Thinking of going from the 18 1/2" to a 14 1/2" shifter and...

[biomedtechguy]

I am giving strong consideration to:
A Hurst Competition Plus shifter
Comp Plus install kit (linkage, etc.)
The steel bushings Pit Pack
The 14 1/2" long Pistol Grip
all in an effort to give me the best possible shifting capability with the 833 tranny. My 70 Roadrunner has the bench seat no armrest or console. I'm 6'3" so reach isn't a problem.
Opinions / Experience?

 

[HawkRod]

When I bought my 70 Road Runner with a bench seat, it had an aftermarket Hurst shifter in it. I am 6'0", but I didn't like it. It felt like I was reaching when I shifted it, and just wasn't "comfortable". It worked OK, so it is hard for me to point out the problem, but when I put the correct pistol grip shifter back it, it just felt right. Yes the throw is longer with that, my long arm can handle that!

Jut my $0.02. Hope it helps...

Hawk

 

[AMX364]

You have to install something, at least to see where you want the handle to end up at. Love that the Hurst handle just bolt on and that their catalog list sizes and pictures. I started with the boxed handle and went from there, also had some older handles around.

 

[biomedtechguy]

<(Stock type)Thanks for the replies. Here are the 2 shifters (one I'm considering may have to offset ) >

 

[Cranky]

Yup, experimentation is the only way to find what YOU like. I've even heated up and bent the handles before to get what I wanted then just painted them black. Never did much care for the chrome reflecting light when driving at night anyways.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Excerpt from an article about the a833:
Then the outrageous "pistol grip" shifter is released (this has since become a much-sought-after restoration item). It consists of a beefy, flat chrome stick with two woodgrain grips attached to each side and a shift-pattern logo cap on top. Cars equipped with this shifter also enjoy a new set of transmission levers, punched with an extra set of holes for those who want extra-short-throw shifting.
That set of extra holes for short throw shifting may allow me to improve on what I have vs. starting over with some type of high performance shifter, install kit etc and all the money that that would cost.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Looked under the car yesterday while I was doing some other work. No second hole for short throw shifting on my setup. Changed the exhaust manifold gasket and all 8 spark plugs. No more tapping or exhaust noise (except the beautiful Symphony thru the Flowmasters)

 

[Hemi Rebel]

When I first got my 68 super bee it had a 70 pistol grip shifter in it and was sloppy as hell. I wound up taking it out and replaced it and the linkage with all new hurst super comp stuff. White ball shift knob. I love that damn shifter. Bench seat car. Im 6 foot and it sits in the perfect place next to my right leg. Growing up I always wanted that tall *** pistol grip in my future car. Funny thing, the reality of that shifter did not live up to the dreams of that shifter. But the new one does.

 

[AMX364]

On 86 Omni Turbo car, I had cut and welded shifter handle below the boot to where the ball fit me just right. Others have driven the car and could not tell that shifter work had been done. On a Richmond 5 speed transmission it took about 3 tries to get the shifter correct, only had to buy one extra handle, the other I had and thought it would work.

 

[biomedtechguy]

According to Wayne at Brewster Performance, I have a 1964 Hurst Mopar competition shifter in it. That is based on the number on the reverse tab of the shifter. Also took some pictures. These are the parts recommended by him to change over to a 70 Hurst Competition Plus shifter. BSHIFTERMTGMTPLATE/HARDWARE, 6459.9559.95& UPB WITHHURSTSHIFTER, BILLET4.261.00SM-BOLT-70BSHIFTER MECHANISM,BOLT-ONNEW 70299.95299.95B1.301.00LRS70BLINKAGE ROD SET 70 B,124.95124.95W/SWIVELS/CLIP/WASHERPKG0.601.00OL-BOPERATING LEVER SETB-BODYW/NUTS
Sorry for the jumble, but I am using my phone for this message. Anyway, I am going to go ahead and get what he has recommended and follow up with a report

 

[Cranky]

Do the shift levers on your trans have enough room to drill new holes closer to the pivot points?

 

[biomedtechguy]

Not sure, but my main interests in what limited budget I have for this car and my wife's '65 421 tripower GTO is getting them right - and what I mean by that is if it's rusty, fix it and /or stop it from spreading. If it doesn't work right, repair or replace it with something that works well so I won't want or need to change it later. If it isn't safe, make it safe. If it leaks, stop the leak and fix what may have been affected, etc. etc. I don't care about either car being original because neither of them are, but I also want them to appear close to original because they are beautiful cars and I want them to stay true to what they represent. Her GTO is a Royal Bobcat "tribute" car in that it has a 65 421 motor in it just like Royal Pontiac would have installed for someone. My Roadrunner is a real V code 4 speed car with the track pak Dana 60. So I believe that going with this setup from Brewster Performance will result in very good shift performance and allow me to keep the "correct" pistol grip shifter, and I trust their expertise in their recommendations. I greatly appreciate all of the replies and will go with a different setup if this doesn't get it done performance wise. I am staying tuned for additional replies and will let all know how this turns out.

 

[biomedtechguy]

OK. I installed the Hurst Competition Plus shifter, and a really nice machined billit aluminum mounting plate, shift rods and tabs, made by Brewer's Performance. Not only does this setup work better, but what was replaced was a hot mess. The worst part of what I had was the wrong bolts being used to hold the mounting plate to the transmission. They should have had tapered heads corresponding with the tapered mount holes, but they were regular hex heads, so the mounting plate was loose. I got it all buttoned up and it is shifting nicely. Old shifter is first 2 pix, new setup is last 2 pix.

 

[petieg383]

Which handle did you install? I'm also thinking of swapping to the shorter handle, I believe it's from a 71-72 bench seat car? I was curious as to how you like it. Post a few pics of it in first and second gear to show where it sits. I'm not happy with how far forward the stock shifter goes in my 70, but in 2nd and 4th it's in a decent spot. Let us know!

 

[biomedtechguy]

I kept the transcontinental time zone change 18" shifter. The previous shifter setup was such a mess that I have a significant improvement in shifting now. Slammed 2nd twice last night, much better. 3rd and 4th are great. May possibly revisit even better shifting in the future, but good for now, and worth it. The list is long... gotta move on to other important stuff for now. I also got the driveshaft cut from 51 1/4" to just a fraction over 50" which is correct for the Dana 60, and balanced with 2 new U Joints. I drove over 80mph. for the 1st time since I bought it today (closed course all legal... ahem) 100mph comes up pretty quickly and NO MORE VIBRATION/SHAKE. I was actually happy when the driveshaft repair guy (Eric at Driveline n Automotive Specialty) told me that the driveshaft was a mess before he fixed it because that was the suspected reason for the bad vibration. All good now.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Latest update: still shifting better that the hot mess the car had when I bought it, but I am about to install 7/8" primary tube diameter Tti polished ceramic coated headers and my 833 is leaking from the front seal, so I am sending it to Jamie Passon (love the 855 they make, gotta have one one day) and have him go through it to fix whatever he thinks needs fixing, and I am having their slick shift kit installed. When I get it back, I believe that the 833 will shift as well as any 833 can, and I won't sling gear oil on my $1000 pretty headers.