During the past week, I've been happily working away in the shop to make and test two solid 316 marine grads stainless steel shift knobs for my Prius"v." As they have the same thread as all Gen II and III Prius, they will fit ALL excepting the Prius"c." These are nice, because they allow for "one finger" shifting; with cavities for the finger tips or on the outside of the knob. The first one took nearly six hours of machining over the past three months to complete. 316 stainless steel is very difficult to machine, work hardens and galls easily. The second one, I call a "Gearhead" shift knob. It is made from a 316 stainless steel finished hex nut of the carefully selected size. While taking little time to make, it requires a mill with and x-y table to center and drill the hole to be tapped straight and perpendicular to the flat of the nut, and a special tapping fixture to assure perfect alignment. Particular attention was paid so that the thread "bottoms" so that the nut is positioned in an "up-down" vertical position. I have Prius"v", Prius Gen II and Gen III shifters, so that can position them correctly for all three. The top cavity of the first lets the user shift with the movement of the tip of his or her right index finger. The hole of the nut on the right side allows the right index finger to be used to shift likewise. Not for everyone's taste, but the "Gearhead" hex nut knob would be a nice item for those who work on their own cars. One plus is that it is inexpensive to make.
Nice, Mike. By the way, I'm really enjoying the blue frame braces. Makes the machine handle very nicely. An if you ever happen to be browsing about beneath it, the blue color is attractive.
Yes "wmh" , I too like the Cusco blue, in fact I like it so much that I painted my red Tanabe 2-point under brace "Cusco blue". Now all three of my under braces are blue. (Matchy-matchy. )
