A Lesson in DIY Car Modification

"Corkscrew'd" (corkscrewd) 06/04/2019 at 12:21 • Filed to: DIY, diy fails, Do It Yourself, Fail, car mods, Modification, modifications, i suck, lessons, Whoops

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Reposted from Corkscrewd.blog

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The aluminum ball knob the day I got it. I was going to use it for my car’s shifter! It would have looked really cool…

SOMETIMES IT’S JUST EASIER TO BUY AFTERMARKET

I wanted a new shifter knob. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my current knob. It’s very well designed. It’s just that I wanted to refresh my car’s interior a little bit. The problem was that I didn’t like the look of any aftermarket offerings, so I decided that I wanted to make one myself. I wanted to try some DIY car modification!

I found this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It was close to the thread size I needed, plus it wasn’t over-sized and loudly colored like some aftermarket gear knobs I’ve seen. I figured I could buy this knob, and then make the necessary modifications needed in order to have the knob fit my shifter rod. The end result would have been a cool, Di-It-Yourself gear knob!

At least, that’s what I thought I was going to end up with. Instead, I’m writing about how sometimes it really is just easier to buy a damned aftermarket part.

WISHFUL THINKING

I had the knob, which was a beautifully polished aluminum. I was told that the natural weathering would make the knob look even better after some heavy use. It was perfect for some DIY car modification! The only issue was that the knob didn’t fit outright, despite the closeness of the measurements. I would have to drill out the excess aluminum and then tap it with the needed threading. So, I went down to the hardware store for a drill bit and an M10 x 1.25mm tap.

I asked an associate for some help, and he gave me the tap and a 25/64 drill bit. Since I was making a new threaded hole, he thought that I could use this bit since it was very close to 10mm (9.9mm). I bought the tools and then I was on my way! After cleaning up the workspace and then prepping the tools, I fastened the aluminum knob to a vice and then got to work with the drill.

The aluminum ball knob in the vice I used.

Then, I made a mistake. I was tired of the protective covering slipping when I fastened the knob, so I removed them. The first few seconds drilling out the old threads, the drill caught and wrenched the knob out of the vice. My beautiful polished aluminum ball knob now had a gash because I removed the protectors. I let my frustration known with a string of expletives. But on the bright side, I had been thinking about finishing the knob with a brushed finish instead of the polished look. I could still salvage the project!

MEASURE TWICE, AND THEN MEASURE AGAIN

After I had the old threads drilled out, I went to my Miata and then tried a test fit. The now drilled-out knob slid right over the threads. I became nervous. Did I just completely ruin my project? I went back to the tool and brought out the thread tap, and simply used a crescent wrench to drive it in. It actually worked well, up until I tried screwing the newly-threaded knob onto the gear shift shaft.

After finished drilling out the aluminum knob, I went to try it on the car’s shifter rod. As it turned out, the drill was too big.

My fears were pretty much confirmed when the knob simply slid down the shaft without gripping. My DIY car modification was completely ruined. I ended up throwing DIY shifter knob hard enough to break Delta-V and went back inside the house for a beer.

I tested the ball knob on the shifter and found that the hole and the threading were too big. You can also see the deep gouge the vice had made on the ball.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

I made several mistakes on this project and it ended up costing me the entire thing. First, I didn’t make sure that the drill bit I used was exactly what I needed. As it turned out, the tap had a recommended drill bit size, but neither I nor the associate caught that. Personally, I think this was the associate’s fault because he didn’t make sure either. Secondly, I didn’t take the proper precautions when fastening the knob with the vice. I had removed the protective covers on the vice because they kept shifting during the drilling process. Removing them not only marred the finish of the knob but ended up causing some damage that I wasn’t completely sure I could polish out.

Lastly, the cost of the entire project ended up missing the point of having an aftermarket-style knob, to begin with. I ended up spending almost $40 for a DIY solution when I could have gotten an already !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Had I decided to simply look for something already available, I wouldn’t be writing this blog post.

LESSON LEARNED

So, let this be a lesson to you if you’re planning on taking on a DIY project for your car: Make sure you have an idea for what you’re doing and don’t rush. , and most importantly, don’t make something more complicated than it needs to be.

Now, I have to figure out if I can refund these tools so I can get that $20 shifter knob!

Edit: I decided to try again thanks to the advice of you awesome O pponauts! I’ll post an update soon.

CobraJoe > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 12:57

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Are you sure you have the right tap for your shifter? If the drilled hole is larger than the threaded shaft, then the tapped hole isn’t going to be any smaller.

