I know Hurst makes floor shifters for the old P/U I recently bought, but are there any others out there?

I seem to remember "Mr. Gasket" and "FOX" and a "Mystery-Shifter" way back when I was in highschool in the '60's??

And I guess, "Indy" is still a Hurst shifter, isn't it?

I just want to know what might be available is all..

pdq67

http://go.mrgasket.com/ProductDetails.aspx?brandId=0&productID=20301&majID=800&minID=8007&selection=22&minselection=5

This is the Mr. Gasket Daytona Shifter for trucks. The mechanism looks mighty like my old Spark-O-Matic shifter, which I would recommend wholeheartedly but they don't make them any more.

Thanks Jim,

I will look into it.

Seems like I remember several cheaper 3-speed shifters when I was a kid, but can't seem to find them on the web??

FOX, Mystery Shifter, Mr. Gasket to name three and Hurst's Indy Shifter is still out there...

Of course, the old Competition Plus, but it was always made for four-speeds if I recall??

pdq67

Hurst's good three speed shifter was the Synchro-lok. The Mystery shifter was the low end of Hurst's packages back when none of us could afford the 4 speeds.

The Spark-O-Matic was the cheapest shifter around in the 60's and 70's. Had one in my 63 Bel Air back in 1970. They quit making them somewhere around 75 or 76. The plant was about 15 miles from where I used to live in NY. The Indy Truck 3-Speed shifter is available for under
$80.00 bucks. It is made by Hurst. If the stick is not the perfect length or shape, you can measure what you are looking for and order a stick from Hurst through Car Quest or O'Reilly's. A replacement stick will cost you almost as much as the shifter. Been there, done that. I have a Hurst Street Super Shifter in the 69. The straight stick is a knuckle buster. The bent stick cost $65.00.

Thanks 69,

I knew there were more shifters out there but didn't know if any of the "cheaper" ones were still around?

I do know the cheap one I had in my '57 Chevy worked fine as well as the one I put in my Stude V-8 powered '52 Willis H/T!!

Anybody recall a "FOX" shifter???

pdq67

I don't recall ever seeing a Fox Shifter. Was it a regionally made and distributed item? I grew up in upstate New York in the 60's and left in the early 70's. Hurst and Spark-O-Matic were the two standards in shifters.

Maybe my bad?? But "FOX" sticks in my feeble old mind??

pdq67

I just won an ebay motors deal for a new Hurst Indy 3-speed Truck floor shifter PN 501-0016 so now have my old sloppy column shift linkage problem solved!!

And I ordered a new cat. for it today b/c somebody took it off and pitched it so hopefully if the weather holds, I can get the old '80, C/10 fixed up so it will pass inspection and licensed and then give it to my son for a decent old Work Truck..

Heck, if it woulda been a '79, I wouldn't have had to have put the cat. back on, but I figure if I kept it in the garage for a year, my wife would have a fit!!!

pdq67

How much did you give for the shifter? The weather is perfect today and tomorrow for working on a car in Missouri. It is supposed to be up to 70 in the Columbia/Jefferson City area. If you were putting historical plates on it, Missouri has the rolling 25 year law that exempts historically plated vehicles from safety and emissions inspections. As you know there are mileage limitations if you go that route.

Hey Paul, how about Foxcraft for the name of that shifter.

69X11SS,

I gave what the opening bid was for it like $29.99 plus the S&H and the wife insured it for $2.00 more. I figure it's better then half the price of a new one so is a bargain ta me anytime I can save 50 percent on something new!!!

I don't want to go historical plates b/c it's going to be a work truck.

AND it is NICE weather-wise here too!!!!

Cam67,

I bet that's it!! I do remember "FOX" was in the name!!

Alotta us country kids couldn't afford Hurst shifters so bought the cheaper ones for our "cheaper" rides AND they worked fine when you kept them,clean, lubed and adjusted with the locknuts tight!!

pdq67

Amen Brother, When I first found my used Spark-O-Matic shifter for my 63 Bel Air, I din't have the correct shifter arms for the trans so they were in the down position. So that meant that 1st upper left, reverse was lower left, second was lower right and third was upper right. It took some getting used to until I had my uncle make me a set of arms that worked correctly.

If it's a 3-speed stick, check out the Mastershift by Hurst. It's the equivalent of the Competition Plus for 3 speeds, basically (not a universal shifter).

All I want now is to just get the old P/U reliable so I can give it to my son. I doubt if he could unstick, stuck column shift linkage is all, that's why I'm installing a floor shifter in it.

A side note: I pulled the drums off the rear and they are both LOADED with crud b/c both axle seals are shot! I'm going to repair everything back stock.

I just found out it has stock, 2.76 rearend gears's in it so even though I wanted to later install a car four-speed, I might have to go a "granny-low" four-speed due to them being mileage gears?? I wondered why it had to be shifted back to second going up hill, now I know... That and the big, 11-15LT tires on the back..

My son might need the "granny-low" tranny to be able to daily work the old truck??

pdq67

Paul, you might check around the salvage yards for a granny low truck saginaw 4 speed. Its been years since I have looked for one, but around here I used to be able to find them for under $100 from the salvage yards.
I never knew gm put the 2.76's in the 6 cylinder trucks. I have seen that gear a few times on the 350/auto trucks. Heck, my much lighter '78 nova had 2.73's with the 250/3 speed, and it ran fine and got over 22 mpg on the highway.

Travis,

My nephew's buddy's half-brother has an old P/U about like the one I got, but it is all rusted up, even though it has been patched up and painted so that it doesn't look all that bad from 50 feet.

When I had originally told my nephew about the 400 motor, I also told him to buy the granny tranny outta the half-brother's truck and bring it down when he picked up the 400. But I backed outta buying it before I knew the old P/U I bought had the 2.76 gears in it so may have ta go back to him and tell him to buy it again??

Travis, do you, (or anybody else), know if the old B/W 3.42 low or the Saginaw 3.50 low geared four speeds will bolt into the old '80 P/U I have so that it will work better with the 2.76 rearend gears??

pdq67

ttt...

Anybody help me on the P/U tranny swapping deal??

pdq67

Its my understanding that almost all, if not all, gm saginaw trannys are directly swappable. 4 speed granny low saginaws were actually pretty common in the 70's gm trucks with 4 speeds/6 cylinders. Theres another one called the sm465 with a really deep 1st gear, that is popular with the off roading crowd, and is a very heavy duty 4 speed truck tranny.

Thanks Travis,

I'm going to look deeper into this b/c I just know my on won't like the 3-speed, 2.76 gears and 11-15 LT tires..

Heck, and to me, it just doesn't seem like all that much of a work truck, geared that way, but I may be wrong?? I like the big tires tho..

pdq67