NP203 Twin Stick

[OrrieG]

I when I converted to 4WD in 1985 there was no internet with the seemingly unlimited knowledge base. For 13 years I used the NP203 with a Doug Nash Engineering (DNE2) shaft conversion kit. It worked well, the biggest problem was the crappy shifter. Maybe they were ok when new but having them lock up when trying to get out of 4WD got old. I tried all the tricks for disengaging “Lock” but there was enough slop that about half the time the shifter would slip without disengaging the front driveline. This met I had to crawl out with my trusty big screw driver and pry the offending linkage back into place.

I bought a couple of replacement shifters but found they are just as bad, if you have had one apart you can see why. I decided to try and make up a twin stick setup from one of the bad ones. My goals were:
1) Use the stock 203 shifter case and shift plate,
2) Keep the original alignment with the shift arms so I did not have to modify those,
3) Use the hand tools, welder and grinder I have in my shop, no fancy milling, CNC, etc.

This is going to be very detailed and some of it pretty obvious but I want to be complete.