I currently have a stock shifter. I want to put a hurst in. Do I need to change linkages?

thx

 

Yes, it will not work with the stock linkage. I have a new Hurst and linkage for sale with 50 miles on it in the Parts forum. The Hurst with shift kit sells for $399.00 from most vendors.

 

I bought my 64 with a hurst shifter. It didn't have a center exhaust hanger installed on the car. I bought the center hanger earlier this summer intending to install it. I didn't like the exhaust just hanging from the manifolds and the rear hangers. I installed it and was unable to shift the trany, the shift linkage hit the hanger. I ended up taking the center hanger back off the car. Maybe someone else can tell you something different. But that is what my experience with my car was.

 

I have a Hurst shifter (and linkages...) in both my '63 and '73 Corvettes. I purchased both with the Hurst's already installed, so I didn't really have anything to reference them to. Both have the center exhaust hanger on them.

I didn't realize until the mid 70's when driving a friends Corvette with the stock linkage just what a difference the Hurst shifter makes. I would not go back.

I did however purchase a factory like shift lever for my '73 a few years back to return it to a more original look. It simply replaces the Hurst lever with one that looks factory in appearance.

Good luck with your decision, this topic comes up from time to time and you will typically hear both sides of the argument. I recommend you drive one with the Hurst shifter in it as I think this will greatly help you with your decision.

GUSTO

 

A correctly adjusted factory shifter is very very good.

I agree with Gusto14 though, try one first and then make your decision.

 

I installed a Hurst shifter into the '66 and it has a under car exhaust system. The center pipe hanger is in place and there is not problem with the linkage clearing the hanger. I have seen the bracket installed upside down or there is a spacer that is used with sidepipes, you need to remove this to install the hanger

 

I just installed a Hurst shifter/linkage in my 63 and I love it. Not on the road yet, but throws are shorter and it feels better. Same with the 65 I used to own. I replaced the stock shifter with a Hurst and it made a huge difference.

 

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The only rod that you have to use from Hurst is the reverse rod and lever. The 1/2 rod and 3/4 rod from the stock shifter will work. I used them on my application. It is tight but if you take your time you can get it to line up. I have been running this set up for over 3 years now. It allows you to fine tune the adjustments better. With the Hurst arms and levers you have to go a full turn to get the adjustment due to the bend in the arm. With the stock arms and levers you can make a half turn on each one because of the way the rods attach to the lever. Also, the stock rods are stronger than the Hurst units. Be sure to use the steel washers and not the nylon ones provided with the shifter.

Steve

 

Thanks for the tip.

 

Why do you want to replace the shifter? You can shorten the throw by changing the linkage to the other holes. if the long throw is a what bothers you.
I auto-crossed and drag raced my original '67 L-79 for 14 years with the original shifter and linkage. Had my L-88 for 12 years without any problems.
Without a doubt the Hurst's are a good shifter, but then again, there is really nothing wrong with the stock unit.

 

I am having problems with my stock shifter even after rebuild (much better than before) and adjustment. Going from 1-2 is good most of the time, but acts almost as it "catches" on something. I have to be careful when shifting quickly.

I have driven a 67 with a L-79 motor with both the stock and a Hurst shifter and found I like the Hurst a little better. The distance of the throw doesn't bother me as much as the "snag" in shifting does.

 

The 64 hanger is a completely different design than the 63. But from the other posts the center hanger and hurst shifter must work in the other midyears, just didn't in mine. I put it together the way it showed in the AIM
Craig

 

The following is my 2 cents >> The stock Muncie shifter is &*%$*, I have a magazine with recaps of all the road C-2 tests 65 66 & 67 ,wheb the vettes were new road & track & car & driver & car life magazine, in two of the road tests (back in 66 ) the driver stated , sloopy shifting & shifter rattle.....my shifter (muncie) rattled ..i replaced with hurst competition plus with look a like handle 5/6 years ago..what a diference....I am one of the few who runs my 66 the 1/4 mile wouldnt do it with a muncie, just my @ cents & what worked for me. The Dog

Amendum >>> The Hurst is A1 & cost the same (or less) than a Muncie .................... with the look a like lever >> who will know, NCRS numbers match wieners >> only you with a smile on your face........

