Ok, I thought the hard part of this new clutch/tranny rebuild project was gonna be just getting the tranny back into the car but it seems that my shifter swap is causing the most issues.

So when I took the M-21 Muncie out, I saw that the previous owner had welded up a plate for the shifter to mount to and then attached the plate to the crossmember. They also didnt use bushings on the shifter end of the rods which made things sloppy and since the shifter was not mounted to the tranny I figured the shift linkage probably got a lot of undue torque on it since one end was solid and the other might move a bit and one rod rubbed the undercarriage a bit as well. Thinking that they just didnt want to buy the install kit (thus the welded plate), I decided to buy a new shifter with the appropriate install kit. ANyway, now I think I understand what they were going thru.

With the new hurst shifter attached to the tranny with the proper install kit (one with plate that attaches to tranny and U bolt), I mounted the tranny back up only to find out that the shifter lever (that the stick attachs to) is too far forward and to the right in the tunnel hole. Eeven if I was to cut the hole open larger, the stick wouldnt fit thru the console bezel--it would be far right and forward. I tried adjusting shifter back all the way via slotted hole in mounting plate but still too far forward. The "Camaro" shifter seems to have no hope at all of ever fitting into my 67. I dont see how I can move the console to right if it's jsut sitting on the tunnel.

So i got a different hurst shifter.--one where the lever just sticks straight up rather than veer forward and right with a tilt like the Camaro shifter does. But even with the different stick that has a 90 degree bend with about an inch offset to right, I'm too far left in the hole now and the stick is too low as well. Grrrrrr

Now I'm contemplating either a) fabricating an adapter that will move the stick to right and up a bit (sort of a Z shape) or b) cut the stick and weld in a piece(s) to move it over and up.

Does anyone have any suggestions of comments as to why this is such a PITA? I would have really liked to use the "Camaro" shifter but that seems impossible. I've seen quite a few posts of people with shifter issues so I'm guessing I'm not alone here. The car was not an original 4 speed so I'm assuming that's part of the problem.

Thanks for any help or commiseration...

Mark

What shifter are you talking about!

In the old days when we didn't care about everything being "original" I would just heat & bend the handle until it fits. The chrome will turn blue where you heat it but that part should be hidden by the boot.

The "Camaro" shifter is 3914339 and the other one (straight lever) is 3916848.

Yeah, I'm thinking about the heat and bend or weld option at this point. I dont really care about originality.

Thanks

I had the same problem on my 67. Check the mounting plate. The rounded area on the plate where the u-bolt goes thru should sit on the smooth end of the tail housing about 1/2 way. If it is to far forward it pulls inside the end when u-bolt is tightened. Result, shifter to far to right. If this is the case, make your self a shim to go between the plate and the tranny so that it is even with the smooth end when the u-bolt is tightened. The front back thing can be fixed by extending the slot on the plate a little bit. Just grind it out a little. Remember a 1/4 at the plate will probably equal a 1/2" or so at the shifter. You don't want to go to much, it will raise you shifter to high. I have seen this a lot, I know that back in the day GM was a little sloppy with a few things, and I have seen the holes in the tranny mounts very 1/4"- 5/16", that will do it for sure. Hope this helps.

Do you have the correct chrome stick? The 67-68 Camaro is 4106

If you have all the correct Hurst parts, it should fit.

Is your car an original 4 speed car? Some peope have problems with the hole when they convert from an auto trans car.