Oh the problems i have now .

   Went to take one of my wifes girlfriends out for a spin in my '74.  Backed it out of the drive, and it wont come out of reverse? the stick will, but not the transmission.  I can put the stick into any gear, and she wont move, as if the tranny is in 2 gears at once.

   Before i see her loaded up on a flatbed to move, is there anybody out there who has had this happen before?  I looked under her, but nothing seemed broke.  My question: Do i ship her to a Tranny Shop or a Vette shop? i want to get it right the first time, because the ones i would trust with her are about 60 miles apart.  Its a stock 74 with a 4 speed, if that helps? I have to admit, i am totally lost here, HELP! dave.

One of three things have happened:
1) The linkage has come off, either from the shifter arm, or the trans lever

2) The fork for rev.(inside the trans) has worn out to the point that it doesn't connect with the rev. gear.

3) The roll pin that holds the rev. shift shaft has broken, allowing the shaft to move out, disengaging the fork.

Check and make sure all of the linkage is properly connected on the outside of the unit, first.
If the shaft that the rev. linkage is attatched to has moved out, put the shifter in rev., and then push the shaft back in. That should reconnect to the fork on the inside. If so, then you need to replace the roll-pin then.
Anything else is going to require removal for repair.
Adams' Apple38642.2064930556

You may be able to climb under, find the reverse lever and move it back to the neutral position on the trans.  Then perhaps you will have all forward gears.  Then follow Adam's advice.   You may also have very worn shifter/linkage without it actually coming apart, but has the same effect from tool much slop and poor adjustments.

I agree with that. I wrote my original response EARLY this morn, and was in a hurry to get out of here for work!
I was gonna suggest getting under it and verifying the linkage could be moved to neutral. The rev. lever is the one at the very back of the trans. "Rev" would have the linkage(arm) toward the rear of the car, and "Neutral" would be almost straight up & down.
If you can move the lever, and get it out of rev., then, like Ken said, the prob. is the shifter, itself(assuming, of course, that all of the linkages are still connected). They can wear enough to get the linkage mis-aligned, and cause the trans to stay in gear, even tho you have the shifter in another gear, or neutral. If you can pop it out of rev. from underneath, then I would drive it very carefully until I could get the shifter off, and rebuilt.(There are kits for this!) Just be very deliberate when shifting, no gettin in a hurry.! Adams' Apple38642.8206481481

After playing with it for about 3 hours, i can confidently say the problem is NOT in the trans   but in the shifter.  Now, these kits that were mentioned, anything that i need to look at with them, consider?

You may want to think about buying a Hurst shifter and linkage instead of the rebuild. I'm not sure of the cost difference or what would be easier if any. Many have replaced their stock units with a Hurst or something else.

I bought one, but have not put it in yet. Took a look under there and with the dual exhaust, there's not a ton of room to get my hands in there. Hope to be able to do it without dropping the exhaust, but have not really tried yet.

Good Luck

 

Corvette America has a Shifter Repair Kit
for $59. Instructions included!

Thanks Joel!  Now i know what my weekend will be entailing.  never a bad thing... working on a Corvette