What a title! Ben Smith turned up tonight with a new toy for me:

Ben’s got one of these – you may well have seen it in action during our M5 clutch and M3 Evo engine swap antics alongside my red jack. My red jack’s a really hefty old-fashioned item. It’s been a trusty friend, but it’s awkward, slow, and hard to lower slowly.

This jack is really light, really quick (5 full pumps to full extension), and has thoughtful extras such as the side handles and foam padding on the main handle. What better way to celebrate than with some self-lifting in the lounge!

Onto other matters – I received a replacement gear knob for the 330d today – something that’s been a long time coming.

I don’t mind a splash of wood trim in a car, but I feel a wooden gear shifter is going just a bit too far. Add to this the fact that the one pictured above is a little loose, and that I like my knob to be illuminated(!), it was time for replacement.

This isn’t a perfect story though. I ordered the item from C3BMW – a site that provided my alloy front control arms for the 1990 E30 M3. It wasn’t the cheapest place, but should have come with a retorfit wiring kit which I thought made it worthwhile. Sadly, this wiring kit wasn’t present; just the knob.

“This gear knob is trimmed in knappa leather and has a shifter which is illuminated. Supplied with retrofit wiring this can be fitted using a simple plug in to the light for the cigarette lighter.”

I’ve written to C3 to see if it’s just a simple omission and they can send me the extra bit of kit. If so, it’ll be a thumbs up; otherwise I may get grumpy. Still, no wiring adaptor doesn’t stop me from physically fitting the shifter, and I’m really pleased with the result.

I think it looks really smart, and that slight reduction in woody-ness is just what the doctor ordered. Diane suggested losing the wood surround, but at that point all the wood in the car would really need to go, and I don’t mind it that much!