[Terry M. Hunt]

Disassembled my factory shifter from my 66 GTO for a rebuild. Encountered a piece ( labeled B in attached photo) that has me confused. When I removed the rear housing plate A this thin sheet of what appears to be stainless steel was attached to it photo C. I don’t know how B was able to stay in place on A. The only means of attachment appears to be the small hole punched into B which produced 3-4 small protrusions on the back side of B( see photo D) that created a slight interference fit with the hole in A. I pulled these two pieces apart with almost no effort at all.
In photo C you can see two vertical witness marks on part B. These appear to be the result of the shift gates pivoting back against B in the course of the shifter being operated.
What is the purpose of part B? Is it just a wear surface to protect part A? Part A is stamped steel, so why would it need protecting?
I would like to retain part B, but the way it was originally attached is way too flimsy. I’m thinking of using a very short stainless steel pop rivet. I don’t want to use anything that will create interference with the shifter operation. Based on where the witness marks are on B, it doesn’t appear anything makes contact with it on the left side near where the hole has been punched, so it doesn’t seem like a pop rivet head would cause any problems.
Looking for input.