Fox T-Bird/Cougar Forums

I ordered a 2 3/4 x 5" piece of aluminum rod to carve into a new pistol grip shifter . I like my Hurst piece, have had it for a few years, but I want one designed a bit after the original Mopar style, but in billet aluminum, and, fits me, not universal. I'll do a  ton of carving and sanding, and we'll see what happens. I do love working with a bit of aluminum. Particulate mask and ear protection are ready.

Harbor freight has a mill that really isnt too bad. My dad used to mill model airplane blocks for race motors.

At that point I'd have way to much invested into a shifter handle. I want to do it the low to no buck way, yet still have it look like I bought it from a company. It'll take time, but it's a side project. I have the air compressor out there and air tools as well.....all of which I have had for months and months and have never used yet.

I think it's kind of a little challenge project. I'll drill and tap the hole for the shifter, and end up with a smooth satin finish. Hopefully a shift pattern emblem on top. Not sure yet about the styles available. I may go look in to that.

I'll take one Vinnie :-D

LOL. Let's wait til mine gets doen and see what happens. May turn out to be a total waste of aluminum when I'm done. LOL.

Interesting idea

It's going to be a little time consuming. I'm thinking that I'll go buy some clay or play doh, use it to get an idea of how I hold the shifter and a "mold' of how I want the hand grip, then let it dry and use it as a template to make the aluminum shifter . Once the basic shape is carved out...so to speak, then it'll be slowly sanding and grinding away material a little bit at a time until I have it just right, then smooth the whole thing and give it a nice satin finish. I would like an insert inlayed in the top with the shift pattern. yes, I know what the shift pattern is, but it would be an added detail.

Once the final "shaping" is done, put it in a jig, and mill out a shift pattern. Then fill it in with body color paint and cover with something that won't let it chip away or peel or flake??

I had thought about having it engraved, and, that is still an option. If I can't find an insert that I like, then it may be engraved. Not sure where that can be done in my area. maybe I can find somebody to send it to a company that does that. I would need the numbers to have a specific look.

I do have some body color paint left from the paint job, but in all reality, I'd probably use black or red.

It would be awesome for somebody to see the shift  and ask where I bought it because they want one. I like the Sport to be a bit different, but, still look like everything that was done actually belongs there. Not cheap, or like I had just stuck things to it.

Would be cool with a bird engraved in it some how

I had thought of that,too. But decided against it. I am keeping it simple with the shift pattern. My plans for that may change 20 times before I'm finished. I have plenty of time to think about it. Once the aluminum bar gets here, I'll draw out my basic shape on it with a Sharpie and get busy removing material and I'll post progress pics here.

One word of caution: the shifter is going to get hot in the summer sun. Be careful you don't burn your hand ;).

I have thought about carving my own shift lever/ out of alumunum also. I really like the Pistol grip handle Mopar used. My brother's 70 Challenger R/T had one. The T-Bird emblem on it would be cool. What grade aluminum are you going to use?

It showed it was T6511.....if that means anything to you. I'm really not sure of the grades of aluminum.

As far as heat, I already have an aluminum HURST pistol grip shifter  and we got up to 116 degrees last summer. I know all about the heat. LOL.

I'm making mine after the overall Mopar design with the ergonomics specifically for me. It isn't going to be an exact copy of the Mopar design, but close....if I can pull it off.

I'll drill and tap it for the shifter before I start, that way I can install it on a factory shifter and mount it in the vice to start shaping it, then fine tuning it once the general shape is made. It'll be a good project when I don't really feel like doing anything else. Ear protection and a particulate mask as I mentioned. Aluminum dust is horrible stuff. had tons of it from modding my extra Cobra throttle body. Thinking about mounting my shop vac hose next to the project and letting it suck up the dust while I work. We'll see how that works.

Yeah, not to derail your train, but the Tin Man in the wizard of ox...they used some kind of aluminum paint for his face...he got sicker than heck and IIRC, came too close to death to make me want to be around particles, wafting in the air..lol.

At the very least, get a good strong fan and put slightly behind, at an angle, to blow it away from you, but the shop vac idea might do more to contain it.


I did some sandblasting on my coupe last summer...I found out real fast that you MUST wear ears, eyes and even a face shield. Of course, the stuff goes everywhere...was rather amazed when I showered later....had grit in places where I didn't know I had places, until they felt like they too had been blasted with fine grade..lol.

Despite being upwards of 80 or so at the time, I donned full coveralls, face shield, hood, towel around my neck, and ear plugs and safety goggles, and blasted that M-F'r rustless.
Unfortunately, when I got to the point of mounting the rear control arms, I saw there was some surface rust and scale under the rear, so I stopped. Was going to do it when it cooled off, but we went from August boil your ass, to December freeze it off.

