I have read the archives and other books on how to adjust the shift linkage on my Muncie. I have a '68 big block 4 speed. I think you are supposed to loosen the shifter rods, put the shifter in neutral and then go back under the car and put that flat metal "gauge" into the slot on the shifter. Then tighten the adjusting nuts on the shifter rods.

Problem is, I see no way to get that little strip of metal way up to the bottom of the shifter, there appears to be too much going on underneath. Between the shifter rods themselves, tailshaft housing, the exhaust pipes and parking brakes pulleys etc. Am I missing something here? Thanks. I'm stumped.

 

Nope not missing anything, though first you want to put the tranny in neutral, and the alignment hole is indeed on the shift levers, and is not the easiest thing to do withthe tranny mounted. I ended up using some pipe cleaners to get the levers referenced on center then carefully made the adjustment on the pivot screws till they were lined up in the right places, being careful not to move the shift levelers them selves. Once i had it all lined up i re-attached the levers to the shifter and locked it down. Not dead on ***** as they say, but good enough to get the job done

.02

tim

 

i used a small hex wrench inserted from the outside (drivers side) toward the trans. Was able to snake it in there.

 

hey mensch,

you ever upgrade you points systems?


tim

 

Thanks for the ideas. mensch53, what type/size of hex wrench did you use?

 

I used hemostats to get mine in there. A curved pair and a little foul language and it slipped right in.

 

[QUOTE=BB68Vett]I have read the archives and other books on how to adjust the shift linkage on my Muncie.
I also have '68 4 speed with badly worn-out stock shifter. I have just fitted a Hurst Competition Plus shifter and kit. The shift quality and prescision has significantly improved. Even though the shifter seems to be higher than stock in the console it falls to hand much easier and the throw is much reduced. Animal job to remove old shifter though.

 

You don't have a locating hole? My Muncie shifter has a hole, and I think a 1/4" drill fits perfectly. That locks the shifter arms while the adjustments are made.

 

Neither of my stock 71 shifters have a locating "hole".
Both do have the locating slot referenced by chevy.
There is also a little half circle at the back of the shifter assembly that you can align all of the levers up against but it's not a very solid locating point like a hole or slot would be.
I had my shifter out a few weeks ago and rebuilt it. I also constructed the bent "tool" for adjusting the shifter and tested it on the bench. Worked well.
But once the shifter was in the car there was not enough clearance to insert the tool into the slot. I should have drilled an alignment hole while I had it set up on the bench but instead I painted a white alignment stripe across the shift levers and this worked quite well.
Easy to see from below and nothing to insert.

The whole point of the alignement slot/hole is to align the shift levers with the reverse lockout gate. If all the shift levers are aligned with this gate then you get a very smooth operating shifter. If it's off, even a little, you will have a difficult shift operation especially getting from reverse to 1st/2nd and back again. The other thing that makes for a sloppy stock shifter is that the bracket that holds the shift lever assembly stretches over time/abuse and as it becomes wider the levers don't sit close enough together. This space creates slop and allows the shift handle throw rod to become stuck/lost/pinched between the levers. The more you jam it after this the wider the bracket gets and the worse the shifter feel becomes. Most rebuild kits come with a wider reverse lockout gate to take up this slop but if your shifter has been overly abused your recourse is to either replace the bracket or simply bend the original one back using a large vice or small press. I did this on mine and dramatically improved the feel of my shifter. It's operates like new where prior to pulling it out it felt like a broom stick in a bucket.

 

I cant remember. I have a pretty limited set (probably 7 or 8) and it was one of the larger ones. Obviously, use the largest one you can

 

The GM Chevy Service manual (in my case 1970) details how to fabricate a flat metal "gauge"tool out of a putty knife. I made mine many years ago and it still serves me well.

Bullshark

 

OK. Thanks for the replies. So it looks like I just have to figure out a way to get the gauge in there. I have a set of hemostates, so I'll try that first.

 

Hey, sorry I didn't see your post earlier. I just did this job not too long ago. I also have a 68 bigblock. I was able to reach the slot from above. Of course you have to remove both upper and lower shifter boots to gain access, then the shifter and trans must be in neutral. It's a bit of a knuckle buster (tight fit) but I was able to reach down and stick the tool (which is just a small shim anyway) into the slot. Once you do that, the rest is easy!

 

Just did the same thing today on my 66 Chevelle

 

BB68vett - I searched out my old threads from November 05. Looks like I went through the same process you are going thru now.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show..._id=119&arch=1


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show..._id=119&arch=1

 

PRNDL, thanks for the follow-up. I finally got it but it wasn't easy. I made the netural lock out tool (based on the Haynes manual) from an inexpensive putty knife and I used dial calipers to get it precise. I bent it at the recommended angle and it still wouldn't work, so when I went to bend it some more of course the handle and bottom part of the putty knife snapped off. The gauge part was intact though. As recommended on the forum I used a pair of hemostats and finally got it in the slot. It took me close to an hour of messing with it. Once in, the rest was a piece of cake. The adjustment has significantly improved the shifting of the vehicle.