Just wanted to share this with the group: I recently purchased a new shifter knob, somewhat similar to the legendary racing laminated ones used on factory 917s's and such; but this one is built from recycled materials - skateboards to be exact!

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A guy called Simon Basil makes these in the UK, his site is here:

https://builtbybasil.com

The subtle color combinations attracted me and the one I chose reflected the main colors on my car - green and black. He gave me a couple of options on securing the knob to the gear lever, and seemed flexible on machining the collar to the right dimensions to suit what I had. And I am really happy with the result:

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Zero affiliation, I just liked the product and the craftsmanship. FYI.

- Tony

That’s pretty damn slick. I like it.

And on this side of the pond...

Zach Nall

I like that. I used to sell skateboards at my bike shop. Threw out dozens of old ones. I wish I had that kind of imagination.

Pretty darn cool, although old skateboards can be worth some cash...
Any pictures of the seats in your car, looked pretty cool too!

Nice. Like those thin layers.

Thx - couple of shots below. These were not expensive, vinyl & steel frames - but are pretty light and I do like the 70's vibe they have. Found the supplier on eBay. I had to make up brackets to alter the angle a little, but no big deal

- Tony

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I've wanted to try making knobs from old skateboards, but am loath to cut up any of mine.

Zach

I'll try to get some and send them to you.

@VaccaRabite

Wife's 914 came with one of Zach's knobs ....hey wait a minute...Zack you have some explaining too do

Tony...
Thanks for posting!
The new gearshift knob looks great in your 914
it really adds to the fantastic interior..

youre not riding enough in bowls and grinding on everything....
my kid needed a new one every month ,,,,,

those knobs are really interesting...

You're welcome! And thanks for the kind words on the car,

- Tony

Zach,

If you make one with dark orange and black accents I'll buy/fund the experiment




Tony,

Interior looks great! Knob looks great! Those ebay seats look much nicer than they do on ebay! Are they as narrow as they look?

Andy - thx, thx. the seats are not quite "as shipped" from the vendor; I found the breather vents were all a little too shiny "en masse" - so I individually keyed and hand painted the centers of all them! (matt black):

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This sounds like a lot of work but wasn't too bad of a project in reality - and made a huge difference to the look. For a fraction of the cost of Scheel's or even GTS seats, I can live with the result. Think they were $240 shipped, with headrests (which didn't fit because roll cage) ;-(

You've met me, I'm 5'10" and find the seats fit me well. People more "broad in the beam" may struggle though, and the lateral hip support is not what you'd want in a dedicated race car. But a good compromise for Sunday afternoon / occasional track car. I also have slightly better access to the e-brake now than I did when I had the cheap racing bucket seats fitted.

If anyone has specific interest I can post some pics and rough dimensions of the seat brackets I made up.

- Tony

I'm interested. Maybe a link to the ebay vendor too please?

Tony, what's your inseam? Also are they steel framed or something else?

I'm looking for something to modify extensively but want something steel framed to make that easier. My current seats are steel framed but they don't have headrests and the shape is just all wrong.

So looking back, I got these from IKON motorsports, through Amazon (not Ebay, as stated earlier):


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I tossed the slider assembly they shipped with, and made up brackets to fit to 914 sliders:


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Andyrew - They are steel framed. I'm not sure what an "inseam" is - but it does sound very personal....!

- Tony

Inseam or waistline what size pants do you wear

Great pics. Viable option!! Here are the ones I saw on eBay. Likely the same manufacturer.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/RETRO-CLASSIC-VINT...7!US!-1

Those seats look to have a much thicker thigh bolster than the ones I have - the racing buckets I had in before were similar and I didn't like the way they pushed my knees towards the wheel. The ones I chose have a much flatter profile, similar to the stock seats.

Oh, and 32" - 34" waist FYI!

- Tony

That shift knob looks alot like the one on TRE Motorsports. Is there a connection?
https://tremotorsports.com/interior/917-style-shift-knob

or zack or a few others..917ish .....the skateboard thing is the new.....

Those seats look really cool.