Shifter / Shift lever issue w/'83 N/A ZX 5-speed in '73 240Z

[BadDog]

Update: my buddy Nick bent the ZX shifter for me, and I put it in last night. There's about a half-inch of shifter lever showing above the top of the boot, quite a bit lower than the 4-speed lever. Cleared console in 1-5 and reverse. Made note to self that 1,3,5 are about where neutral used to be (fore and aft-wise), and 2,4,R are so far down and back that I won't be able to use my ash tray as my coffee travel mug holder anymore

The 4-speed lever now has definite marks fore *and* aft where I can notch it if I choose to do so in the future.

Got to drive it with this configuration to work today. I like it, but it may be a bit too low for me. The reach from the steering wheel to the shift knob will take some getting used to, but its better than the 4-speed without the cup bushing in terms of positive shift feel, noise, and vibration. I'm still going to keep an eye out for a '78 5-speed lever, but if I don't find one, I'll be AOK

Oh, and for anyone else considering using a 4.11 R180 differential (got mine from Datsun 720 4X4 front end) with the 81-83 ZX 5-speed, I *highly recommend it*. My car feels so much quicker now its not even funny. I am not detecting any whine from the truck diff, and judging by my initial refuels, I'm getting from 26-28 mpg average now, whereas I got around 21-22 with the stock 4-speed and differential.