Help a 914 v8 newbie: shifter keeps loosing 4th and 5th :/ Options

[EthanBlack]

Greetings ladies and gents!

Just a little bit about myself. Bought my first v8 car (283/rod Simpson car) right out of high school and fell in love with these unique cars. Had to sell it for school 6 months later but never lost love for them. Fast forward 8 years later and I bought a GM v6 (4.3) swapped car to try to re-live some of that previous magic. Figured car was too slow so I had a corvette shop build me a full roller 350 with a decently bumpy cam. Car gets squirly in 4th gear at full tilt and suffice to say the magic is back. But there in lies the problem as 4th and 5th are all but impossible to shift to while driving.

I can adjust the shifter while not in motion to get 4th and 5th. However once I start driving around, 4th disappears entirely and 5th can sometimes be found if I drive slowly. I've tried to adjust it multiple times and its driving me crazy!

I re-used the GM v6 engine mount bar which looks like it set the drive train back a few inches farther then the usual conversion kits. As a point of reference, I couldn't use renegades tranny mounts on their own and had to extend them another 2 inches using thick gauge metal and another pair of bolts. I'm thinking that the tranny mounts get "loose" as a load is placed in the system making shifting even more awkward.

I'm willing to pay for shop help but can't find anyone local in Southern California who would take on a v8 car. Just out of ideas and pulling hair, appreciate any help!

Cheers,
Ethan

[Mike Bellis]

That looks like a homemade install. The renegade kits use a different front mounting cradle and semi solid rear mounts. The engine & tranny are at least 2" lower than a normal V8 conversion. I have never see the shift rod go below the cradle on a V8 conversion.

I'm not sure what your budget is but I would start with a new mounting kit. Either bought new or used on this site. You may want to think about a cable shifter too http://www.cableshift.com/914/914%20page.html has an engineered kit to bolt in.