I just got through adjusting my column shift because it was hanging up in 1st and it seems to be working better. While driving, I'm doing my best to maintain the H pattern and let it drop into neutral before going up into 2nd, but it seems to hang up every now and then. The manual says the "A" dimension is 2 13/16" +/- 1/8" clearance between the wheel and lever, and I am just under 3" with the shift housing pushed as far away from the firewall as possible. My upper and lower shifter control rods have notches at the pinch clamp to let bolts pass through but don't seem to have any slack-room for adjustment that would affect measurement "A", and i have 1/8" at the collar (measurement "B" in the manual) so I am maxed out and can't get the A dimension to spec.
My question is - would a shim inside the shifter housing below the bottom shift lever help? When I rebuilt my shiftbox, there was a piece of string tied around the end to possbly act as a shim and or gasket, so maybe there is som validity to this? The youtube video link belo gave me the idea, and I wanted to know if this is common practice to help cure the shifting hang-ups? Not sure if the link below will work, so you may have to cut and paste. If neither one works the name of the video is "1950 Chevy fixing transmission linkage hang up".
Warning... If you are a neat freak, this video may be hard to watch!
Another question - is the "A" dimension measured from the thickest part of the wheel, as in the bottom of the finger notches, or the top of the recessed area for the finger notches?
