Speaking of gear knobs, my son gave me one of the fancy walnut ones from Moss a few Christmases ago. I had used the original black knob for the past 30 years and was very surprised how different and better the new one felt. If someone had told me changing shift knobs would make that much difference to how the car felt to drive, I would have said they were crazy. But it really does. Now I don't mean the car is faster, handles better, gets more miles per gallon, or even shifts better, but it does, in some way, feel better to drive. Go figure. Spend $25 and try it yourself. Maybe a leather covered one would even be better.
Back in the mid-sixties, I had an aftermarket walnut gear shift knob with an aluminum section sandwiched in the middle. Much like a wood rim steering wheel. Someone took took it and I've never seen another since. Any one remember those?