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Index > Trucks or Parts WANTED > Thread: Shift Knob with old Mazda logo
Thread: Shift Knob with old Mazda logo [' This thread is 4 pages long: 1 (2) 3 4 ']
admin


Administrator
Posts: 446
posted February 02, 2003 08:05 PM

RX-8 shift knob

The RX-8's shiftknob is rotor-shaped. It is very nice... In fact, as one of the 'gifts' we got as special guests at Laguna Seca for the RX-8 launch was an actual shift knob from the 8. Guess what's in my REPU now!

The only thing that sucks is it has a 6-speed pattern on the top... so, I have to find a 5 speed pattern, or a old-school Mazda |m| to go there.


Additially, the RX-8 in Japan has a 5 speed, it is the same transmission as the FD and FC Turbo... and, in fact, is stronger than the 6 speed.
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rotormunky


Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
posted February 02, 2003 11:53 PM



quote:
Thanks for the interest/input, guys! That
BTW: there's no 'e' (or 'c', or 'o') in my first name... it rhymes with "house" and "louse", tho.... :)


Oops :) Sry bout that Klaus.

Say, what colours do you think you could manage anyway? I'm fond of the Mazda blue if you think you could manage that.


____________
-Martin
Orlando, Florida

http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU

'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)

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Klaus43


Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
posted February 03, 2003 10:59 AM

Glass colors vs. paint colors:

It really all depends. Blues, most definitely...an exact match--probably not. But close... You might have seen glass colored 'Mazda Blue' somewhere--but the crucial thing to remember is, wht kind of glass was it? The available color palette for soda-lime 'soft' glass is far, far greater than that for boro...tho boro color has come a long way since even a few years ago! Many different blues are now available--opaque as well as transparent... just depends on the effect in a given application. A thin layer of a certain saturation of cobalt blue over a white background might be the thing...we'll have to see. It may also be feasible to replace that 6-speed logo disc on top of your rx-8 'knob...I'd have to see the disc itself to try and make a replacement, tho. It's probably not such a great idea to destroy your collectible rx-8 'knob given there's no guarantee yet as to the outcome... Still wishing I had a big box of whatever those plastic inserts are they use inside the standard shiftknobs!

       
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straightrepu


Redlining
Posts: 232
posted February 06, 2003 05:56 PM

factory acessory shift knob

bought my truck from the original owner, has a factory
knob made from some kind of stone with the old style mazda
"M" in the center. never seen one like it.
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74 restorepu

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roaddancer


Hauling
Posts: 127
posted February 06, 2003 10:03 PM

I had a thought about modifing an old key fob that I know I have somewhere and insetting it into a black plastic knob by virtue of some careful lathe work.
My old truck had a custom made "t" handle after the original knob shattered on a hard shift.
The folks who make pins and badges for events may be able to create an insert to order. Given the number of rotorheads out there, might have a market for something nice.
Does anyone have the dimensions/ratios/ whatever to create the rotor shape? My company has a nice laser and does cut stuff for employees for a reasonable price. I'm thinking stainless or mirror stainless and set in into a clear knob, possibly attached to the threaded insert to the shifter. Or, cut inside a round insert to set in the surface. That could be fitted to a cast "t" handle as well. Love the idea of a rotor shaped handle!
As far as the attachment to the shaft, any machinist could develop an insert to fit. All they need is a shifter to measure the thread spec, the right tap, and about five minutes in a lathe. Or quite a bit less in volume.

       
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Klaus43


Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
posted February 07, 2003 06:14 PM

Roaddancer--what kind of laser?

The dichroic image option I prev. mentioned is a laser-etched affair...totally doable/available, BUT the setup/initial production run purchase of several sheets of custom dichro images is quite expensive...even if the cost per image is relatively cheap after that. I am looking into it...quality and price are considerations... I do believe however that this is the desired effect you are referring to. Pins and Badges generally means plastic or paper/photo image under plastic...not so desirable in my book... I've considered a machined-to-order insert to mount as well--again, cost--at least initially--is a factor. There is a best option out there, and I will find it! Meanwhile, a pic of that one-of-a-kind factory oldschool-logo 'knob would be cool to see, if it's different enough from the pics already posted... Rotor-shape specs--no problem! Workin' on it... :)

