the only way to adjust things the way you want is to fill and re-cut the slots in the rods at the joint down under the dash, if the joint bolts are not in slots the rod will turn any which way when you move the lever, that joint isn't just a "clamp" .... look closely at the way all the pieces work together to make the forks in the shift box do the right thing .... you may also find the knuckle at the top of the rod can't rotate far enough to catch reverse and 2nd properly if you rotate the rod, the whole thing is engineered to work as assembled, with no modification ... like I said, bend the lever
Bill