It'll be April soon enough, and I'll tackle it. Wish I had a rotisserie though.


Shifter handle...oh yeah. Do be careful Vinnie...the dust from that stuff can be toxic, as you no doubt know. ;)

Yep. That's why I have particulate masks. Not dust masks. These are pretty awesome and hold back even the tiniest particles. I am prepared to start fabricating as soon as the bar of aluminum gets here. I'll take before, during and after shots. Now I just hope it turns out the way it looks in my head.

From what I understand the T6 is the temper of the aluminum and the 511 means it was stretched after tempering to relieve the internal stress which is created during the tempering process. I believe T6511 is used to make things like machined grips for pistols and such so it should be good for your shifter handle.

I agree, wearing a good particulate mask is a good idea. You don't want that stuff in your lungs.

Keep us posted on your progress and post some pictures for us to see.

I have an idea of what I would like for a shifter handle but whether I could actually make it look that way I don't know. LOL!  I have never really tried to carve something of that nature before.

Well, I'll know what it's like soon enough learning to carve that stuff. LOL.

The aluminum "bar" should be here ina little while according to the tracking number, and last night I ordered 200 sanding drums for my dremmel tool. Then....the "fun" begins.

The new shift  is here.......

(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/1623555_10203208913490084_386997595_n.jpg) (http://s216.photobucket.com/user/Vinnietbird/media/1623555_10203208913490084_386997595_n.jpg.html)

Aluminum will look nice. One made out of a nice dark hardwood would look great as well I think.

I had thought about using wood, but it would match NOTHING in my car.

I thought wood would be cool but it wouldn't look right without something else in the interior to match. Wood would be good to practice on. It would probably be less expensive if you "F" it up trying to get the shape you want. Speaking of cost, what did you have to give for the chunk of aluminum. If you don't mind me asking?

I gave $18 for the heavy a$$ piece of metal. LOL. I also bought a tub of clay (air dry clay) to form the model from. With clay, no dust, and if I remove too much, just stick some more on. After that, time to start slowly removing material from the "chunk".

That's reasonable enough. Using clay to make a model is a good idea and no dust is a plus. You can work on the clay model in the warmth of your house during this arctic winter we are having.

Making it tonight. Pics as soon as I get it started.It  may be late tonight..

i cant help but think of something at NAS Oceana in va beach.

On the F18 the pilots stick grip was 100% consumable parts.  all the switches , weapons select ,, everything if failed went into a general trash can.

one came in with the base housing cracked but was a donor for others and became a hanger queen for a couple weeks , they are made of something similar to bakealot.  well since the transducer would not function properly with a cracked base, the item became useless.  we put it on the shelf and robbed parts from it like the switches and such.right down to the cannon plug.

i tossed it in the can after i extracted the 98pin cannon plug and this other AT took it out of the trash.  It was me, him and another guy in the shop.  I said whatch doin?
he said this is gonna be my new shifter .  well back then i was like all over that and how cool it would be... but i did say i bet your ass is grass if you get caught.

well coming into the front gate one day he did.  he had it all decked out with similar switches you can get from radio shack, and even had a garbage weapons selector switch that i had thrown out a few days before.. the side winder select was open.

he had this thing wired for all kinds of accessory items he added to his car.

the gate guard reported him,,,, and we never saw him again... never even heard from him ever again.  Rumor was he went to a federal pen.

That was a very expensive, taxpayer owned shifter handle he had..lol

Vinnie , do you have a bandsaw or a drill press ? This would be a quick way to remove the majority of the stock !!

Nope. No drill press or ban saw. Even if I did, I wouldn't use them. This is a Dremmel job only. I have a friend who has a machine shop, but I want to do it as close by hand as I can. Not sure why, maybe for bragging purposes. LOL. Getting ready to start the clay version momentarily. Pics to follow.

O.K., remember, this is just a clay mock up. Full scale of course......

(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/1618637_10203220809667481_968068985_n.jpg) (http://s216.photobucket.com/user/Vinnietbird/media/1618637_10203220809667481_968068985_n.jpg.html)

(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/1607035_10203220807507427_789310727_n.jpg) (http://s216.photobucket.com/user/Vinnietbird/media/1607035_10203220807507427_789310727_n.jpg.html)

(http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/Vinnietbird/1656116_10203220801867286_2028358508_n.jpg) (http://s216.photobucket.com/user/Vinnietbird/media/1656116_10203220801867286_2028358508_n.jpg.html)

Once the clay dries, I'll drill a hole in the bottom of it, and install a dowel into it so I can prop it up safely and use it as a model to make the aluminum piece. It fits my hand perfectly, and the thumb rest is right on. The top I designed as I did because i have a habit of pushing the top of the shifter with the palm of my hand, and with the top as it is, it'll be easier and functional.

