I am thinking of having a billet gear shift lever made to replace the flimsy hollow plastic one on my FX4 floor shift.

I haven't talked to any shops yet, but I was wondering how may guys/gals might be interested if I can get some kind of bulk discount.

I will give more details and a mockup once I know if there is any interest.

I haven't taken mine apart yet, so I don't know what kind of machining will be required for the reverse lockout button.

Let me know if you have interest.

The yellow box below is what I am talking about.

 

I just wanted to say that I thought about doing the same thing, then I thought back to when I took one of the "bullet" mustangs for a test drive a few years ago during the summer and I thought I had burnt the shift pattern into my hand. It is a good idea though, would surely last longer.

 

Are you talking heat from the shifter sitting in the sun?

 

when I get back in the office I will try to dig up a pic from SEMA this fall. It was a center shifter on a nissan i think but it was a chrome hand grenade!!!


looked sweet!!!!

 

I too have an FX4 and I think the shifter is cheap looking and feeling. I think it would be nicer if the chrome were actually metal versus plastic, and the handle portion were covered in leather like the steering wheel.



https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=3599

 

or you could do like they did to the street rods back in the 60's and put a beer tap on it

 

Yeah basically, I guess you could put the A/C on for a bit before attempting to grab it..... like I said, I guess I wasn't thinking before I grabbed the one in the mustang.

 

Good thoughts.

I actually like the idea of a leather wrapped handle myself, too.

I haven't bought a Motorcraft.com manual subscription so I gotta figure out how to get this shifter apart. I can't find (after a 30 second quick check) any obvious screws or drift pins.

I'll stop by and see my Ford service guy. I haven't filled out my customer satisfaction survey yet.

 

Now your talking, leather wrapped billet, so basically it would look almost like the stock.... but cooler and stronger.

 

Lets see what I can come up with.

I have some connections who are pretty good at what they do, I'll throw the idea at them for a $$ estimate. Its gotta be reasonable or it won't fly.

I'm not into bling-bling.

 

Lol, I hear ya. Don't want to have to sell a kidney to get a new shift ****.

 

I would def. be interested in getting a billet shifter replacement. If you do inquire further into the topic let me know.

Would you want to change the style or keep the same style as factory just billet and not cheap feeling like the factory?

And I am prob. getting ahead of myself in asking but do you want polished, brushed, chromed etc...?

Good idea regardless if you act on it or not!

Antonio

 

Funny thing, this week I was looking at some pics of the King Ranch Edition F-150 and thought to myself, Ford missed the boat in not coming up with a leather covered shifter. A leather covered billet handle would be the cat's meow! Need to get someone to come up with matching dash pieces and possibly door inserts as well. Real wood (instead of leather) might be an alternate idea worth considering, especially if you could do a dash to match as well.

...still chuckling about the beer tapper comment, as that idea (and billiard ball shift ****) are things I once thought were pretty groovy mods.

 

The first time I sat in the 04 and touched that gear shifter the words out of my mouth were "That's gotta go" So, I also thought going the billet route....so expensive for limited runs though. If you do get something affordable and nicely made I would be interested.

I also thought about looking into replacing the whole shifter handle, rod and surface plate with the Lincoln Navigator unit. Haven't had the chance to investigate how plausible that is, but eyeballing it they look pretty close:



I have the Motorcraft Service CD, so if you would like I can post the info on how to remove the lever.

Termite

 

I would like and appreciate that Termite....

I have a friend who has a CNC connection so what I'd like to do is take it off, spec it out, and see what he thinks.

I'm thinking if we can keep the price under $100, and its a quality piece we have a winner.

 

I'd definatly be interested in this. I've already broken the top off the shifter. I'd like to see the shifter SHRINK and not sit so tall. It would open up the console a lot.

 

I'm interested!

 

I would definitely be interested. I think leather covered billet would look nice. I think $100 is about the threshold of pain for this item. Keep us posted and good luck.

 

How about a chrome skull shifter **** with red LEDs in the eye sockets? And for the ultimate, you flip down the lower jaw and the overdrive lockout button is inside the mouth. Gotta cost more than $100 ... drats!

