Hey, guys,

I've ordered a Hurst Short Shifter for my vette - are there any instructions on line as to how to fit this to my car? I've never done anything like this myself before!

Also - how do I set it up regarding firmness of throws etc.?

Thanks!

 

I can't believe no one has replied on this yet for you, so here is a bump. I had mine put in when I had my tranny replaced. I watched, but you only remember so much when you watch. Center Console out, Center instrument panel cover off, pry the shift patern plate off the top of the shift ****. Remove spreader pins (tough!), remove shift ****. Then you should be able to swing the center instrument panel cover off with the shifter boot. , and the shifter is right there with a rubber boot around it. I think mine was flipped and trimmed to fit the hurst. That is as much as I saw, I know there was some adjustments, and we went with the softer springs. I should come with two sets of springs, I think you can use one, the other or both together.

This probably isn't as detailed info as you need, hopefully someone who has done a couple of these will chime in.

 

This is what you are looking for. It was created by forum member Patches.
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/pat...rInstall.shtml

 

I wound up removing the front and back stops on the shifter to keep it from vibrating at higher rpm's.

 

Thanks, you guys! Actually looks pretty straight forward!

 

It IS easy to install. The shifter will be REAL stiff for the first few days. It WILL loosen some so don't fret if you have a hard time getting it into rev, 5th or 6th. Also, the Hurst has multiple springs you can put in to make it harder/softer. I started mine with both soft inner and soft outer (all you do is remove a screw, replace the springs and put the screw back in with supplied Loctite). So far I like it that way. It has loosened up a bunch in a couple weeks so if that continues I may go back to a harder spring setup in the future.

--Bill

 

I did the same thing at first, then I read news of damaging the transmision because of hard shifting. The stock transmissions have "aluminum" internal stops, with hard shifting they wear down the stops and cause damage to the transmission. I think the forks jam up or something. The stock shifter doesn't have stops and those transmissions also experience problems if they are consistantly being shifted hard. GM didn't put stops on them because most drivers won't shift that way all the time on the streets. But you would have thought the Z06 would of had stops in its shifter, considering it was designed to go from the showroom to the race track!

Since the Hurst is a performance shifter, they designed it to allow for hard shifting and that is reason for the stops on their shifter.

If you follow the directions for installing the stops they will not come loose or vibrate.

 

could someone go into detail about how to adjust the hurst?? I got mine used and have no extra springs. My shifter does not snap back in to the middle at all- you have to move it back. I have tried to adjust it with no results. It seems that when i get the "spring" action i like it will NOT go into 5th or 6th or reverse. Any ideas??

 

anyone?? TTT I'm hopeing to have mine adjusted before tonight

 

The adjustments are done by turn the two 1/4" hex screws on the top of the shifter. Left one controls spring tension on left side of shift pattern, right on right. Problem is you are only supposed to turn them one full turn in each direction. Any adjustment beyond that requires you to remove them completely and there are two springs inside each one. You can then install softer springs to not have to work so hard. 5th, 6th and reverse are much harder to reach even with the "SOFTEST" springs they supply. It does loosen up over time. It should spring to the center if set correctly.

--Bill

 

If you bring it to the Surrey meet at the Fairmile in a couple of weeks you can see mine and I'll happily talk you through the procedure !

 

Our very own Patches tutorial is the best I have seen. This is an easy job for anyone using simple hand tools.

I will say this, after messing around with the "demon key" on several car's the best method I found to remove it is the two screw driver on either side and pry up method. Of course try and protect the shifter **** covering. It should pop right out.

I'd also cover the entire dash area with towels to protect from inadvertant nicks and dings.

After the install you may find the shifter rattles and buzzes. It's not the shifter, but the harmonics that get transmitted back up to the ****. I went through at least 5 different ***** before I found one I like and is silent. Consider a new MGW **** found at http://www.mgwltd.com/corvette.html I have the gripper and love it.

Other's have found success with other ****'s so there is no single answer to this question.

You may also want to ditch the OEM shifter boot, it won't look right mated to a short shifter. It gets all scrunced up. Most folks opt for a Vette Essentials short shifter boot for $55 from Ken at VE - http://www.vetteessentials.com/inter.../interior.html while your in there you may as well replace the e-brake boot too. Ken uses real high quality leather, the OEM stuff is 100% pure crap. Wait till you see it out of the car, how GM can call this leather is beyond me?

Good luck and enjoy the Hurst, those that had it love it.

Tom

 

you can either depend on the stops built into your tranny and wear out a part that's going to cost big $$$ or you can take the extra 15 min to install and adjust it right and hit a $1 part that won't wear out when you shift hard. i put a drop of locktite on everything when i got it set right and after a year it hasn't moved at all. The vibration that i did have was from the stock shift **** and was easily fixed with a hurst **** (or any other aftermarket ****.

 

Agreed, I use the stops and I don't have and vibration.