A while back there was a thread here on 67 and older shifters which included an eBay source for replacement parts. My 1968 Acadian / Nova Muncie shifter was prone to binding & locking up. After stripping it down it appears the 3-4 lever is the problem. The eBay seller lists his parts as 64 - 81 Corvette. His 3-4 lever looks like mine so I contacted him but he doesn't have any interchange info to confirm.
Hoping someone here can help me before I order one.
Your lever is listed as 3980718. It fits 68-72 Acadian/Nova as well as Beaumont/Chevelle but isn't the same as the full size cars or any Corvettes according to the GM parts book, sorry.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
If you would like to post pictures of your's with measurements I could compare it to one from a 67 and older shifter I have. Maybe we can figure out what is different, maybe there's a way it will work?
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
Thanks for posting, looks like they may be the same. Do I understand yours is from a pre 68 shifter? Wonder if that is the same as what Chicago Corvette has available.
I agree, even though the GM parts books say it's not the same part it sure looks the same. Yes that is a 67 and older Muncie shifter I posted the pictures for. I don't know for sure that a Corvette shifter is the same as the pictures I posted. This one I believe is from a Chevelle or an Impala. However other than the handle the Corvette shifter is very similar no doubt. It almost looks like it would be worth a try for you.
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1966 Strato Chief 2 door, 427 4 speed, 45,000 original miles
1966 Grande Parisienne, 396 1 of 23 factory air cars
I will. With shipping & exchange it's about $50 Cdn to my door. Not a huge amount so I'll probably chance it.
The locking up got so bad over time that I decided to swap out the Muncie for a Hurst. I'd like to get the Muncie back in proper working order but time isn't an issue. I didn't mention that it's a console shifter but I'm thinking the bodies are the same, just different control levers.
While I'm waiting for parts I decided to reassemble everything and bench mount it for testing.
The 1st picture is what I'm using for reference and it appears I have the second design. Shifting from 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 works but I can't for the life of me get reverse to engage. I haven't removed the lockout assembly (parts 17, 18, 20) from the bracket assembly (part 19) and I'm sure the reverse lever interlock (part 23) is positioned correctly. In neutral the control lever (part 2) should move left and up to engage reverse but it won't move.
This is the first time I've disassembled a shifter and it seems pretty straight forward but I must be missing something.
It's sometimes a bugger to get the shifter to sequence properly off the transmission. You go for reverse, and if one of the other two levers move even slightly out of neutral your path gets blocked. If you end off in 3rd or 4th to neutral, you have 2 gates (1/2+ shim) to cross to drop into the reverse lever notch.
I've looked a little further at your setup, and one thing I see is that the reverse gate shim is able to move back and forth in the housing. I remember when I put a new shim in mine, It had to be cut to basically fit without any back and forth. You might be hung on this shim.
Try and line up all the half moons or slots and see if you can get the lever across to reverse. All 3 levers and the shim will have it along with a hole in the body. it's a quick visual. You also have the neutral slot to insert a square tool to calibrate neutral. Look through it with a flashlight and see how things line up.
It's sometimes a bugger to get the shifter to sequence properly off the transmission. You go for reverse, and if one of the other two levers move even slightly out of neutral your path gets blocked. If you end off in 3rd or 4th to neutral, you have 2 gates (1/2+ shim) to cross to drop into the reverse lever notch.
I've looked a little further at your setup, and one thing I see is that the reverse gate shim is able to move back and forth in the housing. I remember when I put a new shim in mine, It had to be cut to basically fit without any back and forth. You might be hung on this shim.
Try and line up all the half moons or slots and see if you can get the lever across to reverse. All 3 levers and the shim will have it along with a hole in the body. it's a quick visual. You also have the neutral slot to insert a square tool to calibrate neutral. Look through it with a flashlight and see how things line up.
thanks Mark, I haven't checked in on this post lately so I'll try it again using following your suggestions.
My parts from Chicago Corvette came today and they are not the same as mine. If anyone can use them I'll sell for my cost and ship them no charge.
It's a bit thicker making everything so tight in the housing the levers won't move. Funny thing is the lever pictured in the exploded diagram looks more like mine than what they shipped. Picture of them side by side. New one is on the left.
Still can't engage reverse on the bench. I wonder if that's why it was locking up in the car.
