A tale of two Shifters, An observation induced query Options

[Shivers]

Usual story, boy meets car, boy changes stuff and now wants to change stuff again. So I'm going side shift, got some used parts including a shifter., the shifter rod was buggered but the rest was okay. For my tail shifter I put in a short shift kit, it helped, now it was like stirring a small pot of stew instead of a large one. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif) So I also pulled the tail shifter apart to remove the shifter rod to replace the bad one on the side shifter and maybe pass this short shift kit on. When I finished I noticed this:



Looking at the rest of the pieces that would add length for both shifters, they come out pretty even. So is this why I have had no luck finding a short shift kit for a 73 and up design? Can it go any lower into the tunnel? Looks like the factory did all they could to get a better shift in the later cars. Yup, Rennshift, love to have one but with my budget it would not be prudent. I'd like to make it harder to push the gate over so it isn't so easy to nick reverse . Anyone ever put washers in as shims behind the springs to tighten the tension? Any reason I should not? Thank You