Stuck in 1st gear
Shouldn’t I be able to turn it?
Yes you should.
What has happened is this; with all your slamming, the brass is now jammed onto the brake cone of whatever gear is on the same synchronizer as the one that was stuck in gear. When this happens to me, I pry the brass back gently until it snaps off, before I put the cover back on.
Don't worry, your engine has more than enough power to kick it off. Just put it into third and let the clutch out slowly, this will unstick the brass. As soon as the car moves, yur done; just go back to first and all will be well.
BTW
shifting the A833 thru the gears with the engine off, is NOT a good idea. This action often pushes a brass-ring up on a cone, and locks it there. By itself this is not that bad. But if you get one of them stuck that way, then with the next gear that you select the clutching teeth may not line up with a slider, and so, the slider will not move into full engagement. If you don't know what is going on inside there, the automatic response is to back up and slam harder. If it goes in you're a happy guy. If it doesn't, you are gonna wonder what is going on and if the trans is any good.
IMO this is abusive, proves nothing, and is hard on every metal bit between the shifter and the brass.
This may even happen while you are cruising around, and come to a stop with the clutch pedal down. With enough time, and proper free-play, the clutch disc may stop spinning, and with it, everything it drives. If the driveshaft also has stopped spinning, now you might find the slider teeth, again butted up to the clutch teeth of First gear, and the thing won't go in. You might get the urge to just slam on the stick, but that is the wrong response. The correct response is to just let the clutch pedal up a tad, to get things turning again and break the brass free from the cone, put the pedal back down, then try again before the guts stop spinning.
The other thing you can do is to downshift into First gear just before rolling to a stop. With the brakes on and the driveshaft not rotating, you can now put it into neutral, and everything should remain lined up and ready to go.