But if you have the right drill bit and tap, you can always make a new knob out of anything. Modern billiard balls are surprisingly easy to drill for example. Or wood, or epoxy (with whatever on display inside) , or pretty much any machinable material.

Also, your aluminum knob could still be usable. There are threaded inserts or helicoils that can adapt a larger thread to a smaller threaded shaft .

Besides, that $20 shift ball probably isn’t threaded, it’s likely a plastic sleeve that will slip fit onto the threads with an set screw to lock it into place.  

CalzoneGolem > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 13:04

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Here’s another less on you should learn. Don’t get mad and throw stuff like a baby.

I’ve cost myself too much time and money by letting my temper get the better of me and breaking something or damaging it enough to add more time to the project.

Like CobraJoe said. This was probably salvageable .

Also this might have cost $40 instead of $ 20 but you end up with the tools still.

Corkscrew'd > CobraJoe 06/04/2019 at 13:15

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Yeah, I looked up my shifter’s threading and I found the tap matching it . It’s an M10X1.25.

I’ve actually still got the aluminum knob, so I’ll just fish it out of the recycling bin and look into the inserts or something. There’s a local Ace near my place (isn’t that the jingle? ).

Honestly, I just needed to vent and step away from the project so I could get my bearings. I hate when things don’t work out exactly as planned, but as you said, it’s still probably salvageable.

Corkscrew'd > CalzoneGolem 06/04/2019 at 13:19

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That bit about throwing the ball into orbit was more of a joke. I’ve still got it actually. I might try again but I’m afraid I’ll end up with a shitty-looking DYI mod that was $ 40-$ 60 lol.

Good point about the tools though. I didn’t look at it that way!

CobraJoe > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 13:53

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Yeah, drilling 10mm hole for 10mm threads doesn’t leave a lot of material for the tap to cut.

Good luck with finding an insert, I have no idea what would be available to fit a fine threaded metric shaft. There are other options that you could use with varying degrees of butchery to fill the hole back in, everything from drilling oversized for a metric nut to press in, to filling the hole in completely with JB weld to re drill and tap it, but the knob could still be used.

At least you learned what not to do, and what can be done better for next time.  Now that you got the tools, you could make multiple free shift knobs by using stuff that other people would throw away.  (I used a chunk of closet rod as a T handle shift knob for a while on one of my project cars.  It fit the overall aesthetic of the car surprisingly well).  

CalzoneGolem > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 13:59

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I bet you can get a heli coil that wi ll work then you’ll just have to polish up the outside. Honestly the vice marks almost look deliberate .

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 14:08

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Nice paperweight. 

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 14:10

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Education costs money.  You got a relatively inexpensive lesson.  I’m sure the next tapped hole you need to do, you’ll double check and recheck that you have the proper sizes.  Just chalk this up to the learning experience that it was.  There’s always JB weld.  

Corkscrew'd > CobraJoe 06/04/2019 at 14:40

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You know what? You just gave me the confidence to try again! Thanks for your advice!

Corkscrew'd > CalzoneGolem 06/04/2019 at 14:41

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I might actually make a makeshift lathe with a power drill and then just sand the knob down for the brushed look. I might take something to the gouge and see if I can channel it a bit too to make it more deliberate.

Corkscrew'd > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 06/04/2019 at 14:42

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Nah, I’ve got a Morris emblem that works as a paperweight lol. This is my fidget spinner.

Corkscrew'd > merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc 06/04/2019 at 14:43

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Yeah, it could have been a lot worse actually.

Schaef_Camaero Z/28 > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 14:50

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I too have learned that lesson the hard way, a few times. One off the top of my head, is when I bought an aluminum intake elbow for my Camaro. I bought the natural finish one thinking I’d polish it myself and save the 20 or 30 bucks extra that the pre- polished one cost.... I then spent waaaaay too long polishing out this thing, the whole time wishing I just spent the extra money.

As others have said, your knob is totally salvageable! I would probably fill the hole with JB weld, or possibly molten aluminum if you happen to have any stock laying around. Then you can re-drill and tap the hole correctly. Use a couple pieces of wood to hold it in your vice so you don’t scratch it. Also, if you can continue those 2 scratches all the way around the ball with a scribe or something, it’ll look intentional like a racing stripe or something.

PS: My only concern with using an aluminum ball is that it’ll get scorching hot in the summer.

CobraJoe > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 14:54

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Best of luck to ya!

