http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...ksid=p3907.m32

Do I need that special adapter rod for the shifter or is that the correct one already attached? Just plug and play?

Much appreciated

I think it would look a great addition to my TE

 

I think it's just plug and play. The shaft doesn't look like it's the wrong length..

 

I think the ones that require adapters are the knobs WITHOUT the shaft....they need adapters to accept the benz shaft...

Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

 

Well I went ahead and bought it. Worse thing would be I have to buy the adapter and unscrew the new knob. All the new ones are screwed in.

Will post pics when its installed

 

when installing, if you screw it all the way in, it may not easily go into the lower gears in the gate, not that you use them much if at all. if you have that problem, just don't thread it all the way down when installing, that solved my issue

 

After 2hours is struggling with the damn pin that goes through the gearbox (it got COMPLETELY stuck and would not move either in or out....)....I finally got her installed! It would have taken about an hour had the pin gone back in fine.

Gosh it shows how faded my wood is!! I really gotta get a new set. I just can't find one anywhere

Anybody know of A) What would be the best way to refinish it B) Where to buy a set (its gotta be TE for the AC panel because I got the rear window wiper remember so 300E's won't work).

 

Do it yourself!
It's not all that hard...I did mine.

 

Did it come out looking good? I'm just afraid of having it come out looking like crap....

 

Well, on the cheap ($8.99) and easy (30 minutes), I used Meguire's Scratch X on my 95 Kombi and it took a ton of scratches, scuffs and fogging out of the clearcoat on the wood panels and the color of the wood is much darker looking and the gloss in nice and shiny again.

It's not perfect but I'm no longer looking into or thinking about getting new panels now...

 

To me the knob doesn't look like zebrano, so no amount of refinishing will likely get all the wood to match. I also wonder if the zebrano was ever such a rich color. The burl is more like that color, but to me the color of the zebrano always looked very much like your wood. The finish on yours may be a bit dull (the clear can get a bit milky), but I don't think the color was ever like that new ***. Maybe you could just refinish the knob to be the color of the zebrano. There must be some wood refinishing guys on here that know what stain to choose to try to match the zebrano.

 

I'll give that a try. For $8.99 I got nothin to lose....If I can just get "close" to the new shifter knob so its less noticeable then I'm fine with that.

 

If you want to do it right, you will need to take all of your wood trim out of the car and do it all at once. Getting the dash and door pieces out is a big PITA from what I have heard.

It won't be expensive. Just extremely labor intensive.

1) take a parts out of the car

2) use a chemical stripper and a putty knife to remove the old finish. DO NOT TRY TO SAND IT OFF! YOU WILL BLOW THROUGH THE WOOD VENEER IN SECONDS, RUINING YOUR TRIM!

3) Once all old finish is completely removed (don't cut corners), take a damp sponge (not wet, just damp) and run it over the wood. Let it dry. this is called "raising the grain". It will result in a peach fuzz consistency on the surface. Take some high grit sand paper and lightly sand off the fuzz by hand. Do not use a power sander.

4) Clean off all dust and use a clean, lint-free rag with mineral spirits to remove any other contaminants

5) If the grain raises again, repeat steps 3 and 4.

6) Go down to a professional paint shop in your area. Bring in your shift knob and a piece of your stripped trim. Ask them see if they can recommend a stain or dye that will make them match. Don't expect this to be perfect, especially if the two woods are different species. Ideally, you would strip and refinish your new knob as part of this process.

7) Apply the stain or dye. If you use stain, wipe the excess off before letting it dry. Re-apply if you want the color to be a bit darker, but eventually adding more stain will have no affect on color. Keep in mind that the clear finish will make the wood appear a little darker as well.

8) Use a french polish or a lacquer clear coat. Do not over-brush. Use thin coats. Make sure your work area is completely clean from dust as dust will ruin your finish. Apply the first coat. Let dry, sand with 200 grit to remove any brush strokes. Clean off dust using the same cleaning method in step 4.

9) Apply many coats and sand between each.

10) Once you've gotten enough layers day (i'd say 6 or 7 will do it), sand again with 200 grit, but move up to finer and finer sand paper until you reach an extremely fine smooth finish. you could get up to the 1200 grit range if you like.

11) Move to wet-sanding with the finest grit you can find.

12) it should be getting shiny, but it will still be a little dull. Apply a polish and buff it out.

I would say this process would take a normal working person a few weeks to complete with all of the drying time.

To most people, the time and frustration involved would not be worth it. Either you would live with what you have, or you would buy a full replacement kit (mucho expensive).