2nd gear vs. reverse?

Well, for one thing, you'd be going backwards instead of forwards...

even tho I'm pushing 68 ,I've got some fine reflexes. How 'bout some help?

Loosen the two 13mm bolts at the base of the shifter, then slide the base to the right about 1/4" and tighten the bolts down again. See what you got and adjust again until you are pleased with the result.

Trivia: Sometimes the shifter bushings get worn and sloppy, making it harder to find the right gear too. There's a joint with 2 bushings under the rear seat, inside the tunnel under an oval cover plate. Another bushing is just rearwards of the shifter mounting hole on the tunnel; the shift rod passes through a nylon bushing that is supported in a metal bracket, hanging off the top of the tunnel.

Hmmm maybe it was to the left. It always confuses me unless I have my hands on it.

left would be the direction, 1/4 inch is a tad too much though, mark where its at right now with a scribe around the outside edge (so you can put it back if you make it worse), then loosen and adjust. One distinct possibility is though that your shift plate is worn and causing the missed shift.

Good advice, it seems to be very picky about position, couple of millimeters make a noticeable change.

I noticed this first time when I tried to adjust bay window bus gear shift lever and again with typ14. Eventually I had bolts almost tight and I moved the base plate around with hammer and a chisel, tenths of a millimeter at the time.

Bus was OK after adjustments, Ghia is not so good, but all gears work so can't complain too much. ;)

I'll have to check those bushings, I'll assume that they are totally worn out.

Yes 1/4 inch may be too much, you could lose 4th or 3rd gear. Experiment until you got it perfect.

Bus bushings are a bigger pain to replace, I think I did it once on my

Thanks, guys, for the suggestions. Wish me luck.