Here's the info on my '69 Z and shifter. Am the 2nd owner since Nov of '79. Knew the 1st owner very well and helped him order the car, including the 4.88 axle ratio via the COPO system. The car's block/fitted pistons were replaced under warranty in the spring of '70 due to a loose wrist pin retainer scoring a bore. After getting the car back from the dealer, the 1st owner removed the engine/trans and prepped the car for drag racing (decked the "CE" block, honed extra piston to wall clearance, changed the 4.88 gear to 5.38, etc., etc.) I helped re-assemble the engine and get the car back together. The car ran 113 MPH at Van Wert Dragstrip in NW Ohio but didn't ET well -- my friend weighed 300 lbs and did not have the assistance of Bill Jenkins building/tuning the engine and chassis, like his hero Dave Strickler had. The car was not licensed or driven after 1972 and sat until I circled back to buy the car in '79. All of this is not proof of the shifter being original to the car, but with the M22 and rear axle being original to it, one does wonder. Shifter attachment bolt heads can be seen in the attached photo -- do they appear as the correct fasteners? I'm asking as both the engine and trans had been taken out of the car at least twice (once by dealer in early '70, once by 1st owner in mid-summer of '70) before my purchase in '79. I've done it at least twice since then.
Many thanks to everyone who helped make, and continue to make, this forum the remarkable reference site it is. I "found" it only just recently and promptly joined, and have already benefited greatly from the knowledge contained throughout the site. My interest in learning more about my car runs in spurts, having owned it for so many years. Right now, I'm definitely in the middle of another "spurt!" Thanks again.
05E NOR Build
19D51Q Shifter code
3138 Stamping appears on front of shifter body
Shift levers have the molded in rubber style inserts
Shift rods attached via curly round wire (aka Hurst?) spring clips without any washers
P9E14C Stamped trans code (VIN stamp matches car VIN)
3950318 Trans metal ID tag
BX 0429 G2 E Axle code stamping on tube