So waiting on the ignition switch to return so this weekend I had all the parts to go through the shifter. Put in all new bushings front to back and it does feel better and I seem to find all the gears. 4th/5th feel pretty stiff. And when I was under the car it looked like it's rubbing the exhaust.

So didn't have any volunteers to come out and run the gears while I watched underneath so couldn't be in two places at once. I did mark the rods when I disconnected them.

This is a tail shift so any tips, tricks, things to look for? Thanks again.

You say it's a "Frankenstein". In what way? Mix-and-match parts can sometimes result in interference.

Re-check the adjustment to make sure that neutral leaves the shift lever straight up-and-down in the fore-and-aft plane, and just touching the lockout plate on the left.

--DD

Frankenstein in the nickname for this car/project since it seems each time I dig into something its not exactly what it was supposed to be. I can't say if my shifter issues are this....yet.

So not sure what you meant by neutral leaves it straight up and down fore-aft. The springs in the shifter are more side to side. So it seems to center on the 2/3 shift. This is a picture of the shifter in the middle of the pattern. There is nothing forcing it upright in the front to rear direction.



Here is my rub underneath. Previous to the bushing replacement there were none at the front or rear, only the middle position so I'm sure it wasn't rubbing. So is this a job for BFH or pry bar?

Finesse first. I have a lot of 1.7 exhaust and shifter parts from my car so figure out what you may need and they're yours for shipping. Everything should fit together without a hammer.

Maybe throw up some more pics. The guys here are really good at diagnosing issues.

Could you post a bigger picture of where it rubs, meaning show more of the surrounding area

Looks like the left heater supply pipe is not fully fitted to the heat exchanger. Should be able to losen clamp and refit, which will move the air pipe to the left and give you some clearance.

Ok so got the wife out to run the gears and it's rubbing as I thought. The front to back or rotating on the tail shaft input part is pretty pronounced but the side to side at the tailshaft doesn't seem like a lot of movement. Maybe that's the way it works.

Keep in mind I've never driven this car so I couldn't tell you if I'm really in a gear and what gear at this point. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll have it to where I can go spin around the neighborhood. But it certainly doesn't feel like my past mustangs.


So here is a further back photo:

Ok so as above this appears to be the heater supply system not the exhaust. I scooted a bit further under and I see some screws on this piece. I'm guessing these will loosen and I can possibly shift this over to not be rubbing.

BTW. Not a fan of the slotted screws...especially on 40 year old cars. Even in the 70's these couldn't of been very efficient for the assembly plant. Guess I'll do some PB Blaster soaking prior to stripping them out.

Hey, those old German slot head screws work great with the proper Snap-on screwdriver

Yeah, a minor refit of that heater air pipe should give you clearance.

yup, it does look like the heater box is not mounted all the way onto the heat exchanger....that may do the trick.

rich

Mark is there a special fat bladed screwdriver that works on these? Nothing in my box is a good fit so I might need to find something better prior to the vice grips and drill having to come out.

Harbor freight impact screwdriver is a must have tool

Thanks I have one around the corner from work. Looks like I need to dig out my coupons and stop by.

The biggest flat-head Craftsman screwdriver that Sears carried was the one that fit mine. Very tough to use in the restricted space of the engine bay; one of many reasons I replaced the slot-head screws with Allen-head ones.

--DD

I use a Snap On SSD 6, 5/16" flat tip. You can get an 11mm wrench on the upper shank of it for really tough screws. It has a long handle, so no good in tight spots. HF stuff is OK sometimes, but I sure do recommend Snap On screw drivers and sockets and wrenches...your fasteners will thank you.