Original Vintage & Restored Leather Keyrings for Classic Cars & Motorcycles

Austin Healey Sprite - original 1960s aftermarket wooden gear knob with vitreous enamel badge

NOW SOLD – sorry this original gear knob has now been sold and can no longer be ordered

An original aftermarket Austin Healey Sprite gear knob which will have been produced in the 1960s.

We have just this one original gear knob to offer – when it has been sold this listing will be cancelled.

What a lovely item !

Wooden gear knobs like this one were produced for many makes of car in the 1960s and were a considerable improvement over the utilitarian plastic knobs fitted to many of those cars .

With gear knobs like this one having been made & fitted at the same time as the cars were built – these gear knobs are original period items and can be considered as acceptable additions to those cars – just the same as wooden rimmed steering wheels.

The gear knobs were marketed by car accessory firms such as Paddy Hopkirk , Les Leston & Alexander but were generally made by just the one manufacturer in Birmingham.

The Austin Healey Sprite gear knob in this listing is in superb condition and is probably new old stock and has the usual size & shape which was used at the time ( just over 2″ ( 55mm) tall and 1.5″ ( 38mm ) wide at the widest part .

It looks to be turned from walnut which is rather nicer than the various mahoganies were also used at the time.

Walnut is an English timber which would have been grown & harvested in England .

The gear knob is finished in a clear gloss cellulose finish .

A vitreous enamel on gilt badge is inlaid into the top of the gear knob.

At the base of the knob is an aluminium threaded insert which would have threaded onto the original thread machined onto the top of the gear lever .

The gear knob in the photos is the actual one which you will receive . SMOSO   00/55    11/22