TheSamba.com :: View topic - Stolen 67 bug Recovered!!! Need a little shift lever help.

Sat May 05, 2012 4:41 pm

Wow, we just recovered my daughters stolen 67 after 5 weeks and had given up. One night parked in a relatively nice neighborhood... Since she didn't have comprehensive insurance it would have been a total loss. Thanks to some parents turning in their 19 year old son or I don't think we would have ever seen it again. Unfortunately, I think he drove it with wreckless abandon...

Anyway, the guy took apart the gear shift lever (he must have had some problem) and now I am trying to put it back together. I reassembled but the lever ball joint with the pin sticking out wants to just pop out of the socket everytime I go and try to shift. Then the shift lever just rotates round and round. I thought maybe the bracket that holds the shift rod bushing was broken but it looks good. I'm not even sure I have all of the pieces. What way is the plate suppose to be? I think it just goes down with the tab parts facing up and the longer bent tab toward the drivers side? Then the spring and shift lever just bolts down on top of that right?

What's going on here, why would it pop out of socket? Any help would be appreciated.

Sat May 05, 2012 5:44 pm

:idea: The long curve part goes up and to your right.

Check the couplong under the rear seat to make sure it is in neutral before putting the ball/pin into the shift rod tube....then center the bolts in the slotted base before tightening them down.

Moving the base forward and backward will show where the shift pattern is for comfort and reach ability.

Sat May 05, 2012 5:52 pm

Glad you got it back!

Sat May 05, 2012 6:27 pm

Any more back story on the recovery and how it got stolen?

Sat May 05, 2012 7:19 pm

Ghia Nut wrote: Any more back story on the recovery and how it got stolen?

Yeah really... I hope they set the parking brake and dragged it over the kid's hands on the street in front of his house. Maybe the little bastage would think twice before he rips somebody off next time!

Sat May 05, 2012 7:57 pm

VWGreg77 wrote: Unfortunately, I think he drove it with wreckless abandon...

the proper term is "he drove it like he stole it" :D

Glad you have it back and hope you can fix the damage without too much trouble..As for Lahti35's advice,which is sound... Id like to add my own...tie his hands and leave a good lead of rope to tie to the frame horn (dont screw up the bumper)and start driving real slow,like at a fast walk till he falls...that way you can prolong the agony prior to the getting the dragging he deserves.

Sat May 05, 2012 8:44 pm

The way to remember which way the shift plate goes is Right Up Front.

The ramp goes on the right side, going up and to the front of the car.

Double check the shift rod bushing and the hanger again! If either of them is bad then the cup in the shift rod may be dropping low enough for the ball to jump out.

Glad to hear you got the car back and I hope that is the extent of the damage!

I don't agree with a lot of the things that go on over in the middle east, but I really wouldn't have a problem with cutting the hands off a thief as punishment for the crime.

Sat May 05, 2012 9:21 pm

drscope wrote: The way to remember which way the shift plate goes is Right Up Front.

The ramp goes on the right side, going up and to the front of the car.

Double check the shift rod bushing and the hanger again! If either of them is bad then the cup in the shift rod may be dropping low enough for the ball to jump out.

Glad to hear you got the car back and I hope that is the extent of the damage!

I don't agree with a lot of the things that go on over in the middle east, but I really wouldn't have a problem with cutting the hands off a thief as punishment for the crime.

they only cut off the right hand,which is the hand they eat with...they leave the hand they wipe with..

Sat May 05, 2012 10:18 pm

I can get the ball/pin in and everything seems fine, took it for a test drive. Then a mile away the ball slips out somehow and the entire shift lever just rotates around. I've learned I can press down while fishing it around and the pin will go back in and then alls well again if I baby it. Still shouldn't be doing that.

As far as the theft it was an eye opener. I thought it would be an easy recovery as a baby blue 67 would be easy to spot here in Colorado Springs. (he never even changed the license plates) Facebook friends gave us a few leads that it was seen driving such and such but 15 minutes would elapse before we'd know and the police wouldn't go specially to look for it because it was too long and too far gone by then. The crazy part is it apears you can steal a car then say somebody "loaned" it to you and you can't be "proven" guilty of the actual theft. A police officer even told my brother-in-law that it is not a felony after 3 days. Don't know if that's true but - Go figure... I was out of town when it was recovered but I will followup on Monday with what actual charges are involved. All he did was, in the middle of the night, jambed a random key in the ignition and forced it with a pair of pliers. He did not hotwire. The door locks didn't work (they were on my to do list...) He stole the stereo out of the car but according to the police that can't be "proven" either. I thought that he'd get caught running out of gas because the gauge only came off of full when it was just about to run out of gas, but no such luck. The bug was not some pristine show bug worth 20k, in fact it had body damage on the passenger fender. It was stolen because it was easy. Truth is, a classic stock bug is easy to steal.

Sat May 05, 2012 10:30 pm

that is why you have a switch kinda hidden somewhere to kill/interrupt the ignition,........

and you flick it everytime you get out of the car