1996 Collector Edition Corvette

[wxo]

We had a 66° afternoon today and it felt really good to work in the garage with the doors open. I reinstalled "the lid" and fitted the door panel. All went together well and I went out for a short ride. Silvia drove like she hadn't been laid up for several weeks. It was great fun to let her stretch her legs. The lid did not rattle and I will get used to the new "normal" operation where the lid won't stay open.

[Basement Paul]

A minor inconvenience for sure. As long as it feels OK on your elbow, you're good to go! Enjoy the opportunity to drive in the winter. We don't get that too much up here.

-BP

[wxo]

Silvia and I have been getting out more lately. I've been sidelined with medical problems for the last 6 months so it feels good to get some energy and stamina back.

While out enjoying the back roads of NC, I let my right hand slip down off the big Corvette shift ball and grabbed the shaft below it. This position improved the flow between gears and resulted in smoother acceleration. Being a shorter throw, it was still easy to shift. So I got to thinking about how to shorten the shifter shaft. At this point, I don't want to ruin the shaft by cutting and threading it. The idea of getting an old school shift ball to replace the big ol' leather wrapped, clunky OEM shift ball seemed like something to improve the feel of the shifting.

The white four speed shift ball in the photo is the one I used in my '67 Nova SS back in the early 70's to race Fred's '68 Camaro around Cleveland. A good time was had by all and with no tickets.

[Basement Paul]

Maybe you just need a golf club grip instead of a shifter ball...

-BP

[wxo]

Hmmm...the golf club grip is a good idea. It would slide on and bottom out on the top of the shifter shaft giving me a significantly shorter throw. I did a little checking and a size 60 grip should slip right on the 9/16 shaft. They are pretty cheap on Amazon. I'm going to see what I can find. Thanks BP

[Basement Paul]

Definitely easy to reverse if you don't like it, or if you ever sell her.

-BP

[wxo]

I got a snazzy one for Silvia: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HSRVBAG

[Fred32v]

That'll look like Par for the course!

[wxo]

It might look kinda goofy, but if it works for better gear changes, I'll use it until something better comes along. I also have a drilled and threaded cue ball coming soon. The seller agreed to drill the hole for the shaft deeper than he usually does. This also will tend to shorten the throw. I'll try both to see which one works the best.

[wxo]

OK, here's what the golf club grip looks like:

From a functional standpoint it works well. Visually, it seems out of place to me. Comments are welcome.

[MostMint]

if the red part had the shift pattern on it you might like the look better

[wxo]

I couldn't find one with the shift pattern on it.

[Basement Paul]

I've seen much, much worse than that. I wouldn't sweat the look if it works to your satisfaction. If someone is looking in your car at it, say "what the hell you lookin' at??" Or they think you're just really into golfing...
When the car is parked, just put your driving glove on it, Laverne & Shirley style.

-BP

[MostMint]

I couldn't find one with the shift pattern on it.

I was more thinking find/make something with the shift pattern and replace that red part with it. You have it engraved on a piece of stainless steel perhaps.

[wxo]

That sounds quite elegant, Andy. I'll refer to it here on TireSmoke when I'm finished with all the other todo's on the list.