Moving a gearshift.

MercuryMac · Dec 3, 2024

If you have a nice T-5 out of a Mustang or a Camaro, it'll work behind most motors, BUT, the gearshift will come up in the middle of the seat in a pre-mid-fifties vehicle. Should you throw this good transmission away? --- NO. ----- You can move the gearshift ahead and be a way happier. Here's how I did it.
The first picture is the stock shape of a Mustang T-5.
The second pic is take the lid off the gearshift pivot box.
The third pic is the old looking shift tower and pivot welded to a channel iron with appropriate brackets to bolt to your trans. This puts your gearshift about 11" further ahead.
The forth picture is showing the shifting rail going back from the bottom of the gearshift to the crank receptacle on the factory shift rail. I painted it gold.

MercuryMac · Dec 3, 2024

The first picture is showing the underside of the mechanism. I welded a rod on the bottom of the gearshift and bent it in a stylized L shape. Then made a clevis to fit over it and bored a hole through all of the pieces. The pin goes through and the shift rail pivots there. The added piece on the bottom of the gearshift is painted white.
Pic two is the shift rail where it should be in the second, fourth, and reverse position. [all still up-side-down]
Pic three is the gearshift in the first, third, and fifth slots.
The forth picture is the plastic block I made to cover the factory pivot box and to hold the top of the 'gold' shift rail steady when you are selecting which gate you're going into. When you are moving the gearshift sideways, you have to move that crank in the factory pivot box sideways, so the 'gold shift rail has to be steadied at the top. This is the bottom side of the plastic block.

MercuryMac · Dec 3, 2024

This picture is the finished 'fix' and it even has a little accordion boot to keep the dirt out of the slot that I made in the bottom of the plastic box lid. I have test-shifted it and it feels good.