Possible Prototype Part Found, How To Identify?

Hey Guys,

I ran into a possible prototype part from Ford on Ebay, and I'm curious as to it's story. It is not related to F-Series trucks, but rather the Rangers from 2001.

The part is a shift knob, and the engineering number starts with 1L54. 1L5 means 2001 Ranger (or RBV), but the "4" is what baffles me. I checked the decode instructions on blueovaltrucks and it states that "4" means Vehicle Center 4. Does anybody know what that is?

For reference, 2002 Ford Ranger Fx4's and 2003-2007? Fx4 Level II Rangers used a special chrome shift lever for manual transmission trucks, and they had a unique shift ball that is threaded. They were the only post-1995 Ranger to have a threaded shift lever, as all others were splined. This possible prototype ball is threaded, and looks identical to the Level II ball, from the bottom. But the top is where they differ, and that's why I wonder if this is a prototype part.

Chrome shift lever with unique shift ball (wish I still had these to compare with):



Prototype:

The only person I can think of who could give any in site would be Parts Guy Bill on FTE. He has actually showed up on Facebook lately under his real name.

I agree, and just sent NumberDummy a message through FB.  We shall see.