1966 404 Coupé Injection Restoration

3 minute(s) of a 255 minute read

This afternoon I decided to have a look inside the lever end of the Italian-made Nardi floor shifter that my 404C had from new.  The last two I opened up had plastic bushings that had disintegrated over time and I thought that this one had a plastic bushing too, but intact, because the lever action was perfect.

After removing the 4 screws below the shifter, there was some very old, dirty oil in there.  This end of the shifter cannot get any lubrication from the gearbox proper even though it's attached to it.  The other two 404 Nardi shifters I had in the past were dry in there, with just some grease on the moving parts....

After removing two circlips, the mechanism comes apart.  I could have removed the lever but decided against it because the bolt inside the mechanism is tied shut with a wire and it seemed very serene - I could clean around the lever, with it still somewhat attached.....

The bushing in this version of the Nardi is definitely not plastic, it's bronze or brass!  It's in great condition!

View of the bronze bushing, which when the lever is actuated, moves up and down inside the sleeve attached to the shifter rod that transmits the action to the gearbox shifting forks.

The sump has been drained and cleaned out, and the bronze bushing is again circlipsed into place.

The sealing faces and threading of the little sump were carefully cleaned and then sealed with Hylomar Blue, to prevent any oil leaks.

Sump screw on the Nardi, accessible from inside the car, 24 mm.

...and refilled with Yacco vegetable based differential oil!