shifter problem

[FAT TONY]

Alright so i replaced my clutch today and when i went to put the shifter back on i noticed that the rods were welded, it seems that the previous owner shortened the rods which makes it hard to place the shifter back on ..... i didn't notice when i removed the shifter , but now when i went to put it back on i didnt remember how to so i searched a couple pictures and all of them are farther back

here are some pics of mine








i have no problem with it being so close but i just want to add this to it so it wont move around so much when trying to shift


any suggestions are appreciated. after four weeks of having the truck sitting there im really looking forward to being back on the road again

[markeb01]

I honestly can’t understand how that can shift at all. The shifting arms on the shifter need to be directly behind and in alignment with the arms on the side cover of the transmission, not canted to the left. Every 3 speed floor shifter I’ve owned had a triangulated mounting bracket for the shifter that attached to at least 3 of bolts that hold the tailhousing to the main case as shown in these very old pictures:





There are two attachment points on the driver side and one reaches across the transmission to the top bolt on the passenger side. The strap you’re holding in the third photo appears to be the upper cross support. I can’t determine from the photos how the shifter is actually attached to the transmission. It appears the primary bracket may be assembled in some unusual way to a bellhousing bolt rather than a tailhousing bolt.

In addition, it appears the lower bolt needed to attach the mounting bracket is broken off in the transmission. This is not only needed for the shifter, it’s also needed to keep the tailshaft in alignment with the main case and to prevent a generous amount of leakage.

If the rods were completely ruined by the PO they may have to be replaced, if they can't be rethreaded to clean up the damaged areas.

[FAT TONY]

yes the rods were cut short which made the support bracket bolt on to the bell housing instead of the tail housing, i tried to put the cross support to see if i can still make it work but the main case is much wider than the tail so it didnt work.... i honestly which i would have taken some pictures before i took it apart cause some how it did work ok rite now i am unbolting all the shifting components t take a picture of it out of the truck for a better view

[markeb01]

I take "before" pictures all the time now, even with stuff I've done over and over. It seems so easy when it's all coming apart, but if it gets left alone more than a day or two it's seems even easier to find more than one way to put it back together!

Looking forward to your next batch of photos, maybe looking at the parts will make something obvious show up.

[FAT TONY]

also if the bracket was placed were it should go wouldnt the seat be in the way?

[markeb01]

Normally 3 speed shifters fit comfortably right in front of the seat (I’ve had several), so even it it’s moved back where it belongs it should clear. 4 speeds are usually a problem because the shifter is so much farther back on the tailhousing. Worst case the shifter can be rotated forward a tad (and the rods lengthened) to create more room. Those pesky PO’s, too bad they slaughtered the floor.

I think the way you have things bolted together is correct, but it appears you’re missing a bracket for the lower forward bolt that would attach to the tailhousing, and to either of those two slots a couple inches back from the front. The other problem being the forward flange should be folded at a 90 degree angle to the top edge of the main plate. The way it is formed is going to angle the main plate down hill toward the rear. With the front bolted to the tailshaft, it seems the top of the bracket would be too low for the cross bracket to clear the transmission, unless some kind of spacer is placed between the two pieces.

Let me do some searching and see if I can find an installation photo of this type of shifter that might help clarify what is needed.

[markeb01]

The Mr. Gasket 7667A 3 speed shifter looks very similar to yours. Perhaps these instruction sheets will help figure out what is needed:

http://www.mrgasket.com/Portals/0/do..._7666_7667.pdf

The missing part I was trying to describe above is shown as item #5 in figure 1.

[FAT TONY]

Would i have to cut another hole in the floor if i made it fit in the rite place? and yes ive been finding a bunch of things that look like they weren't done right

the problem i have is when i go to shift it moves the whole bracket with it which doesnt let me engage or disengage gears if only i could attach that cross bracket it would make it more stable but it is like you said the trans is to tall and it wont clear the cross bracket

do they sell the brackets and rods alone or do you have to buy the hole set ?

[markeb01]

Parts for more expensive Hurst shifters are offered individually, but I don't think you'll find parts available for the model you have. I know you're on a tight budget, but if you don't have all the pieces you need it might be less expensive to find a bargain priced unit on Ebay. And yes, I don't see anyway to avoid elongating the hole closer to the seat. It may be possible to add some type of support to keep the mount exactly where you have it, but there is going to be a tremendous amount of binding between the shifter arms and the side cover arms. They are meant to be completely parallel with each other. To make it work as shown in the first photos would seem to require heim joints on the shifter rods to make up for the misalignment.

