Ever since I purchased my 64 shifting into reverse was always stiff. So after changing the trans mount I noticed the reverse lever on the Hurst shifter was hitting the trans mount bracket and the reverse rod was at an odd angle. So that I could drive it for the summer I just added some heavy washers between the mount bracket and the mount.
This cured the binding but now I had a vibration at 60.
So with this cold/snowy winter preventing me from using the car I decided to find out what was going on. It was in the 40’s here yesterday so in the garage I went.
The car has a T-10 trans with the correct Hurst linkage and levers.
I had a spare Hurst shifter on the self and after I pulled the shifter out of the car I compared the two.
What I found was the reverse lever on the shifter in the car was almost ½” longer than the one on my shelf and the reverse rod was on backward.
I installed the spare shifter and now there is plenty of clearance and I reversed the rod and everything works as it should.
As you can see from the picture the PO did some grinding on the bottom of the lever, he also ground down the swivel on the linkage to stop the binding.
I did not know there were two different lengths on the reverse levers.
The shifter in the car has a welded handle and the spare shifter I had has a bolt on handle.
I hope that this might help someone else.
Joe

 

T 10 BW shifters for a midyear have a shorter reverse arm than standard, whether it be an OEM shifter or Hurst.

 

Funny - the Hurst reverse shift rod on my '67 Chevelle SS was backward for about a year before I figured it out. Same symptom -- had to push on it hard to make reverse.

Felt pretty silly after finding it...

 

Somebody has been grinding on the reverse lever in the first picture to gain some clearance for the condition I described.

 

Does anybody know the 4 digit Hurst part number on the shorter reverse lever which is the correct lever?

 

This is the shifter mechanism that Hurst still makes to clear the frame exhaust hump in '63 and later Corvettes. The reverse lever has a "dog-leg" shape and requires a shorter linkage rod.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AFTERMARKET-HURST-COMP-PLUS-SHIFTER-391-5405-63-67-CORVETTE-BODY-ONLY-/221683836766?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item339d62e75e&vxp=mtr

 

Thxs Jerry. This gives me an idea for a diff thread. Don't want to hi-jack this one.

 

Jerry's right; and the dog-leg reverse lever on the Hurst Muncie for (late '63s and '64 thru '67) had the stamped number 2350, and the reverse lever rod from shifter to trans was about 5 to 6" long and had the stamped number 2439. The reverse lever that bolted to the trans stud has number 2442.

This is from a Hurst installed on a Muncie in a '65, by a previous owner, around 1969. I removed it about 1992 and installed a factory shifter.

 

maybe this will help

hurst-instructions.pdf