I finally got round to fixing the gearlever on my 1972 4/4 after it came away in my hand at a set of traffic lights.  I scoured the local scrapyards and could not find any Mk1 or Mk2 Escorts.

When I approached my local Ford dealers and was told that the lever assembly was still stocked, but it would need modifying to suit a Morgan.  The lever carries UK Ford Part number 6078141 and is described as "Lever-Gearshift" and it costs £38 inc VAT and is intended to fit Ford P100 and Mk2 Escort
Van. (My local dealer also deals in Ford Commercials so they had it in stock!)

As supplied the lever is about 3" too long and gets caught up in the dash wiring loom.  For those keen on originality, it will also need bending and chrome plating.

The first thing that I did was to check whether the screw thread was the same (it was) and all gears could be engaged properly (they could).  I also marked on the now fitted lever where I wanted the knob to be.  I chose to take 2.5" off but this was a matter of personal preference.

I removed the lever, and prepared to cut the thread, but noticed that some machining was needed to bring the threaded portion down to the O.D. for the M10 x 1.5 thread.  This I did on my lathe, but I see no reason why it could not be filed down with care.

Thread cut, I decided to clean out the tail of the gearbox, as the plastic washer from the old gear lever had well and truly disintegrated, I cheated and used a vacum cleaner. I refitted the lever, checked operation and bent back the tab washer.

As I said earlier, the part supplied needs bending and chroming to be as per original, I did not do this as I was pleased with the appearance.  I have also noticed that gearchanges are smoother which is either due to the increased leverage or the new grease in the box.....

I hope this helps people out.

WEBMASTER NOTE

The problem described was a common one on Ford  Cortina`s etc. It can be solved it by visiting the autobreakers and removing the gearstick assy from either a MK 1 or 2 Escort or Cortina. If you can find one now be sure to check the colour of the plastic as there were different colours...White.....Blue etc. each colour represented a different thread type in the plastic collar/gearbox.

Also, David Bean Racing in California has the nylon parts your looking for. He has a full line of Ford engine and transmission parts plus alot more.