Shift Lever Drawing

dmaxweb

dmaxweb

Well-known member
Does anyone have a measured drawing of the lower section of the shift lever? I have a machinist rebuilding one to original specs.
 
The original shift levers were made from one piece and bent to the correct angle. There were two angles, one for 28-29 cars, and one for 30-31 cars. The repos are all bent to one angle that is in the middle to fit all. They are also made of two pieces that are screwed together and welded just below the bend. Many have failed by either breaking at the weld or unscrewing. See the attached article.

All the originals can be repaired by welding up the worn 1\2" ball on the end of the shifter and grinding it down to fit the slots in the forks. The problem is having it re-plated. Very difficult in the the US due to environmental concerns.

Tom Endy
 

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I have an original that was replated butler nickel and looks beautiful from the bell up. The problem is the plater told me he could weld up and grind down the ball to the correct size before plating. Well...he did build up and grind but instead of a ball it ended up a heavily nickel plated egg shaped blob. The machine shop at a nearby AFB will precision rebuild but needs a drawing for the CNC. The shifter forks are already done. If possible, I'd prefer not starting over with another lever and would like to get in done locally.
Thanks
 

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dmaxweb said:
I have an original that was replated butler nickel and looks beautiful from the bell up. The problem is the plater told me he could weld up and grind down the ball to the correct size before plating. Well...he did build up and grind but instead of a ball it ended up a heavily nickel plated egg shaped blob. The machine shop at a nearby AFB will precision rebuild but needs a drawing for the CNC. The shifter forks are already done. If possible, I'd prefer not starting over with another lever and would like to get in done locally.
Thanks
Click to expand...

You do not need to have them write a program on this. There is 0.004" tolerance on the shift forks, and the same on the shift lever. One word of caution though, the ball on the end is NOT ½" (-0.500").
 
These guys are military and like fun things to do with their high tech machines, And, the price is right.
 
Dmax,


I did that too and tried. The extremely worn ball is newly build-up welded. Then sanded and filed a spherical shape. But that didn't get exactly round. +/- 1/100 inch.
Also the height of the sphere could not be reconstructed exactly because I could no longer recognize the original dimensions.

Shifting was a bit scratchy. Therefore I installed a new gear lever.
 

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Werner said:
Brent, What am I getting wrong here?

Or is that a misprint and should be 0.005 inches?
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Not a misprint. The size of the ball is not machined to 0.500" or ½".

I think where some people started that misinformation (-besides reading it in Fordbarn and then telling it to others. :D) is that someone likely said file your shifter forks to straighten them up, and then just make the ball oversize to something such as ½ inch to compensate. Before long the shifting becomes difficult as it passes thru the neutral position due to the oversized ball.
 
The gearshift lever needs some protection against human contact. I find that when wearing short pants my leg often touches the lever, so the nickle plating eventually corrodes. Same goes for the chrome plated repro lever. To preserve your shift lever, slide a piece of clear plastic tubing over it.
 

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Bob Bidonde said:
The gearshift lever needs some protection against human contact. I find that when wearing short pants my leg often touches the lever, so the nickle plating eventually corrodes. Same goes for the chrome plated repro lever. To preserve your shift lever, slide a piece of clear plastic tubing over it.
Click to expand...

Bob, do you have toxic legs? to corrode the lever or is that erosion (gradually wear away). :p :p
 
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Bob Bidonde said:
The gearshift lever needs some protection against human contact. I find that when wearing short pants my leg often touches the lever, so the nickle plating eventually corrodes. Same goes for the chrome plated repro lever. To preserve your shift lever, slide a piece of clear plastic tubing over it.
Click to expand...

This is the repro that was on my coupe when I got it. Corrosion on drivers side.
 

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dmaxweb said:
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Thanks again Brent.

I'm taking the shift lever and the blueprint to the machine shop today. Even though the forks have be rebuilt, I'm going to take them along to verify the tolerances. Do you have the blueprint for the forks?
Much appreciated!
 
dmaxweb said:
Thanks Werner
The drawing shows radius corners on the machined recess for the shift lever ball. Do you know if this correct? I've never seen a NOS fork so I don't know.
Click to expand...

They really are not radius-ed, but it actually has a 45° machined chamfer, -and yes it is correct.

And Yes, that is my drawing of the Fork.
 
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