@onewildcrow Typing everything in lower case seems so e. e. cummings—a '40s Smith-Corona Clipper fan, btw—like the black 1949 machine in in the front left of the photo.

I've fixed at least two different shift issues on these machines using videos on YouTube and either a screwdriver or a pair of pliers. If you can describe what your shift issue is, maybe we can track down a quick-and-dirty solution for you? My Brother Charger 11 (blue machine on the right in the last row) is fairly similar to the 250 and I need to pull it apart to fix a few things myself, so if looking at the shift set up on a working model is useful, I'm happy to help.

I think your lower case solution is so much more romantic though... Don't let me talk you into anything.