       
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roaddancer


Hauling
Posts: 127
posted February 10, 2003 08:33 PM

Just your run of the mill 3/4 million dollar metal cutter. Theoretically, it could do etching, but just a tad overkill. We have made some parts of .060 mirror finish stainless steel, which might look good set in the top of a knob. As far as machinist work goes, that happens to be the trade I plied for 20 years, til I held a revolution and moved to middle management. Could anyone not a tool-head own an unique vehicle such as a repu?
I could slip some scrap into the lathe and make inserts some saturday, for fun.
I'm hoping to pick up a repu soon, and will be back to tearing around Oregon. I decided I needed a hobby to keep me out of trouble.

       
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Klaus43


Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
posted February 11, 2003 08:49 AM

Sounds Great!

One insert issue comes to mind: 'final alignment' of directional logo/artwork in 'knob...could the tooling of the insert allow for a snug fit throughout the last full turn of the 'knob? Best insert for best price in 'bulk' wins! Minimal functional thickness/depth, as well as a niely textured exterior to promote good seating in an epoxy-to-glass setting would also be helpful....but you've likely got it all covered, given your background! You've got my attention...do let me know. klausdp@hotmail.com Thanks!

       
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rotormunky


Redlining
Orlando, Florida
Posts: 424
posted February 11, 2003 11:48 AM

dichroic process...emblems, etc

What about sand blasting/etching?

You see it on decorative plate glass all the time. Where hte mask off a portion of hte glass and blast it making it frosted. You could even paint the frosted parts if you like (or leave it up to the buyer to do what he wants with it) as the right paint would stick well to the roughed glass.


Or would that me amateurish looking?


____________
-Martin
Orlando, Florida

http://www.themonkeyhouse.org/REPU

'77 REPU (Some assembly required :)
'91 Cabrio (Battered and bruised, but she's still my baby.)

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kansei


Redlining
Wankelized
Posts: 423
posted February 13, 2003 09:56 AM

Shift Knob coming from factory...

Klaus and all...

The Mazda6 and RX-8 both have a triangular shaped shift knob from the factory, though the RX-8s will be geared more towards "rotor historica" than the 6's, but we could just buy those new, rethread 'em if necessary, and insert a custom (READ: Klaus' Kustoms) center piece, like the suspended rotor idea or whatever.

Neal.

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Klaus43


Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
posted February 13, 2003 10:10 AM

Appreciate the ideas, guys!

As far as blasting/etching goes, for a detailed image in dichro coated glass--which is then used internally, and magnified--laser etching is the state-of-the-art. However, blasting might be used to good effect externally on portions of the otherwise finished knob. Thing is, it'd have to recieve whatever coating prior to any other handling, so as not to pick up oil/dirt on the blasted surface. I have seen a very, very cool 'fingerprintless' surface treatment on blasted soft glass, whereby it is brought up to a certain temp. after blasting to seal the surface, resulting in a very cool matte textured finish... However, it might not be practical to achieve on boro...
Far as detailed 'insert' replacement goes for factor, or other pre-made knobs,...well, I'd have to see the piece to try to replace. My guess is, if it's a very small, thin piece, it might not be worth it--but I am willing to look into it, by all means.

       
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brad


Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
posted February 13, 2003 02:31 PM

quote:

As far as the attachment to the shaft, any machinist could develop an insert to fit. All they need is a shifter to measure the thread spec, the right tap, and about five minutes in a lathe. Or quite a bit less in volume.


A metric nut of right thread and pitch can be pressed into the bottom of a shift knob to reduce cost and labor.




____________
-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge

       
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straightrepu


Redlining
Posts: 232
posted February 17, 2003 03:48 PM

wooden shift knob

while going through boxes of repu parts I found a wooden shift knob with the block mazda logo insert is red with gold mazda lettering. are you refering to the long leg M ?
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brad


Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
posted February 17, 2003 04:23 PM

long leg m

the old fashioned long leg m. blue background, white m.

how much for the red and gold wooden knob?
____________
-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge

       
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brad


Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
posted March 11, 2003 04:16 PM

any progress?

Any progress made on the MazdaREPU.com shift knob?

Will it be a reality?
____________
-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge

       
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Klaus43


Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
posted March 12, 2003 08:34 AM

Sorry for the delay...

