Z-bar not aligned properly

charliec said
I definately have the '68 ball stud bracket as shown in your post. I really don't know for sure what year the bell housing is. It came with the engine in the car. The VIN on the engine matches the transmission and the dash, so I doubt that it was ever changed for something different.

You said the car was converted to a 4 speed by a previous owner and didn't have the inner fender brace but the engine, trans and dash vin match? Does the dash vin match the body vin? This can't be a manual trans car unless the inner fender brace was removed at some point.