Posted By: Anonymous
66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/27/08 03:49 PM
Hi all. I need to hear from those who have a CORRECT, 66/67 A-body with a console equipped 4-speed Hurst shifter. This is NOT the 68/69 OEM Hurst shifter. This is an old Hurst replacement for the Inland shifter. They look nothing like the 68/69 units.
Anyway, here is my problem. The 66/67 inland console shifters used two rubber shift boots. The lower boot is actually below the floor on the Inland shifter, and the console boot was in the usual location. The Hurst unit won't except an Inland lower boot, so I used a stock A-body boot as the lower boot, and the original console boot. When hooked up there is WAAAAY too much rubber around the Hurst shifter for smooth shifting. It shifts fine when shifting with a firm hand, but all that rubber is trying to bind up the shifter. Also those early console Hurst shifters were even funkier than the OEM shifters, and my shift pattern is very low in the opening in the console. Very low and to the left. When I shift into Reverse, the console boot rubs hard on the left edge of the console, and it doesn't want to sift into reverse without some serious finesse.
I am tempted to bend the shifter arm slightly to the right, which would do sonders for making some room in the shift hole on the console....
Have you experinced any of these problems? Do you have any pics of your installation? Do you have any tricks to make this a better fit for smoother shifting?
I do NOT want to delete the lower boot as I don't want the car to vaccum all the road debris and worse yet moisture up and deposit it into the floor hump.
Thanks in advance guys.
Posted By: JohnRR
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/27/08 04:56 PM
You could try the B body console lower boot , it won't have the same hole pattern , but it's not like the new holes you have to make will be seen .
Posted By: 8_Barrel
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/27/08 08:59 PM
Provided that I understand your dilemma accurately, I believe that you should eliminate the Inland lower boot entirely and use a non-console, 68 and later, A body lower boot.
Quote:
Hi all. I need to hear from those who have a CORRECT, 66/67 A-body with a console equipped 4-speed Hurst shifter. This is NOT the 68/69 OEM Hurst shifter. This is an old Hurst replacement for the Inland shifter. They look nothing like the 68/69 units.
Meaning that it is a flat stick as opposed to a round one?
Quote:
Anyway, here is my problem. The 66/67 inland console shifters used two rubber shift boots. The lower boot is actually below the floor on the Inland shifter, and the console boot was in the usual location. The Hurst unit won't except an Inland lower boot, so I used a stock A-body boot as the lower boot,....
( positioned how? On top of the floor as a factory Hurst would be or underneath as an Inland would be?)....
and the original console boot. When hooked up there is WAAAAY too much rubber around the Hurst shifter for smooth shifting. It shifts fine when shifting with a firm hand, but all that rubber is trying to bind up the shifter. Also those early console Hurst shifters were even funkier than the OEM shifters, and my shift pattern is very low in the opening in the console. Very low and to the left. When I shift into Reverse, the console boot rubs hard on the left edge of the console, and it doesn't want to sift into reverse without some serious finesse.
I am tempted to bend the shifter arm slightly to the right, which would do sonders for making some room in the shift hole on the console....
It almost sounds as though you don't have the correct console stick/lever with a the console offset.
Quote:
Have you experinced any of these problems? Do you have any pics of your installation? Do you have any tricks to make this a better fit for smoother shifting?
I do NOT want to delete the lower boot as I don't want the car to vaccum all the road debris and worse yet moisture up and deposit it into the floor hump.
Thanks in advance guys.
The lowest boot on an inland is to primarily protect the shifter 'innards' from debris, granted, it also keeps debris from entering the car.
The Hurst design corrected the need of the overexposed Inland lower boot as a Hurst is a closed unit (your Hurst piece should have a stainless steel, flexible bottom cover).
I'm not an A body guy, but IMO, provided that the floor pans are the same or nearly similar from 66-7 to 68 and later, I'd use a 68 and later Hurst style, console lower boot which should be the same as a 68-up non-console boot. The differences being in the stick/lever opening (round vs rectangle)
Posted By: Rhinodart
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/27/08 11:12 PM
I have had a couple dozen 67-69 console equipped Darts and Barracudas and have never even heard of a factory Hurst shifter for 66-67.
The Inland was used until early in the 68 production when it was replaced by the Hurst that Steve pictures above. Please post pictures of the shifter you are referring too, I would like to research this if possible!
Posted By: Jim_Lusk
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/28/08 03:07 AM
If I understand you correctly this is an aftermarket replacement for the Inland. I had a 66 Barracuda with the correct Inland console setup. It had the normal floor boot and console boot. The only lower boot that I've seen was on a b-body Inland. All a-body four speed cars from 66 had the same oval floor hole that will accept the same lower boot. The only problem is that there is no lower boot available that fits the 68-69 Hurst.
And, I have probably seen the shifter you are asking about. It was in a friend's 67 383/4sp Formula S back in the mid-80s. There wasn't much stick above the console.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 12:09 AM
Quote:
If I understand you correctly this is an aftermarket replacement for the Inland.
And, I have probably seen the shifter you are asking about. It was in a friend's 67 383/4sp Formula S back in the mid-80s. There wasn't much stick above the console.
Jim, you are correct. This is an OLD Hurst replacement for the Inland setup. This is a '66/'67 unit. Just like the Hurst unit for the 65/66 GTO, the handle is welded to the internal shifter body. You cannot remove the round handle. It uses 1 inch tubular white nylon bushings to provide smooth side to side movement in the neutral gate.
I bet your buddy did indeed have a correct 66/67 console Hurst unit in his 383 barracuda. When the shifter is in 1st gear, it sticks straight up out of the console hole, 8 inches.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 12:25 AM
Quote:
You could try the B body console lower boot , it won't have the same hole pattern , but it's not like the new holes you have to make will be seen .
John, you may be onto something. I am trying to find a pic of the B-body lower boot. That stock A-body boot is just too much boot.
Thanks!
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 12:28 AM
autoxcuda, great pics. That is the 68/69 OEM unit. That is NOT the one I am referring to. Thanks for putting the pics up, and man that poor shifter needs some love.........
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 12:33 AM
Quote:
I'd use a 68 and later Hurst style, console lower boot which should be the same as a 68-up non-console boot. The differences being in the stick/lever opening (round vs rectangle)
8 barrel, Yep...That is just what I did and that is the reason that I am having trouble. That 68-up non-console boot is just, way too much boot, and just binds up the bend on that early Hurst unit.
Posted By: Rhinodart
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 03:44 AM
Cool, I did not get that it was an aftermarket shifter from your first post. I have a short shifter that was found in one of my console A-Bodies but it has the same base as the original Hurst console shifter, so I think it is just a cut-down original shifter. You don't need a host to attach pictures here, it just needs to be the right size.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 05:03 PM
Thought I'd give this a bump and add a pic of the correct shifter installed. Maybe this will do a better job of describing the problem I have.
Posted By: Anonymous
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 05:40 PM
Yes that is my shifter, I will try to lighten that pic so you can see it, sorry. I am in the process of replacing the butchered up dash in my car with the one in the pic, so I figured I'd tackle the shifter issue this winter as well.
The shifter you attached is a B-body shifter I'm pretty sure. The A-body shifter has a round handle and angles FORWARD about 3 inches before it bends about 5 inches to the right to make the console hole.
Posted By: Jim_Lusk
Re: 66/67 A-body, 4-spd console HURST shifter - 11/29/08 07:26 PM
I'm still not sure what the problem is. The floor boot has to move the same no matter which Hurst shifter is installed. From what I remember about the Inland lower (under the shifter) boot is that it won't fit the bulkier Hurst mechanism anyway.
