Hmmm. Are your sure this was for an '05/06?? Because having been under there and getting fairly familiar with the shifter setup, it doesn't sound right.
The shifter setup on these cars is really more of a "remote shifter". The shifter doesn't bolt to the trans at all as you'd expect on the usual Tremec or New Venture (if you swing that way) top-loader setup. Nor does it connect via two or more linkages like on an old Muncie, Saginaw, or Ford 4-speed. Can't speak for the Bug since I only ever tore one of those apart and don't remember.
Anyway, what we get instead, is one think square rod that is on a swivel, connected to the trans input. The other end of this linkage attaches to the seperate shifter ass'y which is bolted to the floorpan and front of the trans (just for stabilizing it). It's pretty clear you can raise or lower the shifter ass'y to your heart's content and I don't think anything is going to happen travel-wise. Becuase that single square linkage rod is on a full swivel anyway.
That's why the current offering of aftermarket shifters involve replacing the entire shifter assembly with a unit that has a raised pivot point IN the shifter assembly itself. They just raise the ball-pivot, and then lengthen the shifter stick at below the ball-pivot, and there you go.
Also, the shifter assembly mounts to the bottom of the floorpan/trans tunnel, so also I see no easy way to raise it, even if you were able to lengthen the bottom shaft of the shifter. Instead, the shifter assembly itself has to be modified to have a raised pivot point. You can see this if you study the attached picture of the stock vs. Hurst shifter unit closely.
So you can see why it's very questionable if this part you found really was for the S197 model, yeah?
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/Torq/Stoop/Hurst_02.jpg
