Hey guys!

Just joined the forum because I picked up a really original '79 Pinto Pony with a 4 speed manual and needed a bit of help. I'm new to Pintos, but have been a die hard Ford guy all my life. My other project car is a '68 Mustang, which is the 5th one I've owned. Not a stranger to the 2.3 either, since I owned an '84 SVO at one time too (loved that car, wish I still had it).

Anyway, what brings me here today is my limp shifter. The thing is extremely loose and is difficult to find the difference between 1st and 3rd. The scary part is though, the reverse lockout is completely non-functional, so you can shift into reverse just as easily as 1st. Definitely need to get this fixed ASAP. I've been doing some research and it appears the floppyness is due to a worn saddle bushing? I've seen some links to source those, but what I can't seem to pin down is how to fix the reverse lockout and a source for parts. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ryan

Here's the Pinto in question


I don't have any good pics of the Mustang, but here's a pic of the engine I built for it. I have a Powerdyne supercharger for it too.

Do a search of my posts..

I also have pix of the spring mod to replace the worn out rubber bushing.  The only difficulty involves getting the spring onto the shifter shaft. You need to find a spring that is open enough that you can wind it onto the shaft.

You can also adjust the lockout pressure by stretching or cutting the spring.

Heres a link to the post with pix.. also theres a mention of the plastic saddle available from a jeep dealer for about $7 for an early 4 speed

http://www.fordpinto.com/general-help/manual-shifter/msg174991/#msg174991

You need to fix the spring pressure for the reverse lockout and maybe replace the nylon bushing.

Check out the link to the fix i posted and save your tranny.