Miata Shifter Knob

I drive a 2002 Mazda Miata, and I’m always looking for fun projects to improve the car’s performance, functionality, or looks. This project falls into both the functionality and looks categories. The stock shifter knob on the Miata has a plastic body and a red leather exterior that was beginning to degrade. I wanted an excuse to learn some new woodworking techniques, so I decided to replace the plastic shifter knob component with a wooden piece instead.

Huge shoutout to Davis Brown who helped with the vision and execution of the wooden shifter knob project. He got me into the GT Invention Studio Wood room and showed me the ropes of using the wood lathe. And he even picked up the wood from the one and only Carlton’s Rare Woods and Veneers, an awesome local Atlanta small business that’s been down the street from the Georgia Tech campus since 1976.

The initial prototypes focused on changing the inner diameter of the component to reduce play in the shifter knob during use. After a few iterations of scoping in the hole size, we turned the final piece. I also ordered a new insert to thread into the shifter below to elevate the entire presentation. I love how it came out, and I love the contrast of the brown wood with the rest of the generally black interior. The follow on project to this is making a matching handbrake handle out of the same wood. Hopefully I can get to that soon!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to report back with more Miata musings soon!