Hurst Shifter install

[MoparBoyy]

So the shifter isolator was messed up in my car when i got it, figured i'd get a aftermarket shifter for it anyways, and that day has come. picked up the Hurst shifter from titan (they are local to me).

For those looking to get a short throw, this one is awesome. shifts are so chrisp now. i saw some people saying about break in, but its perfect right out the box. Shifts feel very positive and the throw is shorter for sure, plus i love the cue ball style knob.

The instructions tell you to cut holes to access the bolts (they include plugs to fill the holes) but i found that was not needed. You can access the two other bolts for the shifter from under it. Of course I had the car on a lift which made it a breeze. the whole install can prolly be done from under if you just drop the transmission a little bit, but i didn't try.

(sorry for the ****ty camera phone pic)

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[cfiiman]

Dude that looks sweet, what year is that on?

 

[MoparBoyy]

1997 GTS. Interior has been redone kind of like the Mamba.

 

[GTS Warp]

Looks cool. Just got the B&M for mine. Going in next weekend.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Hi MoparBoyy, Ive just installed my Hurst shifter but wanted to ask a couple of questions.

After removing the old OEM shifter, I tried to get the Hurst shifter to fit into its location, but it would not fit as the body of the shifter was hitting the side of the ashtray frame. I had to get under the car and undo the transmission cross member and lower the trans about 3/4 inch to get the Hurst shifter in place.

I too did not drill the Holes in the transmission tunnel as recommended by Hurst, I used a 1/2 inch ring spanner to fit the new bolts. It was a bit of a pain on the wrists tightening up the bolts but at least I dont have any Holes in the car

After replacing the transmission cross member I measured the clearance between the bottom of the Ashtray and the Hurst shifter body, I have 2mm clearance! Did you notice the same thing with your install? Did you modify the Ashtray underside?

Also I have read people talking about the Nylon bush that the shifter locates into in the Gearbox, was yours loose? Mine was in there solid with no movement what so ever? It was not obvious that it was a nylon bush?

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Next question, with the engine off and the car in a static position does your Hurst shifter self center freely? Mine does not! its trying to but the springs still dont really seem to be strong enough?
Also trying to put the car in reverse the shifter is about 1mm from the edge of the transmission cut out where the inner rubber boot sits!

Ive not taken the car out on a full test run yet, these are just my first findings! I had planed to run the car today but its chucking it down with rain Just another Bank Holiday weekend in England

 

[Fatboy 18]

Heres some pics

After removing the OEM shifter and placing the New Hurst shifter Side by side you can see the differences.

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As you can see the Hurst (gold) body is taller than the OEM shifter, this is only just clearing the Ash tray!

Also the ball end on the Hurst shifter is now lower (longer) than the OEM shifter?

Full album here, http://rides.webshots.com/album/580026958kOqjNP

 

[GTSnake]

Wait, so if the top arm is taller doesn't that mean the throws are longer? Or does the longer lower ball arm make up for that?

 

[Fatboy 18]

Yes, the Gripper ball shifter and shaft, screw onto the OEM shifter making the OEM shifter shaft longer.

 

[Mopar Boy]

Nice!

Too much red on the interior though.....

 

[Camfab]

Fatboy 18, are you using stock motor and trans mounts?

 

[Fatboy 18]

No, I have Woodhouse Engine polly mounts and transmission mounts and also Ipsco billet trans cross member.

 

[NI-KA]

Does anyone know who might sell a Sneaky Pete logo gripper ball for the Hurst Shifter?

VCA Parts only sells Fangs Logo gripper ball.

 

[Fatboy 18]

MGW should be able to help you, it may not be on their website but give them a call

 

[AZTVR]

Does anyone know who might sell a Sneaky Pete logo gripper ball for the Hurst Shifter?

VCA Parts only sells Fangs Logo gripper ball.

Be careful, there appears to be some Hurst shifters that do not have the OEM threads. (1/2-20) Mine does, and it is the same as the stock unit and the B&M. One thing to consider is that the MGW gripper shift knob will sit pretty high on a Hurst shifter compared to OEM.

 

[MoparBoyy]

i had ZERO issues installing this. it was really close to the body like you say but i think i had more than 2mm. i have factory bushings, crossmember etc. the bushing into my transmission was tight, so i left the factory one in and did not install the one supplied with the kit.

