Hi guys, Have almost finished my restoration but have a small problem with the selection of Reverse. I can lift the T bar and see that the pin rises at the bottom of the shifter lever allowing the shifter to move sideways but the shift lever will not move sideways. If I get under the car I can move the selector rod and the box goes into reverse easly but the shifter lever does not move, I wonder if a pin or bolt has fallen out at the bottom of the shift lever. I can,t see as the gearbox support is in the way. Any suggestions please. Cheers. Rob H

Sounds like the linkage needs to be adjusted. The reverse lever may be out of alignment with the 1-2 lever on the shifter. All three of the levers have to be in alignment for the shifter to move easily between the gates.
If you can move the linkage on the gearbox, and get it into reverse, but the shifter handle itself will not move to the left when you lift up on the T handle, I would have to say you need to adjust the linkage on the trans to get the shifter gate lined up properly.
If you have the factory shifter, there is a slot on the top of the shifter that is there to allow a "gauge bar" to fit into. You put the bar into the slots, and then adjust the linkage on the trans so that all three linkages fit easily into the shifter arms.
I'll see if I have a pic showing all of this....

I know this is a really old thread, but I have the same problem, on the shifter the reverse 'lift to shift' snapped off and I've got a replacement now. But I can't put the car in reverse and I think, as you have said before, the linkage is mis-aligned, do you have the image that you mentioned please

 Muncie shifter alignment

Mr. Apple, Can we buy this gauge, or does it have to be fashioned of our own doing.  I have a different one, made from a piece of flat stock and slid in the slot from the side. The top insertion would be MUCH easier.  THANKS!

Mark, there WAS a tool available back in the day at the dealership. Don't know of anyone that makes, or has them available these days. The above tool is for the factory shifters. The shifters with the slot on the bottom may or may NOT have the "nubs" on the top for this particular gauge bar to fit onto....I don't really remember. The tool certainly make adjustments easier, but it's not absolutely required. Plus...it requires removing the console and boots to get to the top of the shifter. What a pain...  It takes just about the same amount of time to do all of that as it does to do the "adjust/check/adjust/check" method. The tool is most useful with the trans and shifter on a bench, where you can make all of the proper adjustments, easily, then once everything is installed in the vehicle, it's all good to go. 

THANK YOU Sir!

Many times I need to "rock" the car forward in 1st and then it drops in reverse like butter.

Success! Thank you all so much, I ended up trying a slightly different method; of applying slight pressure to the shifter, lifting the 'T' and pushing towards reverse, then pressing and releasing the clutch slowly then releasing the shifter, then repeating the whole process again. Anyway it might be a total coincidence but it's worked. I had my first dive out in a long time to get my MOT certificate, and you know what? She drove better than I remember :)