Gear lever knob

[drifter]

I thought I was being clever by buying a set of knobs from the UK rather than paying the pretty high price here...

So they duly arrived and I went to install the gear change knob (the black one) onto my 2a gear lever, to discover the knob has no thread inside it! :eek:

This knob is the round one when looking at it sideways, not the old flattened one.

I had another round one in the shed, still mounted on a gear lever so, with some effort, I took it off - to find that it doesn't have a thread, either. Just a corrugated shim inside that gives it some grip when installed.

My gearlever has a thread on the end of it. It appears to be a ½" UNF thread.

The older 'original' knobs are getting hard to find at any reasonable price now so, my question is, has anyone managed to fit one of these 'new' knobs onto a threaded shaft without undertaking any damaging actions?

Thanks in advance,.

[chazza]

What about coating the thread on the stick with soap; filling the hole in the knob with a fluid filler such as auto body filler and pushing it onto the stick? This will allow the knob to be unscrewed,

Cheers Charlie

[drifter]

I was thinking along those lines - but doing it with a bolt so, if I screwed it up, I didn't have a mess sitting on the end of my gearstick ;)

[Titch101]

Can you tap a thread into the new knob and helicoil to the correct size for your lever?

[JDNSW]

The unthreaded knob is Series 3. You do occasionally see new 2a (same as Series 2 and 1) knobs for sale, but they tend to be very expensive.

Two things you can do to fit the other knob -

1. Find a piece of hose that is a tight fit into the knob and a tight fit onto the gearlever. Cut off an inch and use loktite or superglue to fix it to the knob, push onto the stick.

2. Find a nut to fit the gearlever, I think you will find this is 1/2"W, not UNF, and turn the nut down to fit the knob, using a bolt as a mandrel, and again loktite or superglue into the knob. Turn out the hole in the knob if you need a bit more space. Of course, this assumes you have access to a lathe.

John

[drifter]

Can you tap a thread into the new knob and helicoil to the correct size for your lever?

To be honest, I did look at the helicoils I have here but none were big enough.

I also looked at cutting the threaded end off the gear lever and ramming the knob on.


The unthreaded knob is Series 3. You do occasionally see new 2a (same as Series 2 and 1) knobs for sale, but they tend to be very expensive.

Two things you can do to fit the other knob -

1. Find a piece of hose that is a tight fit into the knob and a tight fit onto the gearlever. Cut off an inch and use loktite or superglue to fix it to the knob, push onto the stick.

2. Find a nut to fit the gearlever, I think you will find this is 1/2"W, not UNF, and turn the nut down to fit the knob, using a bolt as a mandrel, and again loktite or superglue into the knob. Turn out the hole in the knob if you need a bit more space. Of course, this assumes you have access to a lathe.

John

I am chasing a new knob currently but fear it will get expensive.

The hose idea is a good one - thanks.

I have a nut for the gearlever - it came with it and was used to lock the old knob in place. I had thought of turning it down and inserting it in the knob but was only going to consider that if I could find 2 or more.

I also thought of trying to find a metal sleeve and tapping a thread inside it...

Way back when I was 16 or so I decided that it was imperative to have a piston as my gear knob, as you did back then. A mate supplied one from his Honda 50 step-thru (hey, it was a long time ago and the smaller size is just what I wanted) and I sat it upside down, put some vaseline on the thread of the lever, placed it in the piston and filled the inside of the piston with dental acrylic (it was freely available, fast setting, easy to mix...).

It worked well and I guess I could do the same again. If I were to go down that path again I would make the hole in the knob an irregular shape so the insert wouldn't spin in the hole and use something like a 2-pot epoxy.

[drifter]

1. Find a piece of hose that is a tight fit into the knob and a tight fit onto the gearlever. Cut off an inch and use loktite or superglue to fix it to the knob, push onto the stick.


John

Hmmm - soft-walled hose - and it would screw onto the existing thread on the stick...

[JDNSW]

To be honest, I did look at the helicoils I have here but none were big enough.

I also looked at cutting the threaded end off the gear lever and ramming the knob on.



I am chasing a new knob currently but fear it will get expensive.

The hose idea is a good one - thanks.

I have a nut for the gearlever - it came with it and was used to lock the old knob in place. I had thought of turning it down and inserting it in the knob but was only going to consider that if I could find 2 or more.

I also thought of trying to find a metal sleeve and tapping a thread inside it...

Way back when I was 16 or so I decided that it was imperative to have a piston as my gear knob, as you did back then. A mate supplied one from his Honda 50 step-thru (hey, it was a long time ago and the smaller size is just what I wanted) and I sat it upside down, put some vaseline on the thread of the lever, placed it in the piston and filled the inside of the piston with dental acrylic (it was freely available, fast setting, easy to mix...).

It worked well and I guess I could do the same again. If I were to go down that path again I would make the hole in the knob an irregular shape so the insert wouldn't spin in the hole and use something like a 2-pot epoxy.

