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NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Mon 27 Jul, 2015 11:45
by Southernboy
Well it's been a long and painful process to finally arrive here... To cut to the chase, I had many people say they could do this and they could do that, and when it came to OK, do it, they let me down. I was hoping to get to a situation where I could have the bulk of the donkey work done for me, but as is said - if you want to get something done, do it yourself.
The upshot of it is that I am left to do all the work other than the basic laser cut shape. This means anyone wanting one will have to order / pay and get in the queue. It takes 2 -3 days to produce one ready for shipping. I have polished the aluminium one in the pic to a mirror finish, and it's as good as chrome plated even though my photographic skills may not accurately reflect that. Chrome plating will ad a further £15 to the cost... :(
So, here's the rub.... £75 each including postage to the UK and Europe. Anyone from the USA / Canada or Aus will have to pay a few bob more for postage.

A bit about the item. It requires basic skill to fit. It will fit securely - 6 screws. Once fitted, the gearshift leather boot will still be removable without the necessity of removing the console. It will be able to be removed for polishing if required by removing the 10 hex drive screws visible in the pic. Autosol ally polish will do the trick in under a minute. Believe it or not, there are 16 screws and two parts to the item. The screws are imported from the UK and are M2 X 8MM Hex drive (T16 torx tool or 1,5mm allen key required).
As in the pic, you can see that it will allow the 2 window control buttons to function unhindered. I will supply them complete with detailed fitting instructions and some photographs where required to clarify the procedure. Fitting should take aprox half an hour if you include a cuppa whilst doing the job. Not more than 15 minutes if you don't, and 5 minutes of that will be waiting for contact glue to dry.
Other than the T16 or 1.5mm allen key, you will need a 2mm drill bit, a power drill and a small tube of contact glue (125ml)

Lastly, the price is more than I would have liked it to be, however it is simply laborious to produce. Getting the radius across the top all the way round is done by hand. 16 screws require holes to be drilled so that they perfectly align. Being M2 screws, some of the holes require threading (10 holes) with what is surgical care - firstly they must be absolutely vertical and aligned with the holes between the two components, then they also need counter sinking with a flat bottom to the countersink (The screws are not "Y" type screws - they have flat bottoms which need seating. The screw heads are 2mm high and the ally into which the are sunk is 4.5mm thick - not much room for error !!
So, from the above, you will get an idea of the care required at each step, and with my age related eyesight, this slows me down considerably - I have to triple check myself when setting up and machined process to ensure I have actually seen what I think I have... :lol:

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Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND.

Posted: Mon 27 Jul, 2015 12:59
by BladeRunner919
That looks great! So, what does it actually screw into?

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND.

Posted: Mon 27 Jul, 2015 13:09
by Southernboy
Inside the facia at the bottom of the gearshift cut out is a small "ledge" there are 6 screws which will need 2mm holes drilled through that ledge and small nuts fit to the ends of the screws on the underside of the ledge. That ensures it is firmly fixed and remains in the correct position... I did consider "glue", but other than DS Tape, not much else will stick to metal and plastic. Also, it would be fairly obvious if there was a strip of DS tape between the surround and the facia.

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Thu 30 Jul, 2015 12:39
by Southernboy
Which version do you prefer ?

Version #1 is available from bmtown.com in the USA for £55 excl postage etc....
version #2 is available from me at £45 incl postage etc...

#1.
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#2
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........and this is the M version....
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Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Fri 31 Jul, 2015 13:14
by deni2s
Looks like well made product worth the price. Only drawback compared to another version - it requires drilling of original car part. If another version is like the one I have (PILOT from lampa.it), it doesn't requires gluing or fitting with screws, they are purely decorative. But your version looks much more like Z3M surround.

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Fri 31 Jul, 2015 13:21
by Southernboy
The holes are not on the surface of the facia....if you remove the leather gaitor and the plastic insert it is stuck to, you will see a small flange at the bottom of the hole in the facia about 6mm wide...that's where the holes are drilled through.... completely unobtrusive and of no aesthetic importance.... and the holes are literally 2mm diameter... In fact, if you didn't know it, you wouldn't think it wasn't part of the original product moulding..... :wink:

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Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Sat 01 Aug, 2015 10:58
by Southernboy
Comments please.... They still need a final buff and the hole tops to be chamfered...
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Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Mon 24 Aug, 2015 12:58
by 5harp3y
These look great and good value considering the amount of labour involved!

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Mon 28 Jan, 2019 00:57
by Nthor71783
Is this part still available for purchase?

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Mon 28 Jan, 2019 06:25
by Southernboy
Hi buddy.

I'm just now organising a new batch. I'll PM you asap I have them in stock.

Barry

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Mon 28 Jan, 2019 23:43
by Nthor71783
Wow, revive a 4 year old thread and get a response within a few hours! Was not expecting that. I have been looking for something like this pretty much since I got my Z back in '15. I am very interested in purchasing one. Could you repost your pictures of your part?

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Tue 29 Jan, 2019 05:18
by Southernboy
I don't know how to post pics here anymore, but if you send me an email addy, I'll send you some pics.
barry

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Tue 29 Jan, 2019 16:12
by Fender2004
I can confirm the the surround made by southernboy is a first class item. I purchased one a few years back and still looks great.

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Tue 29 Jan, 2019 16:22
by Southernboy
Thanks for the confirmation good man... :cheers

Re: NON M GEARSHIFT SURROUND NOW AVAILABLE.

Posted: Tue 29 Jan, 2019 17:45
by Fender2004
Southernboy wrote: Tue 29 Jan, 2019 16:22 Thanks for the confirmation good man... :cheers
Credit where credit is due :thumb: