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When trying to shift from neutral in to reverse, pushing down on the shifter allows the shifter to turn all the way to face front without any resistance, and not in to reverse.
Before I take the whole thing out and apart I would ask if anyone has had this happen to them, and what may be broken.
Car is a 1960 Roadster.
Thanks, John

There is a tang on the ball portion of the shifter which stops the shifter from rotating and also acts to prevent inadvertent shifting in to reverse. Acts as the lockout. You need to remove and replace the shifter. I have one I welded up I took out of a 60 coupe. If you would like to see a picture of it let me know. There is also a slot above the ball that locates in a pin in the side of the shifter housing and this is the main rotation stop.
Here is a link to a previous thread on the issue.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26476

Hi John,

Are you saying the lever rotates? If so there is a little pin in there that keeps it from happening and it may have gotten misplaced. Taking apart the shifter is actually quite easy...

EDIT: Ooops, David beat me to it, he's giving proper advice per usual.

I have a second complete shift tower which has the heater control in front of the shifter.
Were they all the same or could I be mixing things up.
David, a picture would be helpful.
John

John there are basically three shifters from early "B" to the "C". The early "B" which you have has the rotating heater control in the front of the shifter as has the later "B" whereas the "C" has the push/pull type lever so that is out.
I do not have access to a picture of the different assemblies but as you have both post a picture though I am sure your problem is going to be the pin in the side of the housing has worn away or has just broken off. Both versions you have locate the shifter the same way as I remember. The difference is mostly in the presence of the keyed shift lock I believe.

OK, thanks.
Will take it apart.
Both towers are the type with the knurled heater twister in front.
John

The original shift lever for a 60/61 Roadster had a large roll pin through the bottom ball, and a small roll pin through the chromed shaft. These prevented the lever from rotating.
If the shift lever has a slotted pivot and a locating pin in the lever housing, then the car was updated to a later shift lever and tunnel rod.

Thank you, Jon.
The second tower I have does not have the pin thru the ball, so the wrong one unless an update.
Will check next week.
John

John, here's a photo of an original shift lever for a 60/61 Roadster, with the two roll pins that prevent the lever from rotating.
If the lever in your car is different, then it was updated to a later version, and the problem is likely what David described.

Just to update, my car has an updated shifter, and the plug that is held in by a spring had dropped out, allowing the handle to turn.
Easy fix once you know what is wrong.
Thanks all for your help
John

I am having a similar problem as the original posted of this thread had. On my car (T6) every once in a while when trying to shift into reverse, the shift lever just rotates to the left, almost like it is being unscrewed. This happens about 5-10% of the time when trying to shift into reverse.

I stop after a quarter turn or so since it is obviously not moving correctly and move it back to neutral and try pressing down again and then it goes into reverse. Any suggestions of what to look for? Does the rubber boot just pull up to expose the mechanism?

Tim,
T6 shifters are located rotationally in the horizontal plane by a pin in the side of the shifter housing engaging a slot in the 'ball' where the lever rotates in the vertical plane.
Pull the boot, look for a single spring wire wrapped most of the way around the groove in the housing and ending in a hole in the head of a pin (I think it's on the passenger side, but maybe my 'other right', as my instructor used to tell me).
The pins can, by dirt or other stuff, end up not engaged.