That's what I meant. I guess there's a little wire silver soldered to a washer inside the shifter. I didn't have any luck finding a diagram, they must be out there.
years ago i had a top loader shifter repaired in the manner 22gt suggested. i forget how much it cost me, but it was worth the money.I have repaired a good number of these. The wire stretches or breaks, making the shifter inoperative.
You need a 1/16" diameter steel cable, an actylene torch, and brazing rod.
Braze or weld a small nut to the top end of the wire.
Assemble the lever, and insert a bolt into the top of the lever to hold the wire in place on the T bar or ring. Duct tape the T bar to the lever to keep everything in the full down (normal) position.
Slide the spring and lockout dog onto the lower end of the lever, and wire it into place with the bottom end slightly inside the lever (ideally, it will be exactly even when completed)
Keep tension on the wire, with everything held in place.
Using a very small torch tip, braze the wire in place in the dog.
Trim the excess wire from the bottom of the dog.
If you can do this, you'll save the $160 a new lever would cost you.
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Years ago, now, I carefully rebuilt a Ford shifter to replace the worn Hurst Competition Plus™ in my 66. The "new" Ford was a big improvement. I've driven a lot of Mustangs, and at least 90% of the Ford shifters I've seen were badly worn, improperly assembled, or both. The #1 problem is incorrect or missing washers on the shoulder bolt heads. The are specially thick, and hardened steel. Thin washers don't compress the rubber bushings enough, and allow the handle to move far too much. Ordinary hardware store washers aren't hardened, either, so they tend to dish, making the handle even more sloppy. And that's just the handle, there are other problems, usually caused severe wear or improper assembly.
Hes the man to repair that, do a search for him, otherwise get back to me thru,I have his num at home
I've met Bill Heeley at Carlisle Ford Nationals years ago. I found his business card. His specialty was rebuilding Ford shifters, parts, shifter handles & shifter gates.
