So i have had my 72 V8 apart for over a year, It originally is a tailshift, converted to a side shift, I have a short shift kit, and the rear shift bar lengthed for the v8 kit, after all the clutch woes, and engine mount issues, I am ready to drive it, but the shifter wont engage any of the gears but forth...

I am at a loss.... I will take some pics and post them....

Oh and the trans is a fresh rebuild, and I went through all the gears manually before installing....

any ideas?

Where is it when it gets 4th? Pics will help. You probably do not have enough throw fore and aft to engage all the gears.

That's what i thought. May be just pull out the front shaft a tad?

Am I missing any thing for the short shift kit? I added the shortened bar, and the spacer, anything else?

Since your "short clutch cable" suprise led us recently to learn that your current rebuilt transmission was coverted to a sideshift for this engine transplant, makes me have to ask a stupid question.

Did you swap the shift rods in the tunnel to 'sideshift" rods & shifter? Secondly, you made a comment earlier about do both cone screws suppose to point downward. When you cut the sideshifter rod to add length, did you keep the geormetry the same other that adding 1 1/4? If all the above is kosher, then you probably just need to adust the throw longer from the coupling under the shifter and rotate it bit by bit to achieve all your gears. Did you start by having the transmission in second gear and moving the shifter to that postion as a starting point.

Sound like your getting close.

I converted the entire care to side shift, If I am correct the front shift rod is not at all the same from a Tail to a Side Shifter. As of yesterday i did have an issue with both set screws pointing downward, but i resolve that with a cut and weld job last night, and I cut the rod at the end of the rear shifter rod to get the straightest section.

I am just going to try to pull some of the rod out of the shifter and see where that goes.

So I took the Dr's advice from another post and started with the trans in second, now I got R,2,3 (Trans had 1st locked out) but 4 and 5 are sticking on the clutch tube?

Is there anything i am missing from the short shift kit? any thing that I can do to resolve this, besides adding washers to the plate?

Sounds like your need to adjust to the L a little more. If 2nd is on the spring plate then your clutch tube is in the wrong place. Reach in the tunnel and see if it is loose. If you can push it over to the left then you will be fine, so long as it is still welded to the tunnel.

The clutch tube has never been welded, and has never been loose. R, 2 seems to be the right distance away, but once i hit 3rd the shifter seems like it comes in about a cm and thenmoves close to the clutch and throttle cable tubes, it also rubs on the heater lever cables....for part of 3rd, and 4th and 5th are unreachable...

Could it be to many variables me? New short shift kit, Lengthened bar, Side shift conversion? Should I try the stock shifter?

How fast can one go in only 2nd and 3rd, maybe that's how I can avoid tickets?

R - Clear


2nd - Clear



3rd - Touching


I just want to DRIVE it......

You keep saying 2 and R. 1 and R are on the same plane. 2 and 3 are in the middle. 4 and 5 are to the right. I think you have is adjusted so that 1/R are in the middle which would give you this issue.

though get into R, I have to push all the way to the left to get to R, 2 is in the middle along with 3...

Try this first...your rotation is off.
Remove /Get out of the way the heater lever just for now.

With trans in neutral , shifter in neutral postion, hold the shift bar from moving with a pair of vise grips on the bar in the access hole near firewall, loosen pinch bolt, while holding shift bar with vise grips SlIGHTLY put lateral pressure on the shifter moving it to the right (passenger side). This should rotate the splines a couple of degrees at most. Tighten. Try it. Repeat as necessary.

Adjust slowly until you can get 4th or 5th stop. If you don't get a gear that is in the same plane, that's when you adust the bar's lenghth.
R/1; 2/3; 4/5


Another Option: I have a Renshift and I usually have to adjust my shifter in 3rd gear.