A while ago a discussion here was about the effort it took to put a Hurst shifter into reverse. I offer this as a fix for you. The shifter has to be
taken down to nothing of course and the spring is a little tough to replace but you will be glad you did. The effort is OK now and you will not have to "slap" the handle to get it into reverse as Ive seen some folks do.
There is two coil springs inside the shifter. You will replace the little one. I found these at ACE Hardware in their nut/bolt dept and it is a #130 and cost $2.15. If you dont have an ACE here are the specs on it.
Length 1.8" OD .579" ID .41" Wire .077. I cut 3 coils off the ACE spring & ground the cut off kinda flat like the other end.
The stock Hurst spring is 1.25" in length, the OD .615", the ID is .425 ". The wire is .095 thick.
Great time to grease that shifter while its apart for the spring replacement
Fogaley@sbcglobal.net Scott

 

I sent an email. Basicly asking if you have a written procedure and or pictures oN how to replace spring.

 

I have not written a How To.
My contribution to this project is being willing to R*R the shifter & its spring until we find one that works for us.
There are plenty of visual aids on Hurst shifters along with their overhaul kits.
You dont have to recreate the wheel on this project but the owners should have a little sweat in the deal.
That makes it shift better.
Scott
Thanks for asking though

 

Utube is your friend.

V

 

Well crap. I just took delivery of the two springs from Shifter Doc and those two little devils were about $25.00. I called and Holley/Hurst would not sell them to me.

That reverse detent spring is super difficult to replace. I've replaced one and have one to go and because I don't have a jig am not looking forward to the replacement at all.

 

What would your Jig look like, how would you make it.
Once you get to the reverse spring it is tough but with persistence and those sears screwdrivers it will settle into place.
So a Jig is very interesting, draw me a print.
Thanks Scotts

 

Sorry to revive an older thread here but wanted to say thanks. For starters, I didn't know the Hurst had a reputation for the difficulty of the reverse lockout pin and spring. I spent my day completely rebuilding the second hand comp plus I got due to all the gunk and grit in it. All clean and fresh grease makes it really smooth now - except for reverse. After mnot getting the spring retaining washer aligned and needing to pull it back apart the retaining washe went flying to some alternate dimension and is not to be found. Which left me to fabricate a new one by drilling out the hole and then sanding it down (drill and belt sander method). But I was using a grade 8 washer that was clearly thicker than the original. After reassembly (even up to mounting to the trans and connecting the linkages) it was just impossibly hard to get into reverse. I think the thicker washer added spring rate and it all had to come completely back apart again. I found a thin washer that couldn't be much off from the original and got that in. Is definitely easier now but still really difficult. I'm spoiled on modern shifters I guess and not used to the oomph it'll take to get into reverse. So here's my choices - I track the car lightly - time trials and auto cross. In a way I don't mind the extra hard lockout during some over eager 1st gear downshift. On the other hand, it is a little rediculous. I thought about taking a coil out of the original spring or I thought about easing the chamfer on the shoulder of the lockout pin to make it ever so slightly easier for the shift selecter disc to get past.

Scott, your lighter spring idea is excellent and I wonder how its worked out now several years on?

I confess I'm drawn to the idea of a tiny bit of grinding on the pin to avoid another round of loading the springs into the carrier...or maybe, given occasional track use, I just live with it and plan to grit my teeth when needing to back up?

 

I followed your advice and everything worked out fine. Much easier to get into reverse.
The only observation I would make is:
Are you sure it was ACE-----I went to three of them and they have no record of any spring with the number 130. I Did however find one at True Value that matched your specs so I went with that one. Worked fine.
Second---to clarify your explanation---the spring I bought and I assume yours as well was quite long, much longer than needed. When you cut off THREE coils--you are planning to use the SHORT three coils length. This should be obvious but I offer this so that when you do find this 130 spring you are not dissuaded from buying it because of its length. You could cut of MANY 3 coil lengths and offer them to whomever wants to follow in your footsteps. This is what I SHOULD have done but was so involved and relieved that I got it all reassembled installed and operational that I simply forgot. I sincerely apologize.

Paul Gangelossi's video is really good although he does not show how to remove that spring, it is easily done with two screw drivers and a pair of forceps. Reassembly is there the forceps come in. I was alone when I did it and there was a bit of trial and error before I got it right which precluded shooting video. Again, so sorry.

Short version--If I did it, anyone can.
Thanks for being the pioneer on this.
Much appreciated.
Eddie

 

When a friend and I figured out how to do the fix, I ended up doing what must have been all the shifters in the club.
As of today nobody has come forward with a warranty claim. I even did one shifter with the curved Corvette handle
that was still in use.
Thanks for using this method on your shifter.
Scott

 

LOL

When I brought this up, I was told by all the gals and guys to learn how to drive.

 

[QUOTE=j
Scott, your lighter spring idea is excellent and I wonder how its worked out now several years on?

I confess I'm drawn to the idea of a tiny bit of grinding on the pin to avoid another round of loading the springs into the carrier...or maybe, given occasional track use, I just live with it and plan to grit my teeth when needing to back up?[/QUOTE]

I guess the original design was to eliminate inadvertent shift into reverse while racing----however for normal driving the car was extremely difficult to put into reverse.
My wife simply could not do it---slapping the shifter was also out for her as she is a professional violinist and one slap was all she needed to say "NO WAY!"

Even my Brother-in-law pro truck driver needed two hands to do it -after his shoulder replacement surgery.
I could do it but it was not fun to drive the car. Calls to Hurst were of no help whatsoever.
So---thank you for "discovering " this.

It has been over a year since I did the conversion and now I dont even think about it any more. Wife and B-I-L drive the car quite happily and none of us has ever accidentally engaged reverse.
So, it is a win all the way around.
Best and thanks again Scott.
Eddie '62

 

When I first got my '62 it had the Hurst shifter installed and a "T" handle grip instead of a ball. Looked ""really tough" as my nephew would say. In my enthusiasm for the car I would allow friends to drive on occasion but immediately noticed that the "T" handle became an open invitation for brutality. EVERY person to drive the car somehow felt obligated to grab that "GORILLA HANDLE" and slam gears like they were sparing with Godzilla. It was frightening. No matter what I said and how many times I showed them that shifting to and from any gear was a simple "two finger flick of the wrist" operation they continues to slam things around.
I quickly decided to:
1. Remove the T handle and replace it with a ball---which calmed things down "a bit"
2. Now only three people drive my car--Myself, wife, B-I-L

Some people just love slapping things around! Just because you CAN do something is no reason to do it.

Best
Eddie