FS: 917/908 Balsa Wood Knobs

[mcampuzano]

Porsche used a wooden shift knob for 2 of its race cars, a laminated balsa wood knob for the 908, and a laminated birch wood knob for the 917. Attempts have been made to reproduce them, most use other woods because they like the contrast between different types, when the natural contrast is obtained from the 90 degree rotation of the laminations when the wood is assembled before turning. I make them all with power tools (lathe, thickness sander), NO CNC machines, so every knob is unique.

I make the knobs with a metal insert, which allows anyone to use the original crush sleeve, and install the knob with ease. They are also available threaded for early 911's, and for the WEVO and RENNSHIFT shifters.

The finish is rubbed oil, then preservator's wax, then it's polished. Much like a fine shotgun's stock.

The balsa knob weights 35gr with the metal insert, the insert alone weights 20gr, so the balsa is 15gr.

Price is $105.00 USD each (ebony $118). S&H is $7.50 to USA & Canada, $12.00 to Europe and ROW. Delivery time has been between 15 and 25 days. Payment by Paypal: porsche356sport@yahoo.com

908_Balsa.jpgBalsa_knobs.jpg

[eaton]

Is it threaded?

[76911S]

Your pictures look nice.. However I must make a couple of comments
When I started making mine, I had an original 908 knob in hand. It was definitely not made from birch or balsa. It was two different lamination's of two different species.
I was told by a well known plastic Porsche restorer / owner / parts gatherer that there was never a specific wood type used, they had these made up in batches with
whatever the woodworker had. Also the lamination's are two different thickness, which becomes somewhat difficult to copy exactly when making them in the larger diameter for a
street car. The 917 / 908 / 907 knobs where a smaller diameter due to shifter placement length.
By the way, I have made several hundred of these and you are correct, no two are ever alike..

Mark..

[mcampuzano]

I've researched the wood knobs for a long time. The first photo in the thread is a balsa knob which belonged to a 908, and is in the Porsche Museum. The 917 used mostly birch. The mahogany/maple versions began on the restorations, not original fitments. The different shades appear when you rotate the wood laminations 90 degrees, even when using the same species (see photo).

Birch_01.jpg

I know who made ALL the knobs for the racing cars, and received feedback on the different versions installed. I'm offering the balsa version first, in part because most people think they were all made of balsa, and because this wood is very special to work with. The other versions will follow, including a copy of the different thickness/species of wood as delivered by the original fabricator to my friend/source.

The "street car" (911) uses a 48mm knob, the racing cars used between 40 and 44mm. I contacted restorers and collectors, all had different versions, and most never saw a 907/908/917 as originally made. My source is the best. Contrary to the factory's custom at the time, for these knobs they didn't use an external source, it was a combination of a Weissach racing department employee, and his brother, who made contract work for Porsche whenever they needed wooden bucks for their metal fabrication area, he was a woodworker.


Mark,
When you started making your knobs, you thought balsa was a generic term for lightweight wood. Making hundreds doesn't make them right, it just makes you an "good" wood turner. You sell your knobs through TRE, and when you have a broken one, direct through the bird. I destroy the knob which shows any defect. I have 100% quality control, as I have with anything I offer. I'm sure many have received great satisfaction from your knobs. Nice photo.

Eaton,
Its not threaded, you install it as you would a 915 knob, and use your own crush sleeve.
If you own a Wevo shifter, then is is threaded. This is the first I sold, to a good friend. Its threaded for the Wevo.

911'86Wevo.jpgBalsa_Wevo.jpg

[Louie]

I have no car for one of these but, I am going to buy one anyway...and get the car for it later. Gorgeous work of art!

[bxd]

Just some wanton speculation; the original knobs most likely had a nitro-cellulose lacquer finish, which would have turned an amber-yellow, or "orange-ish" over time, like an old guitar. Here is a pic I took of an original 917 shifter in which you can see that the striations of the layered wood are not as obvious because the lacquer has darkened:

porsche-917-shifter.jpg

Yours look really great, Manuel. Nice job, as usual!

[76911S]

Well, as with most things old and rare, (and Porsche related) there is more than one story and more than one correct. I am not really interested in starting a debate on these as it has been covered too many times on other forums. I have personally worked on several 907's, 908's and a 917, they all had slightly different knobs and like I stated before I had an original one to copy from. I did not state mine where necessarily correct however they where as close as I could get to the one I had at the time. I used Maple and Australian black wood which came the closes to color and grain pattern to the one I had which was definitely not any type of balsa or birch. My knobs have been used on several historically accurate restorations over the years, including 907's and 917's. By the way, the race cars that used the wood knobs had 38mm knobs.
Just my 2 cents worth or maybe 10 cents. Okay, I am done now.

Mark..
p.s. I no longer make these as to many people have jumped on the copy band wagon..

[mcampuzano]

NickP, PM w/photo sent

[ChrisTann911]

I want one!!!
Mark, if you wanted to post your photo the polite way to do it would be in your own thread. I've been a very happy buyer of Manuel's products, and if he took so long to offer these knobs, I'm sure its reflected in their quality. He doesn't copy, he reproduces!

[mcampuzano]

ChrisTann911, Paypal received, thanks

Manuel