Any tips on shifting this thing?!

[Lin]

Once you get the hang of it, shifting a Spicer without the clutch is easier than doing it with.  I was forced to learn when our clutch went out.  I drove from Joshua Tree to Bakersfield only using the clutch to get into first.  Knowing the right rpm to shift at is the thing.  For me, having a tach was essential.  Once the transmission and engine speeds were coordinated it would just slip into the next gear.  You could sort of feel where the right space was.

The trip to Bakersfield was the last time I did it though, since I left with the Allison Don F installed.  Definitely one of those "never-looked-back" experiences.

[Jim Blackwood]

Andy, you should be able to skip a step or two in your upshifts. If you keep the clutch in when feeling for the next gear you should be able to feel when it wants to go, pop it in and declutch. So you are only pushing in the pedal once.

On your downshifts, without a tach the idea is to let the clutch out in neutral, bring up the engine speed to rev match for the next lower gear, which again with a light touch you should be able to feel. You may go past it and you can catch it either going up or down in revs. Anyway as mentioned by Lin, depending on how well your transmission and you like it, when you feel that little give you may be able to just pop it into gear. If it feels too jerky a light touch on the clutch can soften it. Or you can rev past it, depress the clutch, and catch it as the revs come back down.

Jim

[HB of CJ]

I dunno if this has been already addressed.  Crawl around and over your Bus Conversion and see if there are any, (or many) lube or grease points on the shifter linkage.  Rub points.  Grease zerts.  Worn out parts.

An easy way to check for this before crawling is to start the Bus and place the shifter in neutral.  Safety first.  Place in the various gears.  Does the shifter move easily?  Like a thumb and only one finger finger easy.

Some shift rods, (pipes) have many many zerts and a few small U-joints.  A very stiff shift linkage can make smooth shifts nearly impossible.  Once your linkage is lubed it is easy to learn to shift your five speed.

Spicer or Fuller?  That I dunno.