Bushings for 66 + Steering Wheel + Plugging holes in the roof!

Hey Everyone,

I got some sloppy shifting going in my 66 G-Van and read new bushings to be the trick to smooth things out. Basically whats happening is the van wont go into 1st gear occasionally. It shifts in all the other gears, but 1st gear is not happening. When it wont go into 1st gear, i gotta crawl under the van (sorry for the lack of technical terms) and pull a couple rods back and fourth to get it into neutral then all is well.

Here's my challenge, i have an old timer thats gonna help me wrench on the van. To keep said old timer happy, i want to have all the pieces on-hand as not to waste this mans time. Does anyone have part #'s on all parts and pieces i'll need to swap out the bushings? Should anything else be replaced/ greased/ tuned while doing this?

Question 2. I need a different steering wheel. The small cool steering currently on the van sucks to drive with! Any idea where to get an original or a bigger aftermarket to make steering easier?

Question 3. I have holes in the roof where racks used to me mounted. Any idea what i can use to plug the holes with until i get the body work done? Rubber cement? Silicone Glue?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!

Genuine correct bushings are hard to come by, but there are a few sources. The fronts are two piece like small top hats and are in pairs, one from the top and one from the bottom on each side of the rod tang. The rears are like large grommets but with a /14" wide groove. A lot of people make their bushings by machining down nylon or brass ones to fit. If you can grommets that fit the rear, they will do but will wear faster than the originals but they are cheap. The rear also have thin thrust washers on each side of the bushing, without those, the rods tend to twist, many times they are missing. The rear pop off with E-clips on the pin end. Sounds like you may =just need and adjustment to make the 1st position rod move farher to get it into gear, assuming its not a problem with the tranny of clutch not disengaging enough to let it shift from a stand still. Try loosening the lock nuts on the pins and with the shifter in 1st, move the rod forward through the pin so it pushed the lever a bit, try an 1/8" or so each time. Also with the lock nuts looses, align the shifter in neutral and make sure it is smooth and then tighten the nuts at the rod ends, see if that helps. Also make sure the levers are tight onto the trans and not rocking, happened to me when I first got my van, loose worn bolt was why it was not going into and popping out of gear.

Thank you for the reply Vantasia! I read your other post on bushings, but i guess what i was hoping for was...buy parts x,y,z and install. Hopefully it is just an adjustment...that would be sweet! When i shift into 1st its far from smooth and i can feel it engage vs. how it kinda slides into 2nd or 3rd when driving. Does that sound like a worn clutch or trans? I supposedly purchased a "mechanically sound" van, but i guess the definition differs from person to person. Doh!

Vantasia wrote:Genuine correct bushings are hard to come by, but there are a few sources.  The fronts are two piece like small top hats and are in pairs, one from the top and one from the bottom on each side of the rod tang.  The rears are like large grommets but with a /14" wide groove.  A lot of people make their bushings by machining down nylon or brass ones to fit.  If you can grommets that fit the rear, they will do but will wear faster than the originals but they are cheap.  The rear also have thin thrust washers on each side of the bushing, without those, the rods tend to twist, many times they are missing.  The rear pop off with E-clips on the pin end.  Sounds like you may =just need and adjustment to make the 1st position rod move farher to get it into gear, assuming its not a problem with the tranny of clutch not disengaging enough to let it shift from a stand still.  Try loosening the lock nuts on the pins and with the shifter in 1st, move the rod forward through the pin so it pushed the lever a bit, try an 1/8" or so each time.  Also with the lock nuts looses, align the shifter in neutral and make sure it is smooth and then tighten the nuts at the rod ends, see if that helps.  Also make sure the levers are tight onto the trans and not rocking, happened to me when I first got my van, loose worn bolt was why it was not going into and popping out of gear.

ricecube384 wrote:Thank you for the reply Vantasia! I read your other post on bushings, but i guess what i was hoping for was...buy parts x,y,z and install. Hopefully it is just an adjustment...that would be sweet! When i shift into 1st its far from smooth and i can feel it engage vs. how it kinda slides into 2nd or 3rd when driving. Does that sound like a worn clutch or trans? I supposedly purchased a "mechanically sound" van, but i guess the definition differs from person to person. Doh!

Vantasia wrote:Genuine correct bushings are hard to come by, but there are a few sources.  The fronts are two piece like small top hats and are in pairs, one from the top and one from the bottom on each side of the rod tang.  The rears are like large grommets but with a /14" wide groove.  A lot of people make their bushings by machining down nylon or brass ones to fit.  If you can grommets that fit the rear, they will do but will wear faster than the originals but they are cheap.  The rear also have thin thrust washers on each side of the bushing, without those, the rods tend to twist, many times they are missing.  The rear pop off with E-clips on the pin end.  Sounds like you may =just need and adjustment to make the 1st position rod move farher to get it into gear, assuming its not a problem with the tranny of clutch not disengaging enough to let it shift from a stand still.  Try loosening the lock nuts on the pins and with the shifter in 1st, move the rod forward through the pin so it pushed the lever a bit, try an 1/8" or so each time.  Also with the lock nuts looses, align the shifter in neutral and make sure it is smooth and then tighten the nuts at the rod ends, see if that helps.  Also make sure the levers are tight onto the trans and not rocking, happened to me when I first got my van, loose worn bolt was why it was not going into and popping out of gear.

Yeah, try the shifter adjustment first, even with worn bushings if should go into gears.  Next try clutch pedal adjustment, make sure there is proper free play and the rod is pushing the clutch all the way.  Worn clutch will chatter out of first gear, how's that? Search for other posts including Donivan's, lots of info on worn clutch and shift rods that all can contribute to shift problems.

I'm no expert on kingpins just know if they stay lubed and you don't hit a curb over about 45mph they are pretty indestructable. Since the brass bushings are hard to find I was happy to use the original Delrin from Moog. And, tho they don't state it all plastics will disolve with time from grease so I use White Lithium Grease on my kingpins as it is less of a solvent. They should outlive me with no problem at all.

As for wheels, if you already have a three hole aftermarket adapter on there, there are several 15" diameter wheels, Grant and Moon make nice ones. 16" diameter like the original stock is hard to find, some racing wheels come that big but a 15" is all you need, turns easily. If you are missing the stock cam for the signal, that will be another problem and reason to stay with a larger aftermarket, they are discarded when aftermarket wheel kits are installed. The Moon's are around $99 and come in nice metal flake colors! As for roof holes, if you can't weld and grind, form them from below and with fill with a thick epoxy like JB Weld or Bondo body putty, both easy to sand flat and touch up from the outside and should seal if you get the metal clean. Find at any auto store...

I think these 1967 pick up bushings will fit the shift levers,,,,,