Odd shifter problem, need advice

Uncle Bob said
I've got a problem that is related to my shifter adjustment. The car is a 71 Duster w/360, trans is an A-833, shifter is a Hurst Comp Plus with bolt in handle, linkage and levers are correct. All the rest of the related things for the clutch were sourced new from Brewer's.

At first I noticed that regularly I would grind the gears going into second, so I re-adjusted the shifter, and now it goes cleanly into second but grinds going into first if I don't come to a stop first. There's a lot of slop in the shifter so it seems like maybe I'm chasing the correct adjustment back and forth. So instead of going through the adjustment process again I thought I would ask, is there anyway to say if the current behavior of grinding into first seems related to the rod adjustment being too long or too short?

I understand if the only answer is "rebuild everything you haven't already". But I thought maybe someone had been through this before and might be able to say "lengthen (or shorten) the rod one turn and try again"

Thanks.

I always use Synthetic Disc Brake Grease on my linkages as it persists and is very resistant to wash-out.

What are you running for trans lube? That can cause the synchronizers to drag.

Are you lining up the shifter with a drill bit on the underside opposite the shift handle?

I struggled for decades getting the shifting and clutch adjusted correctly. Then I finally spent the time to optimize the clutch linkage so all the rods and Z-bar connecting points are square to each other and sit flat on the pads where it connected. Use the same grease on it. It made all the difference as it allowed it to work without deflection from bent and misaligned parts.

Then, I installed a hydraulic clutch, and it improved shifting to the next level.