Type 9 Straight Gear Lever

[Kenworth W900 41]

Does anybody know if Ford produced any models with straight gear levers for Type 9 boxes?

 

I have gone Type 9 5spd in my Granada but the bent lever gets in the way of the handbrake, so I'm looking for a straight type. I don't think I want to go for one of the aftermarket versions, which tend to be straight, as they all seem to be 'performance' orientated. This is just a standard road car, I don't need a quick shift kit or anything like that.

[John Mack 327]

Might heating and bending/straightening be an option ?

[J2S 151]

The cheapish quick shift kits normally has them be easy enough to make it so it's normal throw 

[Kenworth W900 41]

4 hours ago, John Mack said:

Might heating and bending/straightening be an option ?

 

It's certainly an option (albeit one complicated by the dampening rubber just above the bend), I just wanted to explore any options in case Ford had already made them

[John Mack 327]

6 hours ago, Kenworth W900 said:

 

It's certainly an option (albeit one complicated by the dampening rubber just above the bend), I just wanted to explore any options in case Ford had already made them

[markymarkthree 173]

The Fiche only has 1 gear stick listed. 

[bortaf 91]

stick in a vice and bend it, that's what i used to do

Edited November 23, 2025 by bortaf

[sheffieldcortinacentre 711]

Capri & MK2 Granada ones are straighter than sierra/MK3 Granada.

[mk4savage 62]

A friend of mine told me some years back to bend it in the vice so I clamped it up and went ahead and put some pressure on it with a large ring spanner and the thing snapped clean off at the base, just above the rubber gaiter. I told him shortly after and he said "Sorry, I told you to bend it in the wrong place, It's above the rubber bush part that you bend it. 

 

I'm guessing the bit I tried to bend is hardened so doesn't take kindly to being bent but the only problem is if you bend the top section you end up with a weird shaped gear lever as the hardened section at the bottom has a bend in it. Pain in the butt those gear levers.

 

I tried an aftermarket quick shift kit where you dismantle the original gear lever and rebuild it with the quick shift parts in the kit but it was a terrible thing and rattled it's head off. That went in the scrap bin too.

 

You're probably right Craig about the Capri one being straighter. I think I must have had Sierra ones and the angle on those is terrible.

[dgo 74]

There's an article on how to adapt a Type 9 gear lever here: Link

[Kenworth W900 41]

I managed to get it sorted using an Oxy Acetylene gas torch setup (the bottles for which were about 6ft tall) - a friend of mine had the gear leftover from when he worked in a local engineering firm. 

 

We used wetted rags (kept wet throughout, using a spray bottle) to keep the heat away from the rubber 'spring' below and the rubber dampener above, then used the torch to put as much heat as possible into the middle section as quickly as possible. Then just a simple slight tweak to the shape whilst it was sitting in the vice. We also moved it over to the right, before it was angled toward the driver (LHD). 

 

It now sits much better, it self-centres right where you'd expect, so you can instantly tell from a slight glance/feel that it is in neutral. Still has a slight rearward rake just to avoid going too near the centre console under the dash.