HOW-TO: Making a W124 Sportline Shifter Knob Into a "V8" Knob 034/036

[doolar]

Hello all!

This is a simple mod I made today, after making some nice discoveries. As many of you know, the "V8"-badged shifter knob is NLA, or actually it's not, it's just that the badge doesn't say "V8" any longer, it's just a Mercedes-Benz star. This knob is hard to get by in an ok condition nowadays.

This is the one I'm talking about:



And this is what you get if you order a new one:



Except from being rare, I always thought they are to bulky, and I dont like the short shift rod (who likes short rods anyways?). I really like the look of the original leather or Sportline shifter!

Anyways, several years ago I bought a tatty old "V8"-badged knob on Ebay. It was in really bad condition, the leather was worn and the wood finish was cracked. But the badge itself was in good condition.

I always assumed that the "V8"-badge was smaller than the Sportline badge, but to day I realized that it's just a mirage. The silver border on the "V8"-badge makes it look smaller. On closer examination I knew that they are the exact same size the both of them. So then it would be possible to make a W124 "V8" knob!

What you need:

• "V8"-badge
• Sportline shifter knob (a "Sport"-bagded shifter from a W202 should work aswell, not tested though)
• Knife and a pair of scissors
• Double sided tape

So first I pryed off the "V8"-badge from the old knob, it was really loose. I just needed to pry with a knife and it came right off. Be careful so you don't cut yourself, and/or scratch the badge or the knob (if you wan't to keep it, mine was a goner so I tossed it).

Heres the badge:



Then you may need to remove the old adhesive from the back of the badge, mine was just a sticky residue that came off easy (that's what she said!) It came off just using my thumb. Be careful here with any solvents, the silver paint that fills the star and text is very thin, and I would suspect it's not too resistant to chemicals:



Next, the Sportline shifter. Same procedure here to remove the Sportline badge. Be careful again, they are also in demand so don't scratch it. Also mind the leather to avoid scratches. It came off easy aswell, but was held by a much stronger adhesive, so take it slow so you don't break the badge:



Peel away any adhesive residue from the knob, this is what it should look like:



Also make sure to clean the edge of the leather, it's probably full of many years of skin and germs.

Then I used a Tesa brand double adhesive tape, the one I used is quite thin. I tried with different thicknesses and tested to get the badge flush with the leather:



Finally, peel off the protective paper and apply the badge to the knob:











As you can see, it's a pretty neat result. I'm going to give the leather some treatment, this shifter knob is a bit worn, but still in great condition.

I will post pictures when I've fitted it to my car!