I'm pretty certain the thread is 1/2" W, and these nuts can probably be sourced from any hardware store and certainly from any fastener specialist. Take the nut you have to confirm the size. (We may have turned metric some time ago, but there is still an awful lot of Whitworth used.)

John

[Dinty]

G'day All, The thread for the G/stick Series 1/2/2A is 1/2"BSF cheers Dennis:angel:
ps the threads look incredibly like UNF until you try to screw them together,,.

[drifter]

Thanks Dennis

Isn't that the same as the thread on the bolts used on the bonnet mounted spare wheel assembly?

[JDNSW]

Thanks for the correction - yes, its the same as the spare tyre clamps. You won't get one from a hardware store, but I was able to get them from a fastener place in Dubbo, so you should be able to find them. Failing that, any tool supplier should be able to order in a tap.

John

[peterg1001]

Thanks for the correction - yes, its the same as the spare tyre clamps. You won't get one from a hardware store, but I was able to get them from a fastener place in Dubbo, so you should be able to find them. Failing that, any tool supplier should be able to order in a tap.

This mob Classic Fasteners - Fasteners for your vehicle restoration project. (http://www.classicfasteners.com.au/) will be able to supply them.

Peter

[drifter]

Thanks for all the assistance offered above.

I have managed to find a supplier of the correct knobs and have ordered a few so I'll have some spares.


Cheers,

[JDNSW]

Thanks for all the assistance offered above.

I have managed to find a supplier of the correct knobs and have ordered a few so I'll have some spares.


Cheers,

Can I ask what you paid? Last ones I saw were pretty pricey. I don't really need one, but the gear positions are wearing so they are pretty faint.

John

[drifter]

Can I ask what you paid? Last ones I saw were pretty pricey. I don't really need one, but the gear positions are wearing so they are pretty faint.

John

I can get them locally for $70 + freight.

I purchased 2 for $70 including freight.

Funnily enough, I was outbid on eBay last week - my maximum bid stopped at $38 and the sale went to $45 - for 1

[drifter]

And, yes, it still appears pretty pricey but...

I am trying to make the interior look good again.

The dash panel has been completely repainted and the instruments have been re-furbished. I am currently purchasing all new switches and switch labels to replace them all as most of them are a bit unreliable now after many years of neglect and whatever...

The steering wheel and steering wheel centre have been replaced/redone.

The vent actuators have been touched up, so to speak...

The Tex indicator stalk has been refurbished - including a new rubber wheel.

Pedal pads for clutch, brake and accelerator ready to go in.

All panels, including seat box have been scrubbed down and repainted...

I want to climb in and know that it looks good, I feel good and everything works. And I don't want to do it again ;)

[chazza]

I don't really need one, but the gear positions are wearing so they are pretty faint.

John

On my S1, I chased the figures with an Arlec engraver and then repainted them; it turned out quite well,

Cheers Charlie

[JDNSW]

And, yes, it still appears pretty pricey but...

I am trying to make the interior look good again.

The dash panel has been completely repainted and the instruments have been re-furbished. I am currently purchasing all new switches and switch labels to replace them all as most of them are a bit unreliable now after many years of neglect and whatever...

The steering wheel and steering wheel centre have been replaced/redone.

The vent actuators have been touched up, so to speak...

The Tex indicator stalk has been refurbished - including a new rubber wheel.

Pedal pads for clutch, brake and accelerator ready to go in.

All panels, including seat box have been scrubbed down and repainted...

I want to climb in and know that it looks good, I feel good and everything works. And I don't want to do it again ;)

Very, very few Series Landrovers ever had pedal pads, and I have never seen one on an accelerator in over fifty years of driving them!

John

[drifter]

I'll take photos...

[Bigbjorn]

B.S.F. Bolts (Bruce Gardner) in Melbourne is cheaper than Classic Fasteners, 'phone 0408 056 255.

[p38arover]

What about coating the thread on the stick with soap; filling the hole in the knob with a fluid filler such as auto body filler and pushing it onto the stick? This will allow the knob to be unscrewed,

I did this years ago when I made a wooden gearknob for my Hillman. I Vaselined a bolt instead of using the gear lever. That knob lasted for over thirty years.

[hodgo]

A product that I sware by is Sellys knead it Its ideal for problems like fitting knobs to leavers etc My daughter has worked for Mitre 10 for some years and she showed me who to make a nut from it that worked as well as any nut you would buy. you dip the bolt in to thinish oil, fold the kneadit around it shape it the way and size you need and let it set I have used it on car radiators, patched a hole in a water tank and the best one I have used it for was a striped thread in a spark pug hole on a lawnmower a couple of years ago by pushing the kneadit into what was left of the threads, coatiging the splug threads in oil the screwing it in
I am sure it will fix a gearleaer knob to a leaver.

It should be on google or utube

Hodgo

[drifter]

Thanks for all the assistance offered above.

I have managed to find a supplier of the correct knobs and have ordered a few so I'll have some spares.


Cheers,

They arrived today - look the goods, too!