T96 shift linkage slop

there's probably wear and slop in every moving joint. the pivot where the lever enters the pot-metal housing behind the steering wheel is a major source. at the lower end of the shift tube are fairly hard parts that likely haven't had a real lubricant in them since the 1970's.

though it's later, 1968 American, i got my T96 column shifter to work just great. you're lucky in that 1964 doesn't have all the complexity of 68 and up... personally, my approach would be to extract the steering column from the car, take it to pieces, find worn-out parts, replace those, lubricate well and adjust it.

the shifter portion of that work isn't that hard. the difficulty is the stuff at the steering wheel end, and the fact that for 1964 you need the strange concentric steering wheel puller.

if you flatly don't want to yank it, you can do these things:

1) certainly replace the shift linkage rubbers, but also check for wear at the transmission end too. there may be nylon inserts in there, all worn out. it's possible those wore out bak in 1980, and it's been metal to metal since then, and the holes are ovalled and the shift rods worn to nubs. not hard to pull out and look. just greasy!

2) find the adjustment mechanisms (three bolts, a rotating end piece) and loosen it way up, use solvent on a paintbrush and wire brush and clean all the crud out of the working end pieces. then use a paint brush to pack as much high-quality grease as you can in there, then adjust the end play. it will be a chore to do this with the column in place but if it's a six, and you don't have power brakes, probably doable. also do the linkage alignment in the TSM (stick a 1/4" rod or drill in the holes, adjust the trunnions, etc). the latter requires that the shift levers to the transmission are in good shape.

3) the following will result in a visibly obvious repair: drive out the pin at the shift lever, and very carefully, drill the hole out to 1/4", squarely, not wobbling a hand drill around and make a cone shaped hole (this is better done off-car, in a drill press, the shifter cup mounted in a vise). then do the same for the hardened shifter lever. you'll ruin a bit here. (ideally: drill the TOP portion 1/4", the lower portion whatever the size is for a 1/4-28 tap; then tap the bottom portion). then replace the pin with a 1/4" - NF bolt. i used a 2" or 1.5" bolt so it had a 5/8" unthreaded shoulder, cut it so only 1 thread poked out the bottom. assembl3de lever with this new "pin", start one thread, put a finger-dab of blue loctite in the threads underneath, and a drop of oil under the bolt head, then tightened the bolt.

buy a fancy bolt with a pretty head (black oxide allen head, button head, or chromed, etc) and it's not noticable.

or, of course, find NOS steering column parts and replace them.

here's what i did long ago for a '63 Flashomatic column shifter...

oh good point! bad motor and transmission mounts will push on the shifter rods.

yeah, the rubber-isolated thrust bushings, between the transmission x-member and side sills, are almost universally neglected and forgotten. dunno if you can buy replacements but i made replacements for my '63 classic by 'turning down' common bushings in a drill press.