914-6 tail-shifter rear shift rod end - trouble?, Shouldn't this come apart somehow? Options

[smj]

I got my tail-shifter shift linkage bushings from Pelican on Friday; today I happily jacked up my 914-6 to try to put them in. I knew there were differences between the linkage for the -6 and the -4, but I'm not clear how much of what I'm seeing is factory and how much is Mickey...

I did start off following this thread: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=109708 But things diverged pretty quickly. For example, there's a U joint at the firewall end instead of the pair of pivots:



Well maybe that's the way it should be. Looks like somebody replaced the one nut not too long ago... Moving on, here's the sad state of affairs at the far end after I unbolted the support bracket:



Bushing is toast, of course - looks to be rubber, not plastic. The firewall end of the rear shift rod has flanges for the U joint. Wait a minute... How the heck do I get the bracket off?!? I looked for a set screw at the back end of the rear shift rod, but it looks like a rivet:



What the... I poked around at what I think should be a set screw, but it isn't hex shaped inside - and I can pass a 2mm Allen wrench all the way through, it's completely hollow. Here's the best I can do for a close up of both sides:



So... Is this some Mickey Mouse "improvement" somebody's made along the way, or is there a trick to getting that end/bracket off of the rear shift rod? The clear sign of welding about six inches in from the end does not comfort me any...

Thanks! I'm gonna go get some coffee and pray somebody's got a tip for me while I work at the shifter end of things...