Does anyone know where to get the bushing that supports the shift rod at the transmission for a tail shift car? Apparently, it has a smaller inside diameter than the ones that go on the firewall and under the shifter. I looked on 914rubber, AA and Pelican and can’t seem to find it.

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Maybe me came in a kit with all the shift linkage bushings.

Call George at AA. Talk to the Doctor.

PET shows 3 of the same bushing

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I think he is reffering to part #44.

Got the bushing, but not the metal.
You should be able to find one as most folks convert the tail to side shift.

https://914rubber.com/tail-shift-rod-bushin...-tunnel-for-914

Thanks for the replies everyone. @Mikey914 , I intended to install OEM91442422400 but discovered that the ID is larger for the tunnel bushings than the rear bushing at the transmission. Wish I would have realized this prior to removing the old.

For what it’s worth, I installed 3 identical bushings in my car without any problems.

Why would the ID be different in the tunnel when the rod is the same diameter?

I just did this exact bushing on my -6 tail shifter last year. I'm guessing it is the same for both -4 & -6? Let me look up who I ordered it from, I'm thinking it was 914rubber. I'll see if I can find the part number.

Here’s a pic showing the rod in a new bushing. There is a gap for sure. @fixer34 , thanks for looking up the part number.
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Could you take a photo further back, something doesn’t look right?

I spoke with George at AA. He confirmed that the 3 bushings are the same part number and that I should get German made ones. I may do that but for now, I’m doing this hooptie fix using Nashua aluminum tape to build up the thickness of the rod. Now it is a tight fit and should last a while. My plans for the car involve moving to a side shift with Chris Foley’s shift rod kit so this is definitely a short term solution. The play at the rear is not attributed to wear on the rod as I have the same problem when moving the bushing past the wear area and on to the original painted surface.

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Is the bushing still loose on the rod even after it’s pushed into the bracket? Just thinking the fit might compress it quite a bit…

Of course, I can't find the order paperwork now that I offered, but I see you have a 'backyard fix'. I suspect there was wear on the rod, it appears that section in the first photo is shiny. As for trying it further down the shift rod, I believe it is slightly smaller diameter so that is not a good test. The last picture even appears to show it necked down a little past where you added the tape.

I will tell you from experience that the extra gap between the bushing and rod doesn't make that big of a difference; tail shifters are a bit loosey-goosey anyway.

91442422400 get a real factory one, the aftermarket sometimes do not fit tightly enough

The bushing does compress when installed. I’ve tested and are currently using in my 71.
Believe it or not a with all new bushings, and properly adjusted tail shift transmission shifts just as well as the side shift.
It’s just a little more complicated to get adjusted, but just as good.

Mark

Sadly due to the geometry, the rod should not be super tight in that bushing.
Unless you can get the rod perfectly parallel to the transmission centerline it will bind if the bushing is too tight.

I bit of wiggle is intentional to allow for smooth shifting.

The three at the same.
the firewall bushing is its own unique part.

Rich

Don’t make this part of your repair.
Look for a lower mileage shift rod, plenty out there as many have switched over to side shift.
When installed there will be pressure from the mount and you will put plenty of grease on it that’s why it has the boot. The most important part is the ball and key at the end, the wear there makes a lot of the tail shift slop.
You could have the rod sand blasted and powder coated but that won’t make the key end any better.

This might work out for you: https://www.jwestengineering.com/Shift-Rod-...acket_p_42.html

JWest seems to make a direct replacement if I'm seeing it right.

Just following up on this. I decided to replace all the bushings again using the kit from AA. The bushings were from uroparts and fit much better than the 914rubber ones. The shift rod balls were the same diameter as the 914rubber ones. There was still more play than i would like to see so decided to do the Nashua tape hack on all three bushings and both balls. The aluminum tape held up well after 4k miles so thought it would be nice to see how the car would shift after removing as much play as possible without going overboard. I have to say that I am pleased with the results! I thought about powdercoating the rear shift rod to take up some clearance but took the easy way out for now. I was also thinking of making my own balls on the HF lathe which may still happen if the tape craps out. For now, the tailshifter is not bad at all. Another thought if wanting to take this further would be to configure some sort of heim joint setup doing away with the balls completely.