Shifter Indicator Lens

[BillyDean7173]

This post is long overdue. I apologize, Daniel for this taking so damn long. I wanted to darken the overlay on the bezel first before I took a pic, but who knows when that will happen. I didn't want to wait any longer.

Below is a pic of the lens Daniel made for my auto shifter bezel on the 73Z. He matched the L1 and L2 font and positioning to my shift indicator on the dash. Basically a prototype. Super happy that he offered to do this as it was an idea we both had and he had been wanting to make one for a while.

I used a 78 bezel with the light bulb bracket underneath it and took out the old lens. Ordered a late 2nd gen harness to light it up. A bezel for a 73 would just have a blank area there since the indicator is on the dash.

As far as the overlay, I just wanted something special for my NOS shifter. I always thought the bezel looked plain in a deluxe interior. The 70-72 deluxe interiors got the overlay on the bezel and 73 got nothing. Later 2nd gens got some texture to the bezel. 1st gen Firebirds, at least the autos, got woodgrain and 2nd gen Firebirds got a machined looking overlay but I don't know what years. I need to darken the overlay and get more brown on it, but the texture is good.

Thanks again, Daniel for taking the time in making this for me. I appreciate it!

 

[Twisted_Metal]

That looks VERY good!

The 73-78 shifter bezel with the blank slot never looked right to me.

In my 80... I have a shifter with the ShiftWorks kit (200-4R) and the sticker from the kit looked good in day light but the lettering wasn't visible at night.

So... I cut my own lens (plexiglass) and hand painted the lettering on the back, like the original, so it would show up in the dark.
(79-81 shifter bezels had the lighted bezel)

I also cut cherry veneer for the shifter bezel to match the cluster bezel.
That was a very tedious and time consuming job which I would never do again.

Then... I designed/carved the shifter knob from cherry wood.
Definitely a different look for the knob but it's a custom fit to my paw.

 

[BillyDean7173]

The 73-78 shifter bezel with the blank slot never looked right to me.

Agreed. No imagination at all in that design, especially the bezel. I really like the work you did. I've seen pics of your dash before, which is super cool, but that's the first time I've seen the shifter area. Well done! These are the kinds of little custom touches I really like.

On another note, damn my car is dusty. Didn't look so bad in the pic on my phone, but sure shows up in a big pic on my desktop. Time to do some interior cleaning this weekend.