Long Story..... I bought this 68 convertible that was a basket case. It didn't run, no brakes, interior trashed, paint all chipped and cracked etc etc ! Now it has new paint, interior....pretty much rebuilt the complete car. It came with a Hurst shifter with a long stick that i didn't like so I bought a used factory shifter on E Bay and rebuilt it. First try at driving it I backed out of the garage and headed down the alley and it wouldn't go into second gear so i put it reverse and let out the clutch and it killed the car ! (obviously it was still in first gear) So I went around the block and got it back in my garage. So I then overhauled the Hurst and bought a shifter stick that looks like the stock corvette shifter. Put it up on jack stands and realized the first thing I had to do was remove the complete exhaust on the drivers side. (fortunately it is a new exhaust system so it came apart fairly easy) So after many hours laying under there I got the factory shifter out and the Hurst in. So then I went to see if it shifted ok and find out the stick hits the E-brake handle when in forth gear !!! RATS It's tilted back to far. (and yes, I have the correct mounting bracket etc) So today I decided to go back to the factory shifter and noticed it is so tight that I can hardly move the levers. I would think that they should move pretty freely. I'm pretty sure thats why it didn't come out of first gear when I drove it ! Is it possible that the reverse interlock that came with the kit is too thick and keeping the levers from moving freely ? Seems to me that is the problem !!!!!! All I know is I've got a lot of hours laying under it and I'm going to have a lot more before I'm done !!!!!

 

post pics of your linkage and shift rods. THat other thread you post on the guy had the shift arm on the tranny was on backwards. He had the 1-2 lever on so it curved in ward. On 68 the way the levers are notched would tilt the stock levers front to back. CHeck yours to see if they are installed correctly. IF you have the 68 muncie shift arms that bolt to the tranny use those over the Hurst arms. Then put the shift rod in the hole closest to the bolt that holds it on th etranny

 

Thanks Rescue.....you always have the correct knowledge !!!!! I will remove the Hurst from the car and mount it on another Muncie I have laying on the floor and take some pics. Might take a couple days. It's a real task for a 78 year old guy laying under there. It would be real easy if it weren't for the transmission cross member in the way !!!! But my main question is, shouldn't the factory shifter levers move somewhat freely with nothing hooked the them ? That's why I was thinking the reverse interlock shim that came with the rebuild kit is too thick so it makes the whole mechanism is to tight.

 

the shifter itself does move freely with nothing attached. Did you just rebuild it? Are you referring to the levers on the transmission itself or the levers sticking out of the shifter?

 

The levers sticking out of the shifter. I just cleaned everything up and when I slide the levers and reverse interlock into the housing I can barely move the levers. It's like the reverse lock out is too thick !

 

is the spring in it upside down? meaning on the wrong side

 

if you are rebuilding the stock shifter I forgot I posted this a while ago
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...d-shifter.html

If you have that muncie look alike shifter for the Hurst, try rotating it 180 degreas, It may have a slight tilt built into the mounting arm. If not, unbolt it and bolt it on the the furthest left side of the Hurst shift mechanism so the bolts go in from the opposite side effectively pushing the Lever itself towards the steering wheel. THe Lockout on it is just for looks so it must just be binding on something internally if it wont go together correctly,

 

forgive me but any decision to give up a hurst shifter for factory stuff is flawed thinking. you can rebuild or replace the hurst. the factory stuff is old, old, old.

 

That makes no sense...your thinking should **** can the rest of the car because its the same age. The muncie when rebuilt is a great shifter when it is setup for a short throw. The c1 shifter is the garbage shifter that led to everyone thinking all muncie shifters are bad, or trying to shift with a broken motor mount on the later years. Your bad experience may be a worn shifter or operator error

Other than the muncie having a reverse lockout handle and the Hurst being spring loaded, they shift about the same when rebuilt. IF you rebuild them then you would see there isnt much difference between them mechanically.


Ignorance is not bliss, its just ignorance

 

Not only that but that Muncie is POS. Blatantly obvious when compared to the Long Shifter that came with Richmond ROD. I could NOT lock Long Shifter in 2 gears if I tried.