Gonna be one of a kind for sure ... Looks cool

It'll hopefully look really cool in billet, all smooth and friggin heavy.

What did you do just grab a block of clay and squeeze? I like the idea.

Thanks Kitz. I grabbed a tub of clay. shaped it like the bar of aluminum, then started removing clay a bit at a time for an hour until it was just as I wanted it. The idea of it is based on the old Mopar shifter handle, but slightly altered for the shape of my hand, and the top for the way I shift.

I like it! Now to replicate it in aluminum.

Yep. I have a feeling it'll take more than an hour and a half like with the clay.

Vinnie, are you going to drill and tap the aluminum "billet" before you shape it, or wait till it's all done?

Reason i ask...if you drill it first, you can make sure you have tightened down, so that it stays snug, AND is aligned to fit your hand naturally once it's in place...and to give you a direction, so to speak, to know where to orient it before shaping...

of course, if you've already said so, disregard my rambling. LOL

Good point, but I use a jamb nut to hold the shifter s in place so orientation of it's position is not an issue. I'll probably drill and tap first so it'll be easier to do. Once it's shaped and formed, it may be hard to get in a vice to hold it for that work without damage.

As far as your opinion and others, I welcome them all. If I covered it already, then fine. if not, It's good to have input in case I miss something, or find a better way to do something. All good stuff.

I thought about that after I'd posted...using a nut or set screws to hold in the position that it needed to be in...sounds like you got it figured out. ;)

I like the jamb nut. I didn't want any screw holes on the side of it. The factory, and factory style Pistol grip shifters for Mopars have three screws on the right side. No bueno. I want just a satin block of coolness.....if I can pull this off. LOL.

I believe it will take a little longer. LOL!  I think drilling and tapping it first is a good idea. You could make a stand to mount it to to work on it.

That's what I was thinking. I'll use a stock shifter handle I have in the tool box. Gotta determine the correct place on the aluminum to drill. The pistol grip will be slightly offset in the lock of aluminum. due to it's shape and the thumb rest. I also have to find out what the threads are, and make sure I have a tap for that.

I now have 400 sanding drums for the Dremell, a new tap for the necessary threads, and should be shaping this weekend.

That's really cool. It's too bad you aren't using at least a die grinder. When I tried messing with my intake, it made the job pretty easy. And that was with an aluminum bit. A dremel and sanding rolls sounds like a lot of weekends! Hope I'm wrong. Good luck.

I have a die grinder. Not sure what bits to get for aluminum, especially around here. Not many choices other than Lowes.

I got some bits for my die grinder at a fastenal place had a nice display on the counter.  Id use more course of a bit as not to get clogged. And I use atf as a cutting fluid keep the particulate down to
Good luck

We have a Fastenal. I'll give them a try Thursday on my next "weekday" day off. Thanks.

Solid info. :)

here are the bits i used the aluminum bit has wider spaced flutes so as to not get clogged as much as the double cut bit (for iron)
This is the company I ordered them from. Can't seem to find them but maybe someone else has a better source.

I'll see what I can find. I'm in no hurry to finish it. I want it to look like it was a manufactured pistol grip shift handle when I am done.

I wanted to start the pistol grip this weekend, but due to swapping the front struts, and trying to figure out the friggin' stereo (which I did), time ran out. So, I only have a three day work week and then 4 days off to do my thang.

Keep the RPMs low when using the carbide burrs on aluminum. If you use too much RPM it will cause the aluminum to clog the tool. You may get away with more RPMs with the dedicated aluminum burrs though. I would start at a low RPM and work your way up. Using ATF for a cutting fluid is a good idea.

I may try them to remove a little material, then the drums for the rest. I hope it turns out like I see it in my mind. LOL.

Since the SPort is down for a week or so, I figured I'd start the Pistol grip. I drilled and tapped the hole for the shifter at a very mild angle so it would have the slight angle towards the driver I needed. That's great. I mounted the chunk of aluminum on a stock shifter lever and mounted the whole thing in the vice. Started cutting some metal away.......Holy . This is going to be a project alright. I worked for about an hour or so altogether. I removed metal from the shifter for about 15 minutes, and have made extreme minimal progress. irst, that is some superior aluminum. Not the soft stuff. But, every bit of metal is removed is one step closer to a Pistol Grip. A pic or two tomorrow.