I had always bee looking for a way to easily shift the Warn Overdrive in a FC truck. Cable systems never seemed to work properly for me and I was looking for another option. In conversations with Jim Fasnacht, a fellow FC owner, he had told me he had used the transfer case shifter out of a FC truck with great success. So it was out to the shed to see what I could come up with for my FC Tour Jeep.

I found that the transfer case shifter out of a narrow-track FC-150 might do the trick. Since they extend out of the side of the cooling tunnel, the extra length fit my application perfectly. I also wanted it to look as stock as possible. I was able to do this by using some of the existing holes that are used to bolt down the front engine cover in the cooling tunnel.

I measured the shift linkage and realized that the spacing of the shifter mounts would work at the spacing of the front engine cover and the linkage back to the overdrive would clear the radiator on the right side. That way the shifter would come out in the same area of the transmission shifter. I laid out the mounts on the top and drilled one extra hole on each side that would be needed. Then I countersunk them so the front bolts wouldn’t interfere with the engine cover. I figured out what the depth of the linkage would be when it was mounted under the cover and used a ¾” hole saw to drill an opening for the shifter to extend through. Then I used a die grinder to open up hole to more of an oval shape to accommodate the shifter. It took a few attempts but worked out nicely.

The hole had to be opened up to an oval shape because the area where the shifter extended through is at an angle requiring a longer opening to clear properly.

After all the holes were made I installed the shifter and checked for clearances. I used the existing holes that were threaded and temporally installed bolts from the bottom to hold the brackets in position. Then I installed the countersunk ¼” x 20 bolts in the forward holes and secured with lock washers and nuts from the bottom.

The linkage that connects to the Overdrive had to be lengthened by about a foot and had to be bent in a few places for the proper clearances. This is a trial method and I just attached a stock piece to the shifter linkage and worked my way back. The passenger side of the engine compartment has much more room than the drivers side for the linkage to run through.

I bent the linkage so it came out directly above the shift rail on the overdrive. Then I used a piece of ¾” square tubing to connect the linkage to the overdrive. It has a very solid feel to it and the shifter throw is surprisingly short.

Here’s a better view of the installed shifter. Before I installed the engine cover I removed the rear bolts from the shifter mounts. The front bolts still held the shifter in place and when I installed the engine cover I used two longer bolts on the mount holes so they would pass through the clamps and I added lock washers and nuts to them from underneath to secure the clamps in place. When completed it looks pretty stock and the extra holes hide under the engine cover. The shifter lever had to be heated and bent a little to assure proper clearances with the transmission and transfer case shifters. I did this with my torch while it was all mounted in place and just laid a wet towel on the floor around the shifter.