Shift tower
 

I have a 38 ford 1.5 ton gear box and tower that I'm rehabbing problem I have is not being able to move the shift forks due to rust on the slides but not exactly sure if there is something else I'm missing. Been soaking them with oil giving them some love taps now and then. Not seeing any movement. It has the lever on the stick does that need to be lifted to get them to move.

Re: Shift tower
 

For something like this, I would have soaked them in "Evaporust" first; it really gets rid of the rust without damaging the base metal (unlike acids). However, "Evaporust" doesn't like oil, so if i were to try it, I'd try to remove as much of the oil as I could before soaking.

Re: Shift tower
 

evapo rust, or rust 911 (cheaper) are a good idea for sure. the lever on the handle is just the reverse lock out, only used to get into reverse. if you can pop the covers off the cover at the ends of the shift rail you can then get on the ends of the shaft with a brass rod and get a good direct hit to the rails. be careful squeezing the cover in a vise, i cracked one i was fighting with once.