Thanks for the ideas!.... I might get myself a fatter snap ring.
It's actually a different groove for the rubber & friction ring... I was too lazy to take a picture, but here's a red line on a random internet picture showing where it is.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/J7jh2fp.png[/img]

The reason i ask is because my old friction ring is broken. I tried welding it, but it broke on the way back in... Mr. 54 3600 gave me some leads on where to buy a nos replacement.

It's definitely a wierd little part, seems like all it does is wear out the shift fork faster... maybe damp some vibration of the gear clearance on the shaft
Attachments
friction ring groove.png (295.42 KB, 65 downloads)


'59 Chevy Suburban, NAPCO