I am just about ready to finish my auto to 4 speed conversion and with the tranny on the bench I can go through all the gears but first doesnt seem to want to fully engage. Is that an easy linkage adjustment issue 1st to 2nd? The rods are not binding on anything that I can see.

as you say it is on the bench.with a shifter on tranny. there is a hole which a drill bit goes through and adjust shifter and all linkages. than see what happens.

Are you turning the trans as you try to shift it?
These things were really not made to switch gears without being in motion.

Is it a newer Hurst shifter? They have a stop bolt you need to adjust. If it's not correct, it will not engage all the way 1 & 3, 2 & 4. There's one on the front and back of shifter. Hurst website has a real easy procedure to follow if it's the replacement Hurst Comp shifter.

rod just needed to be turned back about 6 turns. sorry for the question-my first 4 speed. it was a piece of cake. got another stupid question though. what purpose does the stop bolts serve? if i shift nicely into all the gears, i assume i dont need to mess with them?

One of the reasons for the stops are to help prevent hitting the console during shifting. Especially when going into 2nd hard. It also doesn't allow you to overengage the gears in place. Not sure if thats much of a problem. You can sometimes feel it in the shifter if you push the handle once it's in gear. They just give you a firm stop to come against. Here's the procedure from Hurst for the neutral and stop bolt adjustments.


What is the proper way to adjust my Hurst four speed shifter?

There is a 1/4 inch hole at the bottom of the Hurst mechanism that runs through all three levers. This is called the neutral alignment hole. To ensure proper adjustment, run the shifter from first into second and then back to neutral. Insert the neutral alignment pin (or a 1/4 inch drill bit) into the neutral alignment hole. If the 1-2 lever interferes with the smooth insertion of the alignment pin, remove the 1-2 linkage rod from the shifter and thread the adjuster button either in or out to eliminate the interference. Repeat this procedure with the 3-4 lever and reverse. To adjust the stop bolts, back the bolts out of the shifter frame until only a few threads remain. Push the stick firmly into third gear and hold. Screw in the stop bolt until contact is made. Release the stick and back the stop bolt out one turn and tighten the jamnut. Push the stick into fourth gear and repeat the procedure.