Hi Chuff,
This is my gear lever, it definitely seems that it is stuck in the depressed position.
Regards,
Paul

That's definitely a short throw RS2000 shifter and I just realized you posted pictures of the shifter & gearbox earlier on. Sorry for not checking. All looks good with the stick.
 
Someone pointed out previously that there should be a spring against which you push down to select reverse. I've seen a couple with springs, but most use the rubber boot "spring" which is what you have. It's the rubber boot between the with wide chrome base of the stick and the plastic cup the boot sits in as you move down the stick.
 
Holding the plastic thread you should be able to push it against the boot in an upward direction and the rubber boot will compress as the whole plastic section moves up. If you can compress the rubber boot "spring" as I've described, and I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to, then the stick's working fine.
 
As mentioned by others the notch in the stick faces the drivers side, so if you install the stick into the gearbox with the notch to the driver's side and screw the thread down all the way and you're able to select reverse without pushing down on the stick then the fork of your gear stick is sitting too low and the only thing I can think of that would cause this is your adapter spacer, which I see in the other photo you posted earlier, is mismatched to your stick, though I've never seen that happen before.
 
Have a look at this gear stick. 
 
https://www.bearingkits.co.uk/photos/1.685162fordtypeegearboxtypengetriebe.jpg
 
It is not a short throw. Look at your stick and you'll see that the plastic threaded section is higher (further away from the fork) that the one in the link. This spacer in your stick raises the pivot point of the stick, thus making it a short throw. The height of this spacer should be the same as the height of the exposed part of your spacer in your gearbox.
 
Assuming the exposed height of the gearbox adapter is the same as the spacer in the gear stick, and you can compress the stick as described then it should just work. If not, then something very strange is definitely going on.
 
Let me know how you go.
 
Chuff

Hi Chuff,
Ive just had a look at my gear lever again and it definitely looks like the shaft sticking out below the threaded section is a lot longer than the one in the picture.  From the bottom of the thread to the end of the fork is approximately 60mm.  Looks a lot longer than any others I can see on line including the aftermarket ones.  Any idea what this measurement should be ?

Paul pull the ball and socket assembly down the stick away from the chrome section, there is a slot in the shifter shaft that an "e" clip will sits to hold the rubber "spring" down. Your clip is missing and the whole lot has slipped up the shaft.

Those C-Clips are only required on standard sticks, not short throw RS2000 types. You'll find that the slot on the stick that the C-Clip fits into will be the same distance down as the height of the spacer in the stick between the ball & fork, thereby maintaining the correct height of the rubber boot for springing purposes.
 

Paul Neilson
Ive just had a look at my gear lever again and it definitely looks like the shaft sticking out below the threaded section is a lot longer than the one in the picture.  From the bottom of the thread to the end of the fork is approximately 60mm.  Looks a lot longer than any others I can see on line including the aftermarket ones.  Any idea what this measurement should be ?

 
And YES, the shaft sticking out in your stick should be longer. The height of the spacer from the bottom of the thread to the top of the fork, not the end of the fork, should be the same as the height of the adapter screwed in the gearbox. As long as these 2 measurements are the same, then you've effective lifted the pivot point by this distance resulting in a shorter throw of the stick
 
Could you compress the rubber boot like I explained earlier? And when release plastic center section should be pushed down with no slop/play? It should cup the ball under the plastic center section snugly.
 
Chuff

Hi Chuff and blue74,

I can pull the nylon ball connection upwards but it is very stiff. I guess being old ( the car and me ) doesn’t help.

I have taken what I think would be all of the key measurements and marked them on the picture attached. My shaft still looks like it is sticking through the threaded section a lot mor than all of the pictures I can find on line.

Re: the 60mm dimension you are quoting on your gear shift.
Mine is 55mm (reference December 1979 build Australian assembled RS2000).

Have a look up the underside between the shift stick and the nylon thread.
There should be a nylon ball fitting around the shift stick in there which acts as the pivot for the gear shift.
Due to aging the balls often have a tendency to disintegrate into small peaces and cause shift selection issues.
In your case the ball may be partly disintegrated.
The best way of finding out is to look in the grease in the bottom of the gearbox extension housing where the shifter sits under the plastic saddle, there will be broken up white hard plastic pieces.
 

Paul Neilson
Hi Chuff and blue74,

I can pull the nylon ball connection upwards but it is very stiff. I guess being old ( the car and me ) doesn’t help.

I have taken what I think would be all of the key measurements and marked them on the picture attached. My shaft still looks like it is sticking through the threaded section a lot mor than all of the pictures I can find on line.

Stiff is good. It's the pressure required to push the stick down & select reverse so it should be quite firm in hand.
 
23mm is the measurement I'm talking about. The height of the exposed section of the adapter screwed into the gearbox should be 23mm as well?
 
Chuff

Try pulling the rubber boot (ie the "spring") from the wider diameter and curl/roll it upwards toward the chrome shifter so the boot appears to be inside out.
Will take a good screw driver to start it and strong fingers to pull it up.
This will remove the sprung loading on the entire assembly.
Then slide the components apart to inspect for damage.