1951 Mercury with Flathead AND Merc-o-matic question

I'm reaching out to one of you guys who have a '51 Mercury with a Mercomatic transmission. I'm trying to re***embly the shift linkage, but the piece I have appears to be too short. It measures about 16.5 inches from end to end, but looks like it needs to be a few inches longer. I think I have everything re***embled correctly, yet this isn't working.

The linkage starts on the column
The linkage ends on the transmission lever.

Can anybody measure theirs?

 

I think I have the correct linkage piece, but I'm not 100% certain.

 

I'll measure and try to get a pic of my linkage on my '53. Maybe it's the same?

 

My shift linkage is 16". Difficult to see from the angle of pic but where it mounts to the column there is about .5 inch of thread above the sleeve . I'm sure that number varies due to age and wear to trans,etc. Notice the how the shift rod and kick down rod cross each other. Both rods in your pic look exactly the same as mine,same angle,bends. In the pic I have the selector in Park. So, the trans mounted lever should be at its highest point?

</a>[/IMG]

 

Thanks for the pictures and dimension. I think they are the same from ''51-'53.
I have to figure out what is not re***embled correctly with mine.

 

Will I have to move the perches on my new 51 merc-o-matic rear end to fit on my 50 merc?