Mine sits in neutral just fine also, didn't measure clearance when i put it in Reverse. actually didn't even try to put it in R before i put the whole car back together. Sounds odd that you are having so many issues. I literally did this whole install in 30 mins with the only issues trying to clean all the shavings from my interior after drilling all the rivets. LOL

 

[Leslie]

My track buddies had problems installing my hurst shifter this past winter.
Yes, I have tranny/motor mounts. Had to fabricate another ash tray to make it fit.

Frustrating as heck for them but I am appreciative they found a way to make it fit!

 

[Camfab]

No, I have Woodhouse Engine polly mounts and transmission mounts and also Ipsco billet trans cross member.

I dare say that's your problem. The more nonstock parts you have the more likely other non stock parts will not fit. I noticed that the Woodhouse mounts were taller than the factory mounts when I installed them. They also dont sag like the stock mounts. So a 1/4" suddenly shrinks down to 2 mm. Thanks for the write up as I was considering getting this shifter.

 

[Fatboy 18]

Its still raining here today so I dont want to drive the car and risk shift issues on a wet road! But sitting in the Garage trying to select the gears Im not sure I like the shifter from first impressions!

Hey Moparboyy, that's interesting that you say you had a new nylon bush in your kit, there was not one in mine!

Thanks for the Feedback Leslie

 

[AJ02]

There was no bushing in mine either! I have just the opposite as you. My shifter sits toward the driver's side of the console a bit. I have all kinds of clearance when shifting into reverse.

 

[Fatboy 18]

I guess that could be down to how the Engine and Trans mounts are set up

 

[jwolf]

Hi MoparBoyy, I
I too did not drill the Holes in the transmission tunnel as recommended by Hurst, I used a 1/2 inch ring spanner to fit the new bolts. It was a bit of a pain on the wrists tightening up the bolts but at least I dont have any Holes in the car
d

I was able to get the old bolts out but my new, longer bolts we internal hex (Allen) bolts and I had to drill the holds to tighten them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsI-2Vgevls

 

[Fatboy 18]

I bought my Shifter from Viper Baz UK, it was still in the box but he had never used it, it came with Hex head bolts. I can see why you would have had to drill out the Ash tray holes for the Allen bolts

 

[am.mscl]

I installed the Hurst Shifter a few months ago. It was a pain in the Ass to get installed and I did not drop the trans.
The big issue I kept having was due to the Hurst mounting frame/block kept hitting something (ash tray was removed from the car during this); this caused the ball to keep missing the socket it should go into. Fatboy_18 from you comments about how it will not center or go into reverse I think you missed the ball socket with the ball. Same issues were result of not getting it properly lined up.
I did drill one of the 2 recommended holes just because there was no way my hands were going to fit from the top and reach the bolt head.
I have no idea if I have the Woodhouse mounts in the car but I know the shifter I took out had a modification done to it, that some consider the Woodhouse modification.
Ray

 

[Fatboy 18]

am.mscl, I think you miss read my comments. I can get the car into reverse but the shaft is approx 1mm from the side of the transmission tunnel cut out. There is no way the Hurst shifter was going to fit into the correct location until I dropped the transmission 3/4 inch. This is because the welded box that holds the ashtray in the transmission tunnel was hitting the top edge of the Hurst shifter.

I can select all gears but the shifter is not returning to the center position unless I give it a bit of help. Ive been working today and its still bloody raining! Hopefully I will be able to get the car out during the week and give it a shake down run to see how it feels. At the moment, i'm thinking of putting the stock one back!

 

[steve911]

Give it a bit of time it will loosen up. I have one on each of my Gen 3's and had the same experience with both. They are great now.

 

[1buddyc]

Give it a bit of time it will loosen up. I have one on each of my Gen 3's and had the same experience with both. They are great now.

How difficult was the installation on your Gen 3s?

 

[steve911]

How difficult was the installation on your Gen 3s?

It took about 2 hours per car start to finish. I wasn't in a hurry and I wanted to make sure I didn't ding the console getting it out or putting it in. The vert was easier as I had the top down.

 

[1buddyc]

It took about 2 hours per car start to finish. I wasn't in a hurry and I wanted to make sure I didn't ding the console getting it out or putting it in. The vert was easier as I had the top down.

So, you installed the Shifter without removing the Console? Did you install it fron underneath?
Thanks for the reply..

 

[steve911]

I did mine from the top AND I DID remove the console

 

[1buddyc]

OK, thanks for the tips!