Shifter Bend

[Wolfman3002]

Hi All,
I have searched the forums, but I've not found an answer to my shifter question. It goes as follows: My shifter seems to function fine in all gears, including reverse, so I think it's installed correctly (I had it out recently to clean, lube and replace a missing spring), but w/ the console and shifter boot in place (recently purchased), and w/ the shifter in the neutral position, the shifter is way over to the passenger side of the console opening. The shifter "shift" was evident before I took it out, by the way. When I had it out, I noticed the shaft of the shifter has a bend in it, but w/ the bottom ball installed correctly, this bend is towards the passenger side. If I reverse the whole assy, the spring connection and the reverse gear detent will be on the wrong side, and it will also be forced even further to the right, due to the bend in the the ball end of the shifter assy.
So (sorry for the long-winded explanation ), my question is, is this normal (I don't remember this on my other 2 GTs, but it has been 20+ yrs ago); or could one of the POs disassembled the assy and reversed the shaft? If it's not normal, can I disassemble it and reverse the bend in the shaft. Or is something else going on? I do know that the engine is supposed to have a tilt, but thought the shifter bend was there to compensate for it.
Thanks Guys (and Gals),
Randy

[RallyBob]

It just sounds like you have a Manta tranny and/or shift tower in your GT.

The Manta engine sits more upright than the GT's, so the shift tower is vertical.

The GT engine tilts to the right, so the shift tower is offset to the left to compensate for the engine tilt.

Bob

[Wolfman3002]

Thanks, Bob. Is there any way to tell whether it's a Manta tranny? Any ID numbers or marks?
Randy

[tomking]

I had this too with one of my combinations. The GT shift tower has GT in its part number. Look closely.

[Wolfman3002]

Originally Posted by tomking I had this too with one of my combinations. The GT shift tower has GT in its part number. Look closely.

Thanks, Tom. Do you know where the ID numbers are located? Can they be seen w/o taking the tranny out? Also, does anyone have a picture of a stock GT shifter handle, form the knob to the ball on the bottom? Maybe then I could tell if the shifter itself was messed with.
Randy

[Tillerman]

I'm having the same problem too.....shifter way to far to the left. Mine has the bent end (part that goes in the tower).... I'm assuming that the straight end would cure this?
Dave
'71 GT

[namba209]

I'm trying to remember, it's been a real long time since I had the shifter out of Willit? when the reverse lockout cable broke, but I do believe you can disassemble the reverse lockout, rotate the lever 180 and reassemble the reverse lockout so it lines up with the spring retainer hole. There is a steel roll pin that holds it all together inside the shifter tube IIRC.

[Tillerman]

Thanks Namba......It seems like I tried that and it didn't work, but that was some time ago......I'll give it another try. As of late I've been redoing the dash...hopefully I can post some pics.
Dave
Opels and Jags

[Wolfman3002]

Namba (or anyone else),
Can the shifter be taken apart far enough to rotate the shifter shaft 180 degrees without having to remove the shift knob? Also, it would help a lot if someone had a picture of their shifter, so I could at least tell if mine was the stock configuration. I would take a picture of mine to show you guys, but I just installed a new shift boot and a new underboot (don't know what it's actually called, but it's a vinyl piece that covers/protects the shift tower), and I don't want to remove it until I have to.
Looking from the rear of the car, the shifter is shaped like a really stretched out backwards Z. I've added a crudely drawn picture below to clarify.
Randy

[namba209]

Originally Posted by Wolfman3002 Can the shifter be taken apart far enough to rotate the shifter shaft 180 degrees without having to remove the shift knob?

IDK, Willit? had an aftermarket knob on it when I bought it. But, IIRC,when you take out the roll pin that holds the cable to the lockout slider, you should be able to rotate the slider 180 degrees and reinstall the roll pin and then rotate the shifter lever to line up the spring holes. But like I said earlier, it's been a real long time since I had mine apart and I'm not sure if the chrome sleeve will be in the way and cover the roll pin.

[tomking]

rotating 180 didnt work for me, I tried it. the gt designation is on either the front side or back side of the shifter bracket. probably take a small mirror to see it installed.

[tomcat]

If reversing the shifter didn't work another problem I ran across was having the trans. mount bracket reversed. where it has a bend to it can cause a shift in the transmission if not level.

[Wolfman3002]

I now am pretty sure that my shift is not installed/bent the wrong way. I took my car out for it's first real "shake-down" cruise. Nothing really outrageous, just a few miles of hard starts and stops, w/ a few fast corners thrown in for fun. I wanted to see what would "shake loose" during this. After I got home, I was looking things over, and found that both of my motor mounts have sheared off just below the top metal piece, and were shifted over towards the passenger side by about an inch. This explains the "shift in the shifter" problem, I think.
I just recieved new motor mounts from OGTS, and will be installing them this weekend, along w/ rebuilding my brake M/C (that was the other thing that failed during my drive).
Thanks for all your help,
Randy