Woof the Dog

 

My first new car was a 1964 Chevelle Malibu SS with the 327 and a Muncie 4-speed. The stock shifter worked perfect. Never missed a power shift. My second new car was a 1965 Impala(not a SS) with a bench seat, with the 396 and a Muncie 4 speed. Again, the stock shifter worked perfect, never missed a power shift. Later, I owned a second 64 Malibu SS with a 283 with a 4 speed Muncie. Never had a problem with the stock shifter for the month I drove the car before transplanting a 427 with a TH400 into the car. Also later I owned a 1965 Chevelle El Camino with a 327 and a factory installed Muncie 4 speed with the stock shifter. I had the El Camino for 4 years and never had a problem with the stock shifter even power shifting. Both the second SS and the El Camino were used with miles on them so the shifter had some wear but yet did the job. The only car I've ever owned that had a Hurst installed is my 56 Vette with a 1970 Muncie 4 speed. I baby the car(no power shifts) so I can't comment on how much better, if any, the Hurst is over a stock shifter. Granted, a NEW Hurst will most likely operate better the a WORN OUT stock shifter.

 

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OK, so some of yours worked fine. Talk to the people that the Muncie shift linkage didn't work so good. I am one. I replaced mine right after I got the car. Mine was so loose that you couldn't make a normal shift much less a power shift with it. I also have a friend who owns a 67 vert with a 400 in it. He spent the dollars to get the rebuild kit for the Muncie linkage and went through the unit totally. Re-installed it in the car and drove it for just one year. Pulled it out and put in on the shelf. Bought a Hurst, installed that and hasn't complained once about the shifter. Did complain that it was hard to line up linkage but he just doesn't how to do it.

The shifters that are mounted to the frame are the real bad ones. The engine binds them up when you are putting a lot of torque on them and it about makes it impossible to hit the gear you want. In fact my 70 Nova SS had this setup and I missed a shift racing a Z28. Engine revved real high and I had a clatter afterwards. Took it to the chevy shop and they said I blew out the valve guides on one head. Not sure how it did that but it was under warranty so I didn't care as long as it was repairable. Ordered a Hurst for that car immediately after getting it back.

Steve

 

Our 79 L-82 has a new muncie supercase transmission and muncie shifter. It has the frame mount shifter and no way would I want to power shift it.

I drive it pretty easy and it shifts great for how I drive it.

 

ALL of mine worked VERY well but they all were transmission mounted. Have you ever driven a NEW car with a NEW Muncie with a NEW factory shifter? A New car with a NEW muncie with a NEW facrory shifter works better then a USED car with a USED Muncie with a USED factory shifter. A bunch, maybe most, of the old cars with 4 speed transmissions running around now are made up of parts from many different sources. In the past 43 years, Bubba really got around, and it's not fair to compare a car with parts from different cars, most likely installed by Bubba, to a NEW car with NEW factory parts.

Granted, a transmission mounted shifter is better then a frame mounted one and installing a Hurst is the easest way out, but you could install a factory transmission shifter in place of the factory frame mounted shifter. The Hurst is a great shifter, but that dosen't mean that a factory shifter is a POS. Just compare new to new, not new to used.

 

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If I am not mistaken this is a forum for the 53 to 67 corvette. It is a little hard to compare new to new when the newest of these cars is 40 years old. Nobody was talking about installing a Hurst in a new car, so I don't know how that got brought into the conversation.

I was comparing new to new with my 70 Nova. It only had 8,000 miles on it when I bought it. The shifter was still a piece of (you know what). If I remember correctly the 1966 corvette had both types of Muncie shifters in them. Mine was originally a transmission mounted type. JohnZ can correct me if I am wrong but I believe late in the 66 model year they went to the frame mounted unit. It was garbage and so was my stock one. JMO.

Steve

 

Had 180,000+ miles on my original stock shifter.

 

At the time I drove my friends Corvette (in the 70's) with a stock shifter, his car was new. His shifter was tight, smooth and had nary a rattle. What it was not, was precise or easily shifted, rapidly. The more hurriedly you attempted to shift it, the more prone it was to balk. I have no doubt that with practice, it could be shifted very rapidly.

At this time, along with my Corvettes, I owned a BOSS 302 Mustang. I had just put it together, and added a new Hurst Competition Plus shifter to its' BB Top Loader. With very little effort I could shift it as quickly as I wanted without a hint of difficulty or ever missing a shift. There was very little comparison between the two shifters in that regard, then or now.

The major difference between the shifters is that along with being transmission mounted, the Hurst Competition Plus is spring-loaded to the 3-4 gear position. It must be “snapped” sideways into the 1-2 position (and further left to reach reverse). Shifting from 1st to 2nd is simple, but the critical shift from 2nd to 3rd is now equally fast because of the spring-loaded shifter wanting to “snap” into the 3-4 gate.

Interestingly, in the C4 Corvette, Chevrolet went to this same preloaded shifter that Hurst used. The throws are longer than the typical Hurst Competition Plus, but can easily be fixed with a short shift kit. This changes the length of the levers on the transmission, making it virtually the equal of the Hurst Competition Plus.

This thread should not be an argument about what is right or wrong, it is about your own personal preferences and planned use of the vehicle...

Good luck… GUSTO