Corkscrew'd > Schaef_Camaero Z/28 06/04/2019 at 14:55

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And that’s why I want driving gloves lol.

I’m going to see if I can find an insert with the thread I need. Then, it’s just a matter of shoving it in, and then refinishing the ball with a brushed look.

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 14:58

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My hand is already burning from looking at that knob. And it hasn’t even sat in the sun all day! I hated the aluminum knob o n my mini cooper. I had it leather wrapped to keep from scorching my hand. It cost about 1000 times more than laying a towel or something over it . But looked nicer.

But yeah, helicoil it. Kit should cost about 40ish dollars and will have the proper drill bits. Any auto parts store will (sh ould) have it.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 16:22

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All taps worth their weight in swarf have a recommended drill size. Just FYI. And don't forget the value of your time when considering DIY projects.

jimz > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 16:31

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It wasn’t that I didn’t like my current kn ob

Corkscrew'd > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 06/04/2019 at 16:42

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Well, at least I got the idea of using JB Weld and then re-tapping the knob from Oppo! This time, I’m taking my time with it.

Corkscrew'd > jimz 06/04/2019 at 16:44

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Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 17:16

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When I joined the Army in 1984, I wound up stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, the hottest, most miserable place I’ve ever been. I bought my first car, a 1976 Nova 2dr with straight-six and three-on-the-tree that had been moved to the floor. The shift knob was a Hurst:

That damned thing would get so hot during the day that if you touched it, your hand would get burned. (No insulated Mylar sun shields yet...) I’d be in disbelief, like, “How can people live this way???”

I loathed that place. I have some fond memories with some of the boys who I hung out with and our antics, but it was an absolutely miserable locale. 100 miles to the nearest freeway , for cryin’ out loud! The nearest airport of significance was Houston, 200 miles away.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 17:33

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Does it actually weigh more than the stock shifter? The concern is that the shift knob is definitely not just an aesthetic piece. I had an aftermarket knob (delrin, so its pretty light) and when I compared it to the OEM knob on the 5spd miata I just bought, it was night and day how much better OEM was for actually shifting the car. The other knob was just too light so it required too much effort to shift. 

Corkscrew'd > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/04/2019 at 17:34

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it feels about the same for me actually. I think the stock shifter is slightly heavier, but not by much.

Nauraushaun > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 18:12

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Sometimes you gotta take the challenge of doing it yourself, and acknowledge that it may end up costing more and not going as smoothly as you like.

At least you’ve learned something :)

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 18:13

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It happens, as long as you learn something from it, it’s not a waste.

Corkscrew'd > Nauraushaun 06/04/2019 at 18:25

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Yep! In addition, I could still salvage the project thanks to Oppo’s suggestions. I’ll be posting a follow-up soon!

MM54 > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 18:46

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Buy a machinist’s handbook (even the student versions will do), in which you will find tap drills for just about any thread ever, including the different options for different thread percentages. Same for machining OD of stock to run a die over. There is also a plethora of other specs, measurements, and calculations which come in handy for this sort of work.

Corkscrew'd > MM54 06/04/2019 at 18:51

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Thanks for the advice! I’m thinking I can salvage the project but adding JB Weld into the hole, and then tapping that.

Also, I’m going to see if I can make that gouge look a little more deliberate,

Nauraushaun > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 18:56

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Oh cool!

MM54 > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 19:06

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I suspect if you roughen up the inside of the hole that will work. You may also be able to put a helicoil in as a more-permanent fix.

If all I saw was that last picture, I’d have thought it was an intentional line around the center of it!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 19:14

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I did a metal shift knob once. After burning my hand I decided that it wasn’t a great idea and why no manufacturer pu ts them on as  OE.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 19:14

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I did a metal shift knob once. After burning my hand I decided that it wasn’t a great idea and why no manufacturer putts them on a OE.

Corkscrew'd > MM54 06/04/2019 at 19:59

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Well, now I’m going to lol!

Corkscrew'd > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/04/2019 at 20:00

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Oh god everyone’s been telling me this.

But that aluminum shine though.

GLiddy > Corkscrew'd 06/04/2019 at 22:46

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Did you think about fixing it with a thread insert?  Heli-coil or something like it?

Corkscrew'd > GLiddy 06/04/2019 at 23:29

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Yeah, the hardware store only sells them in a $ 40 pack. I checked a little earlier. For that price, I can literally buy another knob and try again. This time at least I know what I’m doing!