block in place but it is not yet epoxied in. I'll probably do that tomorrow. When Rob's GTS **** gets here I see if any more work needs to be done on this recess then I'll be able to pour the mold medium in and let it set to make the first half of the mold. Tomorrow I'll also fab the shift stick part of the mold.