The joys of working on the '65 steering...

[my66cruiser]

Hi Harley Eaton (and others),

After fixing other stuff on my new old T-Bird, I finally replaced the shifter lever. And like you said, replacing the shift lever DID solve the problem of the shifter moving from Park to Reverse - thank you. I examined my old shift lever and it had the groove worn in it from many years of the previous owners shifting. With the new one in, the positions also seem more defined and less sloppy so that is good. Is it like new? I have no idea...I was not born yet when these cars were new. So I don't know how "tight" the positions should be.

Here's how I replaced my shifter:
1) Hammer out roll pin: With the car in Park and wheel swung to the right some, I hammered the roll pin upward from the bottom. First I sprayed some PB Blaster in the hole. Since my pin was sticking out the bottom slightly, I wacked it flush with a hammer, then I located a bolt to use as a pin punch that JUST fits into the hole of the new shift lever - too loose is no good. Use one that is not tapered at the end - it must be flat at the end so as to butt up against the roll pin and not spread out the pin. With this bolt against the bottom end of the pin, with my right hand hammering upward and my left hand holding the bolt on the pin and also holding the lever down and preventing it from giving when struck with the hammer, this method worked for me though I did hit my fingers a few times with the hammer. Note: you need sufficient force on the hammer to get the pin to move. And watch out for those gauge pods. Also, I moved the seat up to get closer. With the pin out and old shifter still in place, insert an allen key through the holes temporarily so you can shift the car all the way to first (to the right) to facilitate easy hammering in of the pin from the top.

2) Insert new shifter in place: Now that the car is in first, remove the allen key and the old shifter. Insert the new lever exactly in the same position/orientation as the old one. There was no difficulty pushing in the new one far enough. Then I squirted some PB Blaster in the hole and used a flashlight to make sure the shifter hole was aligned with the collar holes. I also used an allen key that fit easily into the holes to kind of force the holes to align but they were already aligned.

3) Hammer in the pin: With my right knee/thigh pressing right on the collar's lower hole (to support everything), I hammered down directly on the pin. This took a while and a bunch of short jackhammer-like hits at first because the underside of the dashboard hinders you a bit. But as the pin goes down, you get more needed leverage.

That's it - done. Sorry so longwinded but I wanted to get in all of the details for everyone. Yes, there may be a more elegant way but this way worked for me.