Saving Old Seagulls

Took my newly refurbed kingfisher out for its inaugural flight yesterday-great starter,very quiet and powerful with just one problem-I can't find forward gear.When the clutch lever is at 12 o clock I have neutral,at 3 o clock I have reverse and at the last position 6 o clock I am in neutral again.It seems to be more than a linkage issue and I did dismantle the box during the so called refurb -where did I go wrong?What do I look for if I go in to the box again?Any help appreciated-Thanks -Weddigen

Did you replace the forward & reverse thrust washers during reassembly?

Assuming you put the gearbox back together correctly, the trouble is most likely in the adjustment you have with the threaded rods that connect to the upper lever. The lever only moves through a short arc, limited by cutouts on the eccentric disc behind the lever, so see if you can share out the movement so that you get the full FNR range.
Another thing that can happen is that the block attaching the lever mechanism to the drive tube can move, also causing non- selction of either forward or reverse. Some of these blocks are just held with the large bolt - the others were pinned with a rollpin to stop them moving.

When properly set, the lever should move the propshaft so there is a positive 'clunk' denoting engagement of either gear - ie. the selector inside the gearbox has moved to its fullest extent.

Whe you finally sort it out, don't get wrong-footed when testing for gear selection at the workbench - these boxes stay in gear when there is some drive pressure on the prop - for instance you can select forward gear, pull the cord to spin the motor to see what the prop is doing, only to find the thing has gone into neutral of its own accord! The only way I know to 'short circuit' this problem is to tie or secure the lever in its intended position, so you can observe what's going on.

thanks Rick UK & Charles UK-the problem was indeed the linkage-I took the box off and reconfigured the linkage travel again-and things now are in order-12 o clock is forward,3 o clock is neutral and reverse is about 6 o clock-that appears to make sense.Thanks again gentlemen-Weddigen