 

Let me know what you come up with. $100 or so sounds reasonable.

Mark

 

Absolutely,

Every time I grab the shifter I think it is a little weak.

I would be very interested in something stronger.

Scott

 

YEP!

 

me too...

 

The new Lightning Concept vehicle showed what appears to be a leather covered shifter and boot. Leather is the wrong color for any of the current interiors, but (obviously) could be recovered... just don't know if the body of the handle is still plastic.

 

Based on the (excellent) feedback, I am gonna mock up two styles.

One a straight billet model and the second a leather wrapped model.

My friend does some pretty cool stuff with billet. If you watch Orange County Chopper on Discovery Channel, he has the same computerized CNC machine as the one they used to make those CNC billet wheels on the Spider bike.

Very nifty (and expensive) piece of equipment.

He made personalized kickstand pucks for every person that attended our rally last year. Very trick items. They are so nice that most guys are using them for beverage coasters because they don't want their kickstand to damage them.

If I can get mine taken apart and everything measured out he can probably give me an idea on cost.

Termite! Send me some info bro!!!!

 

Sorry for taking so long to get this to you all. The disc went MIA for a bit. Here are the basic screens on how to remove the handle and reinstall it. There are some further screens in my gallery. Does this mean I get a discount?

Remove



Reinstall


Termite
My Gallery

 

Thanks bro. Thats what I needed.

Yes, you get a discount.

This is not a money making venture for me - its just my chance to give a little back to the site and members.

I think the $$$ is what will matter here - so to produce a quality unit for X dollars is what I need to determine after Mike see's the blueprints.

I am going to throw the $100 ceiling at Mike, show him the mockups and see what he says. He's a good and honest business man and a good friend, so if he says X dollars, you can bet its X dollars.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

IM IN TOO !!!

 

Blitz, this is an interesting initiative you are undertaking - be sure to keep me informed as well!

 

I'd be in too!

The silver plastic top 0n my shifter can turn about 3 degrees. It's weird, but when I am bored at a stoplight I have the nervous habit of rotating it back and forth. That is how cheaply made it is. Bring on the billet!!

 

My first post!

I would be very interested in a new shifter.


This truck (lariat 4x4 screw) is fantastic. A primary source of my information for purchasing this truck was this website.

Please keep us informed.

 

Count me in.

 

Absolutely count me in.

 

I would be in also, the idea of a leather wrapped one would be great

 

Oh Hell Yes!

 

Hey Blitz....

If you are looking for some inspiration, you might want to look at these as they have a similar profile to the OEM shifter:

Razo Shifters

If you are going to use a CNC machine to make these, it might look real nice if there is a sublte F150 logo carved into the top?


Later....
Termite

 

Duplicate post deleted.

 

Okay, talked to Mike and he told me what he needs to get started. Some very detailed photos and measurements to start, and most likely the shifter after that for the computer to measure.

Now let me ask - is anyone who is interested in this within reasonable driving range of Paducah, KY?

If so what we might be able to do is have them measure yours out on the computer. Otherwise I will have to take mine off and overnight it to them when the time comes.

As far as the suggestion to shorten the shifter somewhat - that might be do-able (on an individual basis) however the actual shift arm appears to go pretty far up into the shift handle. I'll know more once I take mine off this weekend. Odds are its going to be cheapest to stick to one size, but Mike can confirm.

So to recap:

We are basically looking at duplicating the factory shifter dimensions in billet (number of pieces TBD) with the area that is black plastic on the current shifter recessed approximately 6mm to accomodate a stitched leather steering wheel quality trim.

The current chrome plastic sleeve that runs from the console to the black plastic area may be polished, anodized, powder coated or chromed at the owners discretion.

Does that pretty much sum up what makes 99% of us happy?

 

Why not just buy a new shifter and send it to him? If he's serious about making 'em, and you trust him to do good work, heck, I'll pony up (within reason) to send him his Very Own Shifter.

To have and hug and keep, even.

Just a thought.

-Jim

Formerly a '99 Lightning owner, briefly a 2003 Marauder owner, now an '04 Lariat owner.

 

I would be intrested, please let me know what you come up with.