bdr_ws6

Got the idea for this a few weeks ago. I didn't tell anyone about it, I just called it my top secret project haha. Today my dad and I spent a lot of time and effort into making this. I had to lose my Hurst shifter for a B&M in order to do this as well. I really like it though, looks good. We fixed it where if I ever wanted to go back to the way I had it, it wouldn't take 15 minutes to do so but I don't think I want to. PICS:





Dad made the shifter as well as the plate. I love it, it even has that 'click-click' sound Looks a lot cooler too. It's not 100% done yet. We're going to get a dremel or some very small grinder and finish up the cuts where they are smoother. It needs a little took out around 2nd, 5th and reverse. The other gears are already perfect. Shifting is about the same, actually I think the shifter dad made feels better than the stock one. I am also going to get a Trans Am decal in charcoal or black to put on it in that big area above the odd numbered gears...may even get decals of 1 2 3 4 5 6 R to put above the slots but don't know on that one yet. Open to suggestions there though.

Welp thats it, Whadda think?

FNQUIKWS6

iTrader: (2)

thats bad *** dude! Someone was just talking about that on here. If you ever wanna sell 'em Im first in line!!!

DirtyBird222

iTrader: (7)

thats cool, but man if it's anything like the ferrari 355 with the shifter like that, it's a huge pain in the ******* *** to get some quick shifts off. Very very cool and i bet no one else has it.

SSNISTR

iTrader: (10)

That's not true dude. I've driven two Ferraris, both with gated shifters (F355 Spider & 550 Maranello). They both were very easy to shift quickly. The Ferraris actually have little angles in the gates so you can move from side to side easily. When a car has a boot you get the illusion that you are shifting across, while you actually are moving in more of a box like pattern.

ls1chris

hey guys i was able to see this is person tonight and it looks good .when he does alilttle more polishing on it and files it alittle more im sure you can get some decently fast shifts on it.But bryce does not race mainly just shows the car so it works out perfect for him.i suggested he put the numbers above the gears like 1-6 to give it a more old school feel

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

I like it. My personal opinion is, that it would look cooler with a ball of some sort instead of the T handle. Like a brushed aluminum ball. Or even a plain white ball if you are putting 1-6 on the plate itself. But thats mostly because Im not a fan of the T handles. And I feel like it makes the area look too busy...takes away from the gate alittle.

Still looks great tho!! Any chance on getting some vid with good sound quality so we can hear the clicks???

Justin

CockerKid009

i like it!

Yahelou

iTrader: (23)

i kinda agree with him. it would look sweet with an aluminum ball, then it would exactly like a ferrari. but that might be the bad side to some ppl, who wouldnt want it to look like a ferrari.
good job man, very nice, and no ones gonna have this in their cars. u could be the only one.

carado1984

i think it sticks out like a sore thumb.. with a few more touch ups in the interior it will look more in place... just dont go overboard and be tasteful..

props for being the first to do it.. i think you should have something engraved into the plate like the gear numbers or like camaross or ws6 logo or something.. would look pretty cool.

Ling_650vette

iTrader: (1)

Get yourself a stencil and cut "Trans Am" into the metal. Light it up with some colored LEDs (red, blue, white - whatever you want) and put some plexi-glass under it so its like 1/8" below (just enough to box it in) and IMO you've got a killer custom gated shift plate.

Only other suggestions I have - paint or make some sort of trim ring around the tweeter panels and paint a similar outline around the handle bezel. Unless its my eyes playin a trick on me, that would flow nice with what you've got done to the AC vents.

ghettocruiser

iTrader: (17)

He makes a good point. If there were a few more stainless accents it would blend better. But not too much. Maybe one of those stainless gauge surrounds. And a few other bits.

If you are going to number the gates, I think it would look best etched into the metal. Or printed on the metal somehow. Stickers just might take away from the "clean-ness" of the gate. Getting WS-6 or something put in at the front would be kinda neat.

One other thing I would do, if you put numbers on the gate, is get rid of the original 6 speed pattern at the front of the shifter plate.

I think you are on to something with this though. I know a lot of people that love shifter gates and if this works as good as it looks, we could see a few more people doing this.

Justin

Cobra2WS6

iTrader: (22)

I agree if u get a ball shift **** and add the numbers 1 2 3 4 5 6 R above each gear it will really finish it off!

chrysler kid

iTrader: (14)

i would paint it the same color as the radio bezel too much bling for me but it looks great

DropTopBird

iTrader: (17)

Sorry to take away from the shifter, which looks awesome by the way, but how did you do the vents? All Ive seen are the little rings for them, not the full vents like you did. I like the way they have the slider still black so it blends w/ the rest of the car a little better.

6LITEREATER

iTrader: (56)

Nice job! I think you are totally on the right track (adding something to the big blank area) and agree that more accents and an aluminum ball **** would really set off the fine work you and your dad did !

I wouldn't use decals though, I think it would cheapen the look of your work. I would use emblems, maybe a plaque like this:



http://www.afterthoughtsauto.com/noname11.html

with an old school 'bird next to it:



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/70-77...ayphotohosting

or even just a WS6 emblem but NOT A FACTORY ONE (too big)... Turn a keychain like this:



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/WS6-E...ayphotohosting

into an emblem !

Of course if it was still a Hurst...



http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-C...ayphotohosting

Anyways, you get the idea... Metal is better !

98MNBZ28

iTrader: (21)

i'm jealous, how much to make me one

SPANKY LS1

iTrader: (24)

Thats pretty sweet. If you had posted the idea without pics I think I wouldn't have liked it, but it actually looks pretty cool.

Smooth it out some, see if you can somehow make it look more "seamless" (the edge of the metal where it contacts the console, the piece looks "stuck on").

Nicely done, Shawn

johnpr

ive been debating on making one for the past year, i was just unsure of how it would look, now that i see yours i might just make one, not sure yet though.

bdr_ws6

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions guys!

I did think about the Firebird emblem like you said demonbird, but the WS.6 keychain turned into an emblem..that is an awesome idea. Thanks for the links! Still thinking about some more things to do around it, such as a trim all the way around to break it up from the console and/or make it looke seemless, don't really know what else I am going to do yet. Engraving was thought about but it really isn't possible with the way we have it made. The shinny peice is just a very thin piece of sheet aluminum glued onto a thicker metal base for strength. Also, I don't want a ball shifter. Yes it would maybe look better but I can't give up the feel of the t-handle haha. (Yes Ferrari was the inspiration for this too). It shifts just as good as it did before too.

I planned on getting an oldschool Firebird emblem and putting on the dash on the passenger side. I still don't know on that one.

DropTopBird about the AC Vents. I popped just the rings off, took the little slider off, and painted them with 'aluminum' colored paint.

Louie83

iTrader: (3)

Awww man.

This was the first thing I asked for when I signed up on the site. Everyone told me that the shift points were too close together for one of these to work on our cars.

<--- jealous