Here is a look at how the knob looks in
my interior. Unlike the Momo, the Knobmeister sits right on top of my
shift boot.
Despite the raves, I never seriously considered a Voodoo knob since it is made of metal. In Tallahassee, Florida, metal parts will burn your hand. Also, the knob is reputed to be uncomfortably cold in winter until the gear box heats up and it gets uncomfortably hot.
I got a Momo tall leather shift knob instead. Great looks. But then Joe Portas, AKA the Knobmeister, took the best features of the Voodoo knob and eliminated the worst. After all the raves about how the Voodoo knob shifts, I knew I had to have this one.
The Knobmeister spins his knobs from wood. To get exactly the right weight riding on top of the gear shaft, he adds a lead insert into the knob. To get the short throw, he inserts a recessed metal threading piece.
Using a lead weight, the size of the knob itself is no longer dictated by weight: the Knobmeister produces one knob which is exactly the size of the voodoo knob and one that is just slightly larger. I got the slightly larger knob.
Using wood as a material also gives you the possibility of being very creative. If you like the colors or stripes of any strain of wood found anywhere in the world, I understand the knobmeister will make the knob of any wood you want. However, after thinking it over, I was afraid that the knob would stand out from my otherwise mostly black interior. But I do have leather shift and brake boot covers and a leather center-console arm-rest with red stitching. So I asked for a black enamel knob with a red inscription that shows the license plate of my car, "1BOZO".
Below are some temporary images, made with a polaroid. They are lousy quality, but they do give the general idea. Eventually, I will replace them with images shot with a real camera.
Here is a look at how the knob looks in
my interior. Unlike the Momo, the Knobmeister sits right on top of my
shift boot.
No, my ashtrey does not have a green line
on it. And the white highlights you see inside the red blurs on the
shift knob is simply the flash light reflection. The red blurs are
the script Miata logo with a delicate shift pattern below it. They are
surrounded by a circle of red stars with my license plate (1 BOZO) at
the bottom. If you want to see how it really looks, I understand the
Knobmeister will put a picture of the knob on his web page. You can
find the address below.