Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train Shifter

Alright guys, I have a '68 C10 1'2 ton with a 3 speed on the column. I love the 3 on the tree, but it's not good for racing. I'm thinking of swapping to a floor shifter. I'm also fininshing up the installation of a fuel cell, so I can get the tank out of the cab. I think I should end up with a little bit more room then. What shifters would y'all recommend. I've seen the Hurst Mastershift 3-speed in Jegs, but it's $99.99 for the shifter and $89.99 for the installation kit. I've heard some bad things about the generic shifters (really sloppy shifting), so I'm trying to get some opinions. Thanks. John.

What you've seen/heard is correct. Your only other real option would be to find a factory floor shifter and adapt it to your truck. My Mom's old '74 Nova was a 250/3spd floor shift car, if that helps. Try looking at other makes also, since the shifter isn't going to care what its on, just as long as it's mounted properly.

The olny thing I'm really going to be worried about is stick placement and stick height. I have the stock bench seat in the truck, and I'm 6'4" so short shifters won't work too well. Anybody else know of cars that came with 3 speed floor shifters? Thanks for the help so far. John.

As for stick height, you're probably screwed either way. I ran a Hurst Indy Truck shifter in my '53 for years, but it was way too short for me, so I cut off the arm where it wouldn't show (below boot) and welded on a 1/2" round bar bent to where I wanted it. You will probably need to do the same.

gearhead--Thanks. I figured I'd have to make some mods to the shifter height. I've been looking at the Mastershift 3-speed by Hurst, jegs #530-mastershift. It's seems like the best shifter out there, but it's kinda expensive. I have a shifter from a Hurst Edition 442, and was wondering if the mastershift installation would work with this shifter. I know I would probably have to lengthen the shifter, or would it be worth it to just spend the extra $99.99 to get the shifter also? Any ideas? Thanks. John.

Hi John, Pony up the dough for the best shifter you can find. If you are going racing, especially drag racing like I do, it is critical. The best shifter I ever had was a Hurst Competition Plus 4-speed in my '66 Corvette 327/300 hp. I bought the shifter new and other than changing the wheels and tires it was the only non-stock item on her. If I remember right the shifter uses ball bearings instead of bushings. It was tight, PRECISE, and very very smooth. I don't know why GM didn't put them in as original equipment. That's the first thing most guys do, replace the factory shifter. I had saved for that '66 Corvette Roadster from the time I was 10 years old and paid $2000 for it as a 6-year old used car in 1972. I got sick a few years ago and had to sell her along with a '72 Corvette Coupe I had picked up along the way. It tore my guts out to part with them. A shifter is an important performance item so treat yourself to the best you can afford! You'll be glad you did every time you grab those gears.
Ken B

I'll second that on the Competition Plus. I had one one a '68 GTO that I beat on all the time. Once the gates were properly adjusted for width and throw, it never messed up... I was the one that missed the gears! That 442 shifter may be a Competition model, which is almost as good as the Plus. They came stock on a couple years of the GTO, 442, and Buick GS models with the 400 and 455 motors.

There is another posibility, although slim. The Roadunners, Satellites, Barracudas and such had a great shifter, and the large cars used a longer shaft to raise the height, especially those that had the pistol grip. You might want to ask around and see if somebody has one.

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David
newbie #4153

Thanks for the input guys. I'm going to hold off on the shifter until I can get some more dough. I just got through installing my fuel cell, pulling out the old tank, and cleaning the carpet. I always had tons of gas fumes in the cab with the stock tank. After I pulled it out and was moving it around I saw that it had a hole in the side of the tank. You couldn't even tell it was there. Anyway the interior looks muck cleaner, and no more fumes. Next item is installing a new rear main seal. Thanks for the help guys. John.