Gear lever and handbrake gaiters, plus drain holes

Gear lever gaiter

The leather gaiter was nicked around the bottom, then glued to the escutcheon using contact adhesive.

Nicked and glued

The escutcheon and gaiter were located centrally on the transmission tunnel over the gear lever and hole (the hole is not central within the escutcheon, it is towards the nearside). There was 45mm to either side of the escutcheon on mine. The escutcheon position makes the gearlever look central to the transmission tunnel. Then it was simply a case of drilling undersized holes, before fixing with three self tapping screws.

The gear shift knob was a leather covered Simione Racing model. This was fixed by putting a rubber insert over the gear lever and then the knob. The knob was located using three grub screws, before the collar was screwed into place. Finally the leather 'laces' at the top of the gaiter were tied.

Gear shift escutcheon, gaiter and knob in place

Handbrake gaiter

The escutcheon had to be bent slightly to match the shape of the floor. This was done by putting the escutcheon in a vice (protecting the polished face) and gently tapping it to the correct shape. The gaiter was then glued to the escutcheon as with the gear lever gaiter and fixed to the floor around the handbrake using five self tapping screws.

Handbrake with escutcheon and gaiter fitted

Footwell drain holes

Holes (12 mm) were drilled in the floor to take 15 mm plastic pipe inserts. If you don't install drain holes, the footwell can fill up with water when the top is down and it rains. This can prove difficult to dry out and can be a nuisance, unless you fancy a swimming pool! The inserts were glued, then tapped into place and the length trimmed from the inside.

Drain holes near bulkhead