Tail Shifting Dream, Almost Like New and Cheap Too Options

[tracks914]

I want to keep my car all original, even if I have to sacrifice crisp shifting to do it. That doesn't mean I can't make it shift better.
When I restored the car, I bought all new shift bushings and a new ball cup. I could see daylight between the old bushings and the shafts. When I first drove the car after the restoration, I had the feeling that the linkages were held together with bungee cords and duct tape. I drive a 20 year old transport truck with a shorter throw than this car. (and that's with the new parts) The only thing I didn't change was the nylon balls in the shifting linkage. So I bought 2 new ones.

When they came in I measured them to find they were only .002" larger than the old ones, but the sockets they fit in had about .020" play. I also looked at all my new bushings, pulled out my old ones and found about the same thing. The shafts are worn some and the sockets are worn and all the new parts I installed won't make anything better. Can I find new shafts? No. So time to rebuild these ones. So here is what I did.
Rear shaft - welded spot welds on the small ball and flat wear areas that connect to tranny linkage. Filed them to fit snuggly.
Removed new rear bushing and wrapped 1/4" wide by .006" brass shim stock two complete wraps on the outside of the bushing in the recessed area and pressed it back into the tranny bracket. (trial and error until I had a nice fit) This worked so well in snugging up that bushing and shaft that I did the same thing to the bushing in the firewall. This was much more difficult to get into place and took several attempts but the result was a nice snug sliding fit for the forward shaft. The new bushings are soft enough to be compressed.
Next problem was to reduce the size of the 2 ball sockets on the rear shaft or make the balls bigger. A brass bushing would be ideal but it would be so thin that it couldn't be cut on a lathe. After hours of thought I came up with this.
Since the two new balls were the same size as my old ones, I used them to rebuild the sockets. Trial and error again. I determined that my .006" shim stock would again be just the right size for the task. I cut my brass shim stock to form a cylinder that would fit into the sockets. I then took my 2 new balls and put a screw into the holes so that they could be inserted and removed from the sockets insuring and good fit. A .006"shim cylinder would reduce the size of my holes by .012" and using brass provides a good wear surface. I then removed the brass and cleaned everything with brake cleaner. I put extra strength locktight (green) into the sockets (on walls) and onto the outside of the brass. I put the brass into the sockets and then inserted the new balls for the locktight to set. During the 10 minute set period I moved the balls up and down to insure they would remain free and the brass was pushed tighly to the socket walls. After 24 hours I removed the balls and cleaned up the bore, (some locktight leaked in) and then tried it on the car.
The result was great. It shifts like I would have hoped a new one would and brings a smile to my face every shift.
I don't know how long the fixes will last but for the miliage I put on in one year it should last several a least.

Now the only problem I have is getting into second gear without the occasional grind. I'm not sure if I am nicking reverse or the synco is gone for second, but that will be another post.