Okay so while I had drive train out I removed 4 speed shifter assembly and had it redone. I installed drivetrain and now am trying to install shifter and can't seem to get it up in there has anyone got a trick to help me out? Thanks Phil

 

It has been awhile since I re-installed mine...and I still remember how difficult it was. The mounting bracket needs to be installed first, then the shifter inserted with the long thru bolt ready to attach to the mount. I believe a ratchet wrench will work the best, because it is tight quarters next to the tunnel insulation. Then the shifter rods attached to the tranny shafts. Zip has good instructions for rebuilding the shifter...then they say to follow the shop manual for re-installing.

 

Those can be very rough to do but it is doable . Just takes some patience . The hardest part is getting the one bolt in due to little tunnel clearance . I pulled the carpet down from the console and drilled a hole big enough for a socket , then put a plastic plug in the hole . That should have been done at the factory.

 

When I did mine on my 68 I installed it from the top and left the long bolt in the shifter. I just had to work with it a little to get it to go into the mount. I put the shorter bottom bolt from underneath.

 

Thanks guys will try again in a day or 2 Phil

 

I have done a few of these and always a pain, so I wrote it down the last time. Here my reinstall method that I used recently for my 68:

Remove shifter console plate and inner rubber boot if you have not already.

Remove the parking brake pulley and drop the front U joint so the drive shaft is hanging down in the front. Also pull out the rear 4 sp yoke, tape over the hole too. This gives you a little more room to work.

Attach the shifter rods with g clips to the shifter mechanism.

Drop the shifter mechanism/rods in from up top and slide into position.

Insert the shifter bracket into place from below (clean, nothing attached yet)

Now working from the top, attach the bigger bolt and the smaller bolt that fastens the shifter bracket to the shifter mechanism. You can wiggle the loose assembly (at this point) around to get a ratcheting wrench or whatever wrench you can get to fit on these two bolts and tighten them up.

Next install the 4 bolts that fasten shifter bracket to the frame

install the shifter rods to the 4sp shift levers. I found it easier to
remove the levers off the 4sp and then attach the levers to the rods.
And then reattach the levers to the 4sp with the rods attached.

Now you need to align the grooves in shift mechanism plates to the groove in the shift mechanism housing. I tried making a gauge, but I do not use it. I find it is easier and effective to eyeball align the grooves in a row and not use a gauge. So, you will need to flip all of the levers a few times to find a true neutral detent and then adjust the jam nuts as appropriate. The 1/2 rod has a slotted connection which is a pain to adjust so I usually do this one first.

Then check for smooth shift and trial fit the console plate to see if the shifter is going to hit the console plate in each gear selection. If the shifter hits the console plate, then you will need to shim the shifter bracket with washers as needed. Mine usually hit the console plate in 1st and 3rd. So to attain clearance, I put in the minimum number of washers between the shifter bracket and the frame through the 2 vertical bolts.

Once you are happy with your shifter operation, reassemble drive shaft/parking brake pulley and inner boot and console plate and test drive.

Hope this might help.