Hurst shifter fit??

[Kev442]

After basically not driving my car this year because the shifter sucks, I sold off some stuff and pulled the trigger on one today. I'm into it for around $250 after the stuff I sold. I sure hope this is the real deal for our cars.

[cjbiagi]

Yes, the spoiler I have been working on is a A&A spoiler made in 2001 I believe. It seems like a decent spoiler but it just doesn't fit flat on the hatch, particularly on the ends. I will post more info on the thread I started a long time ago but I actually have it painted, wet sanded and buffed right now and hope to get it installed soon. I contoured it to fit the hatch with short strand fiberglass filler and also reworked the end pieces to match the quarter panels as well as line up with the main spoiler better. It was a LOT of work but I am satisfied with how it came out and it should look nice once installed. I basically worked all the gaps and even lengthened the main spoiler so that the gap between the spoiler and the ends is acceptable. Oh well, don't mean to steal the thread here on the shifter.......

[Howler73]

Thanks Clyde, I'll take a look at your spoiler thread. I told the wife I'm going to get the shifter. For some reason she thought I was selling the Blue Monza??? Not sure how that came about. Must be all the time I'm spending on the race car I bought a couple of years ago.

Ken

[Kev442]

OK. It's in.

Some observations:
The hardware they send is all SAE except for the beveled bolt, that uses a mm allen size. Be sure to start with this bolt.

The shifter rods are all moving the levers from above. This is unlikely to be as much of a puzzle for you as it was for me as I have tried 3 different factory shifters this year where some rods are below. I spent more time than I would like to admit threading the levers to install from below....

The left side of the tunnel is tight to the shifter, but I could shift into reverse. I am still going to relieve this area as the motor/tranny wiggle makes it clunk against it. See picture.

I also included a picture of the braces on the top of the tranny. This is an easy install with the tranny in the car, easier than the factory ones.

The last picture is of the car in second gear. This is an ideal shifter angle for 6' me, I was concerned this thing was going to look like a bus shifter when I was assembling it.

I still need to tweak it, I ran out of time, but today was the first time I was able to shift into all gears since I converted back to the 4 speed as the factory built it.

A note for Clyde: I can still shift into all the gears at a dead standstill. However, I did notice when the car was up on jackstands, the rear tires would still move with the car in neutral! The Saginaw obviously has some hydraulic motion pushing even with no actual gear selected. I would assume this would lessen as the thick fluid warms up and becomes less viscous.

[dindin]

Looks good, the position is really different compared to the original , first time I have actually seen one in a car..mine is sitting in the basement till I get a buch of other stuff done.

Al

[Howler73]

Kev442,

Mine should be here tomorrow. Can't wait to get it installed. My factory shifter knob suffers from the same stickiness that the steering wheel do so the nice smooth Hurst ball or my original aluminum t-handle will feel a lot better. On my 76 that I bought new I installed the shift lever from the Super Shifter so you might want to try that. I really liked the shorter throw. I think Clyde also installed that one.

Ken

[77 Spyder]

That shifter looks like it has the same type of offset my comp plus shifter has in my 77. I think I might have picts of it. I don't remember if I modified the shifter, or just the shift handle But it works really well & looks like it belongs there. I have no interference issues at all. Just had to make a custom mounting plate that supported both the shifter & the rear torque arm bushing. However, I am running a T10 trans, & that possibly has different mounting holes on the tailstock?

Is that a mfg'd shifter, or modified already?

[cjbiagi]

I beleive he is installing a stock Hurst Competition Plus designed for an H body. That is the same as I have in my car, I did swap the long curved stick for a short straight one which reduces the throw. It's a nice shifter and a better design that bolts directly to the trans instead of the factory floor mounted shifter. That's why the factory one has to be mounted on rubber bushings to allow for the normal movement between the trans and the floor mount shifter.

[77 Spyder]

Cool!

I didn't know there was a one made for the cars. That would have saved me some trouble a while back.

[cjbiagi]

Yes, there was a Competition Plus made for H bodies but it was designed for the Saginaw of course.

[77 Spyder]

Speaking of saginaws, is there any value at all in those transmissions? I have one that is just sitting. I am guessing they are not too desirable?

[cjbiagi]

Saginaw's got a bum rap because they were not used in the high performance applications. However, they were designed as a V8 transmission and were installed in a lot of different models, even some Corvettes. They definitely have some value. They may not be as strong as a Muncie but they can withstand a fair amount of torque.

[Kev442]

Speaking of saginaws, is there any value at all in those transmissions? I have one that is just sitting. I am guessing they are not too desirable?

They came in various 1st gear ratios, so a 4 cylinder one is not too great in a v8.
They did get a bum rap compared to a t10 or a "rockcrusher".

Do you know if yours was in operating condition? I may be interested in a spare. PM me.