Has anyone seen a different type of shifter for a 1st Gen auto? Do they just unscrew from the steering post and could it just be replaced with something else? Mostly wondering about changing out the actual shifter **** with something different. Thought about moving my OD button up to that location also. Not so much as at the end of the **** but mounted on the shifter section so it would be easier to reach instead of reaching down and hitting it. Those few seconds count you know when going through the gears at the strip

 

I was thinking the exact same thing, except the **** is molded to the lever. I'm going to try mouting a momentary switch on the lever, such as a horn button. I'll mount it facing the dash, so I can easily tap it to shift in and out of od.
You can replace the entire lever with the 2nd gen type. There's a post somewhere for that. The part number for the newer style lever is 4690522-ab.