[geezer#99]

I've used 3 of the #7667A shifters. THey tuck in tight to your bench and have a tall shifter handle too.
Some on ebay right now for 33 bucks. They come with all the linkages you need.
Hurst makes a 3 speed mystery shifter which needs to be bolted on like the Mr. G one but hurst doesn't supply the install kits anymore. They cost upwards of 250 bucks if you find and buy one.
You'd need to fix the floor with a piece of sheetmetal.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Manual-3-spe...708b0a&vxp=mtr

[FAT TONY]

how good are these Hurst Indy's? and im not to worried about cutting a bigger hole, i just wish i could drive it over to the body shop were there's more tools and im pretty sure they have some extra sheet metal i can use........ im still trying to figure out how it was bolted on in the first place if i can just make it work for about 10 minutes ill be able to drive it over to the shop and have every thing i need to make new brackets and fix the floor, also might you be able to use mr g hardware to install the indy

[geezer#99]

THe Mr. Gasket shifter is the same as yours. The parts interchange.
If you don't need to drive far just put it in 2nd gear and slip the clutch a bit to get going.
Pull the front lever back and you'll be in second.

[FAT TONY]

i might just go buy the mr g parts if it fits rite, and theres about 20 stop signs on the way there so it might be pretty hard to take off, when i went to put the shifter on it all looked like it would work but when i went to engage the gears the hole thing would move bracket and all, so it really needs that second bracket for support i just have no idea were it was, i lade under the truck for about two hours trying to figure it out and then i fell asleep under there

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by FAT TONY

how good are these Hurst Indy's?

Here’s somewhat of a long historical answer to put the answer to your question in perspective. There have really only been two levels of 3 speed shifter quality – the Hurst Syncro/Loc, and everything else. The Syncro/Loc was the absolute best ever offered.



It had a spring loaded internal ramp which prevented hitting the wrong gear, and offered a dual pattern adjustment. The shifting mechanism was contained in a tempered steel housing with a dust cover underneath. It also had a ¼” alignment slot that went through the housing and both levers, and stop bolts to prevent over travel on hard shifts. Internally it was very complicated as can be seen in this 4 speed “Competition Plus” version, which was essentially the same as the Syncro/Loc with an extra lever for reverse.



These were very expensive at about $55 in the early-mid 60’s.

Hurst subsequently released the Mystery shifter, I believe around 1962 or 63, aimed at those of us that would never be able to afford the “good one”. These were priced around $29. It retained the tempered steel housing, but lost the dual pattern adjustment, spring loaded locking gate, and stop bolts. It also came with the first adjustable handle that could be shortened to length. The 2nd photo is a picture of one. These pictures are all from around 62-64 so the image quality isn’t very good.





Sadly, once 4 speed transmissions became affordable the popularity of 3 speed floor shifters dropped like a rock and they stopped being produced.

Currently it appears the only really quality shifter left on the market is the Hurst Mastershift:



It appears to be very similar to the old Syncro/Loc. It retains the tempered steel housing, stop bolts, and alignment slot, along with a modern bolt on handle. I put one in our 83 Chevy truck about 15 years ago and it worked perfectly. The only thing wrong with them is the cost. Most owners with 3 speed manual transmissions don’t intend to keep them long enough to justify the expense.

Everything else is some variation on a very simplistic arrangement with two levers, some form of spring tension, and a central pin for selecting one or the other lever. Here’s an example of an extremely primitive early offering from Ansen:



This was very similar to early Plymouth Valiant shifters. This design is very prone to getting stuck between gears (especially during hard shifting) because there isn’t any precision tolerance control of the selector pin between the levers.

The parts in Indy and Mr. Gasket shifters are of decent quality being tempered, but compared to a Syncro/Loc or Mystery shifter are really more a box of parts than an actual shifter. They can however be assembled into something that will dependably control your transmission.

The Indy shifter name first appeared in the early 1970’s and was marketed under the Mr. Gasket name. Coincidentally, about this time J.C. Penney abandoned their automotive division and clearance priced their inventory. I bought all the Indy shifters they had (5 or 6) for $5 each. They had beautiful handles which I used for years on a variety of cars, and every once in a while I’d use one of the surplus shift levers. At that time all the pieces in the box looked like real transmission parts, not steel plates with multiple holes punched in them.

Bottom line - the Mr. Gasket shifter currently being offered isn’t the worst ever sold, but it has very little in common with the Mastershift, Syncro/Loc, or Mystery Shifter.