My mechanic, Norm, was pretty upset about this one. I bought Adie with the original shifter in it. (Though, hilariously enough, not the knob. The knob itself had the wrong shift pattern on it, which I called a theft deterrent.) Putting it lightly, the shifting was sloppy. Sometimes, in my less careful moments I would brush reverse when I went from first to second. And third gear practically took me all the way to the glovebox. Fourth gear I would sometimes knock Miracle’s knee.
So when I took Adie to the shop prior to a shakedown trip, I asked Norm to take care of anything hinky—things that weren’t broken, not wrong, but could become an issue.
“Your shifter,” he said as if he had been holding onto his hatred for it like a dark secret. “Scat makes a real nice shifter. Good tight shift pattern.”
“Alright,” I said. “How long will that take?”
A week, he assured me. But then the shifter arrived broken. Norm fumed because he cares, because he likes to operate on time, because with a VW Bus there are enough broken things already. Then the new one arrived and he installed it, swearing that the quality was not what it used to be.
Honestly, I don’t know. What I can tell you is that the new shifter indeed is tight and smooth. Glides gear to gear and I don’t feel like I am throwing and praying when I press the clutch. I guess I would recommend Scat, but I would also tell people that I trust Norm’s judgement.
Bonus: It is chrome, which matches the new handbrake lever and steering wheel.
On the Road with Adie 