Tools you will need:

Scissors
Razor Blade
Needle (optional)
Thread (optional)
Super Glue (optional)

Sorry for the confusing pictures. Most of the removal and installation is the same for early and late cars.

1. Remove the base of the shifter cover from the car.

2. Pull the base of the inner boot off the car and pull it up over the shift knob to reveal the bottom of the shift knob. Take the retaining clip off the bottom of the shift knob and set aside (Be careful not to drop it).

3. Now the handle will pull straight up and off.

4. Remove the old shifter cover from the shift knob.

5. The top of the shifter and the handle needs to be clean. Remove glue or any remnants of the old cover from the handle and the top area.

6. To help install the new cover you might need to cut some of the shift knob away to allow room for the material. This can be done before you install the cover or afterwards (before installing the top cap). The dark brown part of the shifter is made from soft plastic and it can be trimmed easily with a knife. If you have been driving your car without a shifter cover for a while then the plastic will start shrinking around the top cap and there won’t be any room left for the new shifter cover leather. This can be visually seen. If you can see a little space between the top cap and the shift knob then you won’t need to trim anything. If they are tight together, then you will need to trim the shift knob so the cover can fit. This is easy to do with a knife like in the picture. Be very careful when cutting the top of the shift knob. You will only need to trim just a little bit away, so don’t get carried away.

7. Slide the shifter handle in from the top of the new cover. Make sure the cover is oriented correctly. The cover should slide on fairly easy. Grip around the handle and slide it up. You can also use the tabs at the top of the cover to help pull the cover on the handle.

8. The cover should be all the way up, with extra material at the top. Now you can trim off the top of the cover. Cut the tabs off the top of the cover. You might need to trim a little more of the cover away too. The cover material should fold over the top of the handle but not touch the inside bottom of the handle. If you leave to much material at the top of the handle then the top cap won’t push on all the way. The cover should stick up about 10mm from the top of the handle.

9. There are a few ways to install the top cap. The first one is by hand sewing the cover together. This will pull all the material together making it easier to install the top cap and get all the leather tucked in as well. Hand sew the top of the cover like the picture. In a star pattern. Try to sew very close to the edge of the material, about 2mm.

Another way of doing this is with glue. Super glue works best. Just be extra careful not to get any glue on the outside of the cover (or your fingers). Apply a drop or 2 of super glue on the handle, just below the top or right at the top. Then push the cover onto the handle/glue until it dries. Then place another drop of glue on the handle next to the spot you just glued and push the cover onto the handle/glue. Continue around the handle until the top of the cover is glued to the handle.

10. Once done sewing you should be able to install the top cap. Slowly align the cap and push it down from the top. The new cover is thick and you need to press hard. The pressure from the cover will hold on a cap that has broken tabs just fine. If your cap has broken tabs make sure you have the cap lined up so the pattern looks right before you press it down. Sewing the top of the cover will hold the material where you need it to be so there is no wrinkles in the cover. When you press the cap in place the thread will either break or pull out of the material. Take your time on this step. It will probably take a few tries to push in the cap.

11. Now pull the base of the cover up to see the bottom of the shifter knob and install the inner boot.

12. Reinstall the shift knob/cover back onto the shifter and install the clip.

13. Install the inner boot back on the car.

14. Stretch the base of the shifter cover over the base ring and you are done. To make the cover look it’s best, roll the elastic part of the cover like the picture below. This is a cross section of the cover to better illustrate how to install the cover correctly.