I've been caught up in other aspects of work/business. Have gotten a bit better educated as to specialty adhesives most suited for glass to metal or glass to plastic... may have to go with a standard fastener in lieu of a custom or shift-knob specific 'insert'... even if it means using the second-best adhesive due to need to fill a gap, at least for now.
Decoratively speaking, I made some progress a while back on a 'millie' oldschool logo image, but I was unsatisfied with the level of perfection, and will no doubt do better next time--but as always, it costs time and money! (Nevermind me just hiring out that part to a more experienced individual...) Also pursuing other business with the supplier of etched dichroic glass images, so may be in a much better position soon to get the best price on that custom-made decorative option.
As usual in this world of ours, it comes down to time and money. How many of us are prepared to plunk down approximately $100 for such an item? If there's commitment for the first dozen or so, it'd sure speed things along, because at that point the up-front investment would be covered--all the materials, and all the time...
Of course, I'd also understand perfectly if y'all would want to see some product first...I know I would!

       
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brad


Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
posted March 12, 2003 08:18 PM

Hi Klaus,

Sounds like a possibility but $100 is 1/5 to 1/10 or so the average value of our trucks!

Mabye we should just cruise the web, find a simple shift knob that fits and have a vynal sticker old school m logo slapped on there and call it inexpensive and done?

Perhaps ROTARY POWER sticker on shift knob too?

I'm sure VRD would appreciate our vynal business, and I know a race shop that does vynal at competetive prices.

Input?
____________
-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge

       
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Klaus43


Rotorhead
Posts: 1259
posted March 13, 2003 06:52 AM

Committed volume would keep price down...

Trouble is, it's exactly like you say for most of us... then again, go and price the 'top of the line' commercial aftermarket in shift knobs! And those ain't even custom art!
Have finally id'd the threads on our levers as 10 x 1.25 metric. As it turns out, the biggest fastener shop in my area says there's practically nothing available with those threads...only a regular nut... So, back to the custom-made insert, or, how to get the correct part from a major manufacturer, and how many thousand is the minimum to buy?
If/when the insert issue is dealt with--and I could always go with a self-threading 'friction-fit' plastic tube inside--(but it doesn't strike me as the 'best' option)--I can always make us a $50 line of knobs...but the decorative aspects will be much more limited! I was shooting for something REALLY cool... and lifetime durable. Sorry, but I wanna limit the vinyl on my REPU to repro NOS decals and such! And I just need to find a way to get beyond the initial investment in specific materials, and time, to get to what I envision. I think there's a huge market for other versions of what I'm thinking about... we're just a tiny little niche, 'test market', if you will.

       
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jfaplanet


Redlining
Posts: 356
posted March 13, 2003 08:06 AM

blanks???

Here is a link to courier knobs, I would think that the treads would be the same. Now just some type of insert!!!
search on this item number 3107870458 on ebay..

____________
74 REPU "Red"
74 REPU "Jethro" "TII"
74 RE-Courier vert
79 SA-SE(aka deathtrap)
79 SA-SE-FC (project
turbo)
http://home.bellsouth.net
/p/PWP-crgj
TN Forum:
http://tnrotary.10.forume
r.com/

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brad


Rotorhead
Posts: 1672
posted March 13, 2003 01:20 PM
Edited By: brad on 13 Mar 2003 13:23

yeah jfplanet!

Now that is what I'm talking about. A $5.95 knob, pull the shift pattern top off, put another top on there that has old school m logo or whatever customer wants. Tap the threads to 10 x 1.25mm if needed and put it on!

This guy sells laser engraved aluminum Miata shift knob for $65.
http://www.knobmeister.com/Oneness.jpg

$60 for wood engraved:
http://www.knobmeister.com/Basswood.jpg

He can laser engrave anything from your car club's logo to the world-famous Pollo Rampante on any Voodoo Knob.

Looks like a winner!

Klaus, here are the inserts:
10 X 1.25mm - Metric Nylon Lock Nut
Package Qty: 50
Price: 9.66
http://www.apachesales.com/product_detail.asp?pid=11901

What do y'all think? Which direction do we go in?
____________
-brad-
74 REPU Lawn Green
81 Rx-7 racecar. 12a J-
Bridge

       
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