833 Shift Pattern

Not being all that familiar with the 833 transmission, I have a question about the shift pattern. I recently bought a 1972 Duster 340. From what I have seen on this transmission the location for reverse is over to the left and up. The transmission in my car for reverse is over to the left and down. The guy I bought it from said he had the wrong shifter in it. That is obvious since the shifter is too long and has a sharp bend in it. So the when I go into reverse I have to move my leg over and the shifter is against the seat (bench seat). The shifer is also very close to the seat in second and fourth. It just seems wrong to me that reverse is over to the left and down. Can this be changed by adjusting the linkage?