3 speed grinds in first

[Metivier21]

I have a 3 speed column shift with a 3.03 transmission. I recently rebuilt the whole column with the help from the tutorial on this site. Everything works and feels great execpt 1st. It seems as though there is not enough linkage adjustment to engage 1st completely. The shifter bottoms out before it goes completely into gear and just grinds. I can sometimes get it to go to 1st by selecting reverse and then going to 1st but doesn't always work. The adjustment is maxed out and needs about another 1/2 inch to engage correctly.

I was thinking about extending the threaded end of the linkage with a coupler and threaded rod. I hate to rig stuff, but it seems like that will resolve the issue. Anyone had a issue similar to this? Would it be a bad idea to extend the linkage?

[Mach428]

You shouldn't have to do any modification to the rods or levers. I assume you are only having this problem with the reverse/1st shifting lever. Check the shift tube at the bottom and see if the lever is all the way down when shifted to first. Sounds to me that you have a problem in the assembly of your rebuild

[Metivier21]

I modified the linkage and it solved the problem. I know this might not be the best solution but it seems to work great. I am sure that the problem originated with the column, but I can not figure it out and I replaced almost everything.