Show us yer knobs!
 

SHIFT knobs... what the heck were YOU thinking?

It's come to my embarrassed attention that my '80 may have been sporting a (gulp) NON-STANDARD shift knob all these years.

Obviously, this will not do.

So, first-gen'ers, and especially SA owners, let's see what you spend all your happy time grabbing with your right hand! :icon_tup: :lol:

If it's known to be original, please point that out.

(will post mine tonight - - no pix handy)

I use the stock FB one, at about a 45 degree angle from center towards the driver. Fits in my hand perfectly.

here is my stock SA Limited knob ...... not a close up , but all I have

Dunno if it is original. Fits my hand well and has a heavy weighted feel!!! Don't you just love those long sticked 79-80 shifters!!??? Don't sell me no short shifter!!!

here is the oem shift knob on my 1980 RX-7 LS:

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...7/DSC00105.jpg

You know...my car is a 4 speed. The shift lever looks....well more erect. Is the shift lever on a 4 speed longer than a 5?

I just bought a 5 speed and about to do a swap. I really want that "long shifter" look!!

BTW...I am not gay. I just like the "old school" look of a long shifter..

BTW...I am not gay. I just like the "old school" look of a long shifter..[/QUOTE]

lol... heres mine
just stock.
http://i538.photobucket.com/albums/f...8/DSCF0004.jpg

RX8 5spd knob on my 85 GSL-SE

Black Leather Momo on my 94

I'm with mazdaverx713b;
SA Limited/Leather Sport stitched leather shift knob just might be the ultimate right hand (*ahem*) tool for the SA driver ;)
...Next to wrapping your mits on the also-rare leather wrapped 4-spoker OEM steering wheel. These are where the driver meets the machine and they do add some flavor to the experience!
Tho I agree the hefty (and heavy!) RX8 european-spec 5 speed rotor-knob is kind cool too...

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Well damn; a 'family emergency' kept me from getting pictures up last night, but one thing's sure: my shift knob is not stock. Must have been replaced before I bought the car.

I've always been happy with its hand-fit, and it looks nice; I always thought it was stock because it has a cast-lexan shift-pattern inset on top that closely matches the center inset in the horn button. It has that 3-dimensional look of the raised 3D emblem set inside deep clear plastic. The body of it is a very firm black rubber or vinyl, with a bit of a "cobra-head" shape to it. It fits the shift lever perfectly.

The clear plastic has cracked and crazed from age, so I was figuring on tracking down a replacement. Looks like I have no idea of its origin, though.

Pix tonight; maybe someone's seen something similar before?

My knob, which was on the car when I bought it in 1989

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/IMG_0117.jpg

Anyone have any idea what it might be from? The threads fit exactly on the SA tranny shifter.

4th gear:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/IMG_0119.jpg

that shift knob is from a Honda..... i had one exactly like it on a CRX i had...

:eek: Oh, god... the horror... I've spent the last 20 years grasping a Honda knob?!?!

(It's actually a pretty nice knob; good hand fit, nice grip. Gets hotter than hell in the summertime, though.)

What year was your CRX? I can't find any photos of a stock Honda knob like that.

Is the stock 80 GS knob leather-wrapped, or plastic?

:lol::lol:

*pats you* its okay... just think of it as a bad nightmare where you've spent 20 years with a lawn mower handle in your car. :rolleyes:

I use the stock 2nd gen shifter.

the GS shift knobs are leather covered, same as the LS. the CRX that i owned was an 87. it was actually a great little car. at any rate, i couldn't find any pics of the shift knob on my CRX , but found one on the net from the CRX brochure. hope this helps:

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/g...x7/86-dash.jpg

Nope - pretty sure only the "specials" (Limited, LS, 10th "XX"Anniversary, etc.) SA RX7s got the gen-U-ine leather wrapped article. S, GS standard knob is plastic with "fake" stitching, and a fairly obvious molding seam around the center circumference of the knob....

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Momo gearshift knob for me...matches the steering wheel.

I really do need to swap out the brown hand brake leaver!!!

Cam...
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/5...oinstall16.jpg

Stu, I have to agree with my midwestern brother. I bought my 79 GS new. It had/has a leather covered and "stiched" cover. Not plastic.

Yep, that does look like it; all the texture has worn off of mine over the years, though. 20 years of LA driving means one hell of a lot of shifting.

I know Rotary Restorations has some salvaged SA knobs on eBay. Perhaps I'll track one of those down.

Do I recall correctly reading that the thread pitch on the shifter shaft changed at some point in 1st-gen history? Was it at the SA/FB divide, or some other point?

not sure about any thread pitch change in the SA/FB. i would post a want to buy ad in the 1st gen for sale/wanted section for the correct knob. you'll probably get a better response here as well as a better price. doesn't hurt to check both though.

welll Stu, i did some searching in the parts fiche this morning and it appears that you're correct. there were actually a few different knobs available. there were two versions of the leather listed, black and brown leather and two black plastic versions (perhaps thread pitch difference). the part numbers are still good. here are the part numbers:

leather knob: 8562-17-520B00 price: $66.06 (from www.mazda-parts.com)

black plastic knob: 8871-17-520A price: $27.41 (from www.mazda-parts.com)

i'ver personally never seen the plastic version. i've only ever owned one SA.. my 80 LS...

stock for now.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2v2gzvd.jpg

Sadly, I do not have a picture of my new shift knob, but it is by far one of the sweetest I have ever seen. It is a ball of billet aluminium with a rotor carved on to the top. I will try to get a picture of it soon.
Edit: Found a picture, not a good one though