Installing a Winters Sidewinder shifter?

[b5blue]

  Well now I've gone and done it. I broke the brass return line adapter off the side of my 727. The factory return cooling line drops right where the bell-crank assy for the shifter needs to mount, an "L" shaped bracket that converts side to side cable movement to forward and back. After cutting then removing the steel line and trying to re-bend it to clear in any direction other than down I realized it's just too tight and crowded in that area with all the hardware added to install the Sidewinder.
  The brass fitting and steel line with the sealing nut just stack up to too much distance from trans. to body tunnel clearance so removing the adapter and replacing with a brass 90* that has a 5/16 hose nipple seemed to be a good way to re-route that line. In trying to undo the adapter it snapped off clean at the side of the 727 leaving just the threaded part imbedded. It broke without me ever putting all that much torque on it so I can only assume during the cars 8 years as a drag only car that fitting most likely got loosened and tightened many times and was stressed badly. (I ONLY ever used two wrenches, one to support the fitting and one on the flair tube nut.) I could just barely get an "Easy Out" in the hole in the center of the fitting but had no clearance for the proper handle. I could get Vise Grips on it and some torque but at odd angles was afraid of snapping the extractor off in the fitting.
  I figured oh well I was going to bring the Charger in later this year for a full tranny service/overhaul/convertor change to undo most of the drag race settings anyway so I'll just get it towed to the shop and they can fix it at the shop. 3 weeks of calling back and not getting an appointment started getting me and yesterday there main compressor blew and they were dead in the water, still back logged. The shop is owned by the guy I bought the Charger from 19 years ago, it was his first car and he had it 17 years. He's as honest and professional as you'll ever find and that's why he's busy now. The Charger is now at another local shop that's been around 40 years and they are going to try and just replace the fitting for now.
  It just figures that the only time I deviate from factory stuff this has to happen!    Now I'm in limbo waiting to see if they can pull it off and get me back on the road, I'm soooo close to being back to Daily Driver status it's making me NUTS! 

[Cooter]

I never got the whole "badass automatic shifter" thing. I mean, I've seen 10 second cars with stock shifters and no full manual reverse whatever.. all it does is shift. Now, a 4 speed I can undrrd tandem, especially with an inland shifter.

Only reason I have a Hurst Quarter Stick in the Dart is because it was cheaper than a stock shifter, and hard a cable.
pita to hook up though as it came off a GM TH350.

Thing is, with pipe threads they get tighter and tighter. When using an extractor, you can actually wedge the threaded piece in tighter by tapping the extractor into it. It's a pita, but can be done. Brass is just so soft. I've had some success tapping on the piece with a drift and hammer to loosen the threads. Then, if all else fails, butane/propane hand held torch works wonders.

[b5blue]

  Yea I hear ya Coots, the whole point of the shifter is my car WAS a console car. Not really caring for/about spending 5-600 bucks (Or more.) for all the stuff it would take to replace that console nicely and rebuild all the missing/worn out linkage and whatever and being close to ordering new carpet left me with okay, remove all that factory console shifter brackets and stuff and put in a new aftermarket to clean things up. The plus also was it lets me place the shifter where I want it and pick how it functions.
  Having had ratchet shifters and consoles in other cars I knew for certain two things, I hate all that clicking up and down and consoles just collect junk and take up space for me. (I busted up and removed the console out of my 89 Cherokee because all it was doing was creaking, getting in my way and collecting crap!) So the Winters Sidewinder is not for "racing" it's a solution to my own problems setting up my car for my wants/needs. It's built like a brick crap house and will outlive me unlike much of the junk sold today, and do it at very reasonable cost.
  I'm more than well aware about the brass into aluminum pipe thread and dissimilar metals issues, that's why it's at a shop. I don't have a garage much less a lift to use but do have a Home Owners Ass. that would flat have a cow if any saw me lower/pull a transmission out of my Charger. (Which by the way, they HAVE let me get away with doing bunches of stuff because they all like me and my old car!  )  So yea if I was anywhere remotely close to you I'd been glad to have it towed to you knowing you'd fix it correctly and we'd had some fun to boot!