Thanks JR but I've decided to go all new and get the box shifter and associated clutch assembly locally to avoid the hassles of bringing in parts from the US.
Would you believe that from a logistics viewpoint it's a lot less drama to import a complete car than bits and pieces? And the present cost of freight for this gearbox from the point of purchase to Long Beach and then over here by container and then port charges etc at this end makes the simplest job expensive.
Also at the risk of offending the Arntz guys, while everything is out, I'm taking out the floor mounted pedals and having some Wilwood hanging pedals fitted with master cylinders in the engine bay together with remote reservoirs. If our measurements prove correct, this will allow us to drop the floor by about three inches (where the master cylinders currently live) and give me another few inches longitudinal leg room as well.
The end result will be a smoother gear box, better economy (yeah, I know, big deal!
) lots more leg room, no more cracking my right knee on the underside of the dashboard going from throttle to brake, and somewhere down beside the clutch pedal to stick my size 14 on long cruises. The joys of being 6'5"....