on the topic of shifters, this is mine. I have a SM564 and shifting into second was as far as my arm could read. I found a nut that fit and welded it onto a 3/4" wrench and put a nut on the shift lever so i could lock it on. its not such a far reach to second, its tall hotrod style and the wrench is sweet(it can also be removed and used if needed). so it gets 2 birds stoned at once:
this is a front bumper that i sectioned and shortened, i think i took out about 8" off each side. you can grab one from a yard for 50 or less
