[scottyrocks]

First off, this mod came out completely accidently.

Somewhere in another thread we were discussing shifter extensions, and I was looking for a bent one to bring the knob closer to me.

I never found one online that looked like what I wanted. They were all either too long or tall or both.

Let's jump forward a little bit.

I bought a '63 Bug last year. One of the niggling issues I have with it is I have to lean forward to get into and out of 1st and third gears. So I wanted the same type of extension for that shifter.

After searching on ebay I found a bent extension that was supposed to fit my bug so I bought it. What I didn't know is that bugs were made, at different times, with 7mm or 10mm threads. The one I bought is 10mm. My bug is 7mm.

So this thing sat in a drawer for months.

Suddenly today I got the brainstorm that this extension might fit in my Civic. Just now I went outside and tried it, and waddayaknow, it fits.

View attachment 459129

I removed the 2" straight extension that was on there, and swapped this in its place. Tightened everything up with the 'lock' nuts, and it's good to go.

I haven't driven it yet. I'll test drive tomorrow on the way to work. I have the tools in the car to change it back in case it's terrible to drive.

The only thing I'm concerned about is what is now the added weight on the shifter when in 5th gear, due to the weight of the ball being back past the center of gravity. I may get a resin tiki head shift knob, so that'll take a lot of weight off.

 

[mreggball]

Dude... that's awesome.


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[scottyrocks]

Hopefully it'll drive awesome, although I'm sure it'll take some getting used to. I am fully expecting to grab for a knob that's not where I expect it to be.

 

[mreggball]

Keep us posted.


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[scottyrocks]

The positives:

The throws are smoother, probably due to the increased inertia of the longer stick.

This, in turn, is more in line with my personal driving flow - iow, it all just felt better - smoother, if you will.

I like the nostalgic long throw of an older car or truck.

Negative:

In 2nd and 4th gears, the knob is a little further back than I'd like, but it's doable without any issues.

Overall, more positives than negatives. I'm gonna keep it on there.

 

[mreggball]

The positives:

The throws are smoother, probably due to the increased inertia of the longer stick.

This, in turn, is more in line with my personal driving flow - iow, it all just felt better - smoother, if you will.

I like the nostalgic long throw of an older car or truck.

Negative:

In 2nd and 4th gears, the knob is a little further back than I'd like, but it's doable without any issues.

Overall, more positives than negatives. I'm gonna keep it on there.

#1 positive... it's looks cool.


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[scottyrocks]

Yes, I forgot that one. haha

 

[scottyrocks]

Just posting a photo here to keep track.



Details here: http://www.9thgencivic.com/forum/9th-gen-civic-general-chat/5120-what-have-you-done-your-car-today-379.html

 

[scottyrocks]

Oh, and I forgot the modified 13-ball.

 

[fear24]

that's an awful lot of hair ties your got around your steering wheel! :icon_wave:

i'm going to tell both my daughters that they can put them there for when they lose one!!!!

 

[scottyrocks]

Good luck getting a hair tie to wrap around the steering wheel. :thumb:

 

[scottyrocks]

I added a few small stickers on the car in the last few months. My daughter's college in the back window, and American flags and '53's on the rear quarters.

I bought out the lease at the end of this past June. The car is now MIIIINE!! hahahahahahaaaaa

Also, during the summer I put new shoes on the car at right around 40k miles. Kumho Ecsta PA31s, one size up - 215/55-16s. Lookin' a little meatier. haha And they do very well in all situations, although not spectacular in any one area.

Right around that time I painted the center caps black, which makes the chrome lug nuts more noticeable. I like that look.

The last thing I did was to white letter the tires. Before anyone starts rolling their eyes, I am a big fan of that look from the '60s and '70s, and have wanted to do it to the original Contis for years. I even tried a few different methods (on the back of the tire) but none of them looked right to me.

What I finally discovered was that white Plastdip works beautifully. Plastidip is a rubberized spray that works perfectly on flexible surfaces such as tires. The coverage is uniform and it stays on the tire.

I masked off about a half inch all around each area I wanted to spray, sprayed everything inside the area, let dry 20 minutes, and then razor-bladed around each letter and rubbed the dip off the tire outside the letters. It came out perfect. The letters are not obnoxiously large and look like they belong there.

 

[bfaided1984]

I added a few small stickers on the car in the last few months. My daughter's college in the back window, and American flags and '53's on the rear quarters.

I bought out the lease at the end of this past June. The car is now MIIIINE!! hahahahahahaaaaa

Also, during the summer I put new shoes on the car at right around 40k miles. Kumho Ecsta PA31s, one size up - 215/55-16s. Lookin' a little meatier. haha And they do very well in all situations, although not spectacular in any one area.

Right around that time I painted the center caps black, which makes the chrome lug nuts more noticeable. I like that look.

The last thing I did was to white letter the tires. Before anyone starts rolling their eyes, I am a big fan of that look from the '60s and '70s, and have wanted to do it to the original Contis for years. I even tried a few different methods (on the back of the tire) but none of them looked right to me.

What I finally discovered was that white Plastdip works beautifully. Plastidip is a rubberized spray that works perfectly on flexible surfaces such as tires. The coverage is uniform and it stays on the tire.

I masked off about a half inch all around each area I wanted to spray, sprayed everything inside the area, let dry 20 minutes, and then razor-bladed around each letter and rubbed the dip off the tire outside the letters. It came out perfect. The letters are not obnoxiously large and look like they belong there.

We need pictures sir.

 

[scottyrocks]

We need pictures sir.

True. I didn't take any when I finished the project and now the car is filthy.

Wait, I may have a test video I can screenshot from.

 

[bfaided1984]

Don't matter if it's dirty we'll get the general idea. Heck when me and modrid did our "photoshoot" it was raining and I hadn't washed my car in over a month.

 

[scottyrocks]

Screen-grab from an in-motion test vid.

 

[bfaided1984]

Screen-grab from an in-motion test vid.

View attachment 478205

Man you need a drop like yesterday. Tires look good and fit your theme.

 

[scottyrocks]

Man you need a drop like yesterday. Tires look good and fit your theme.

Agreed. I want to do the job myself which means not having the car off the road until I have enough time. I work slow so it'll probably be around Christmas before I start.

 

[9thgensifamily]

I'm a big fan of the white letters. Always thought they looked like the car meant business. Plasti dip makes sense, only other thing I've seen was the special tire markers some website sells.

 

[bfaided1984]

Agreed. I want to do the job myself which means not having the car off the road until I have enough time. I work slow so it'll probably be around Christmas before I start.

It doesn't take that long to do the suspension on these.