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Grafting a GM shift handle onto a Hurst
Click small images below for larger views
Author: Gene Chas
For those of you interested in originality, yet like an ultra positive shift feel for those powershifts at 7, here's a layman's fix to the problem. Graft your round handled shifter onto a Hurst CompPlus. It's an easy operation, and if I could do it, anyone can. You can purchase an aftermarket shift handle that will bolt onto a Hurst for approx $95. Looks repro I'm told. From the pic I saw, it didn't have the few bends my stocker has.
OK here's the poo'boy blue collar fix, the immaculate deception:
You'll need a stock shifter you don't mind cutting up. IMO, they almost deserve to be. The piece you'll need is the stock shift mount. It snakes through the shifter. Remove the pin ( might want to check ends for bunges before you drive it out. file if necc.) I simply cut the end off using the box as a guide.
Caution: the shift mount rod is casehardened. A real tough one to go through. I started my cut with a ceramics/tile blade on a sawsall. Once I cut through the casehardened skin, a standard blade cut OK. Check it out, a file barely touches the surface. Cool, but a machining nightmare. What you'll have is shown in pic 1; the stock mount sans the "tail". Cut it as close to the square body as possible. As you can see from the photo, I could have made my cut a little higher. It was ground down before installation.
What you see is the OE mount,cut and drilled ( milled if you can - cost me $20 )to clear the 3/8 fine thread bolts used to secure to the Hurst shifter mount. Remember, use carbide on this pup or you'll waste a tool. The bolts are new grade 5's, with nuts and lock washers. They look like 1 1/4's or 1 1/2's vs the scale. I forgot to write it down. In fact the machinist and I decided against an alternative method of affixing this to the shifter because it involved tapping blind holes into the OE mount. It's good hard steel. Careful.
If you have access to a Bridgeport mill, you can fairly easily machine up an adapter which would look quite similar to the sawed off stock mount. You'll need to use short and fat socket head caps for the handle to mount bolts because the existing holes are very large to accommodate the rubber bushings that are used. In fact, as you read, you'll see that I eventually had to chuck the bushings and "hard mount" my handle on. I much prefer the "hard mount" feel than the feel through the bushings anyway. The one advantage of machining your own adapter is that you can probably get the handle down lower and much closer to the stock position. I haven't made chips in over 20 years and didn't have access to a mill anyway.
Now in all the following pics I ingeniously included a scale ( yardstick stuck in modeling clay), which not so ingeniously washed out in the flash. If any real genius can dial that in digitally, cool.
The cannibalized OE mount is simply bolted to the Hurst handle and you reuse the stock mounting hardware, nuts, washers and bushings. Here's what a trial fit looked like. Height is approx 16 1/2" to top of ball from floor location shown. Height was an issue because I knew this thing was going to be much higher than original. Shifter is in neutral pinned position. Nice hole, huh?
BTW, the stock Hurst handle bent back at around 11" of height (same)and the top of the ball was about 15" off the floor.( 1 1/2" diff). The original floor had to be trimmed to clear the left side of the Hurst box as shown. My 67 had a custom made sheet cover over a gaping hole in the floor and I simply had to cut out the area you see.
Notice anything else different ( besides the POR and tarpads)? Look ma, no bolts. Yup in a 11 o'clock late night assembly, I decided to snug up the handle bolts. Those stock rubber washers just felt too loose. Compress 'em a bit.. and... pop! goes the stud. The next day found myself at a good friend's ( and client's) back yard shop for a little welding. Find a retired boilermaker who likes Chevelles. Great welders! Didn't want to have to weld this but I over torqued ( my middle name). Upshot is, it's a good thing. You get that "direct feel" of the welded on stick. Again, like a Hurst.
For you welders out there, we didn't use the high nickle rod. Prep was simply grinding a good size chamfer around the base of the shift stick and the top of the mount. Really, I ground a whopping big chamfer all around both pieces. Mike then tacked and after checking, proceeded to fill that chamfer with weld, probably a 1/4 or 3/8 bead all the way around. Turned out mint with no discoloration of the surrounding chrome. This is a good time to get those studs out of the mount as well, they're press fit.
And, Viola, console installed and doesn't look bad, huh? I've had my buddy Mike and a few other Chevelle guys comment that they don't notice anything unusual about the location of the shift handle. Well, it's higher and further back than stock. But if it's not noticeable with a casual glance, then I'm good with that.
I did put some duct tape on the shift handle base only because it's in almost constant contact with the rubber boot and I thought that might reduce wear.
No problems at all so far, except that, and I must be honest, liked the feel of the bigger Hurst ball better!
Powershifts, positive snap in place feel are all yours with a simple project. Now I didn't drive the car much with the stock shifter in it, but it made my Muncie feel sloppy. At first, I had a hard time determining where neutral was with the new shifter - it was so tight compared to the stock. IMHO, there's no comparison. I don't want to lunch a $4000 L88 because I missed a shift with my crummy shifter. No way. With any hi power 4 speed combo, you want the most bulletproof install you can. You're pushing 500 ponies and 500 lbs.ft through a trans to sticky tires and shifting at 7, you can't afford a lot of error.Thanks ddoler, SteveD64SS, and Al for the assist.
Hope this helps.
Gene Chaas
Gold Member #62
67 SS396/427
Buffalo, NY
