I know what that one looks like!

I'm looking for an installed picture of the Hurst unit that uses the stock shift ball.

 

Sorry...

 

Hola all, I'm a new member here and also a new owner of a Mineral Grey '05 GT....hope this can serve as an introduction, I've been following this post for some time!

I don't want to do any mods to my new GT, EXCEPT for this...it's the one thing I've been obsessing about. I've been hoping and praying this shifter would be coming out soon ever since ordering my car back in May. That being said, I have a couple of follow-up questions?

1 - Any further comments on the stiffness of this unit? It sounded from davids2toys as if the shifting effort is noticeably increased. I agree, based on experience with Hurst units of the past, it should be smooth almost to the sloppy point, I recall the Hurst shifter in my old '69 Cutlass 442 would almost fool you into thinking it was too sloppy but it engaged the gears quickly and positively every time. I guess what I'm asking is, how is it to live with, and do you consider it smooth enough for a daily driver in heavy traffic? That's what I'd be doing most of the time.

I guess a related question is, was there any force/tension/effort adjustment capability, like the shifter nut that was alluded to on the Steeda unit in a previous post? Or is this just a 'ya get what ya got" kinda deal?

2 - Maybe a stupid question among modders but I'll ask anyways.....are there any warranty implications from installing this? Yep, you guessed it, this question comes from She Who Must Be Obeyed. Is it gonna void the warranty? Being as the car is only 3 days old, and I feel dang lucky to have it, I guess I can see her point!

My feeling is, since Hurst also makes the similar unit offered by Ford parts dept, it shouldn't......or, it should only void the warranty on the factory shifter unit itself which will be gathering dust in the 'spares' pile in the garage.

This unit looks AWESOME and the stock shifter itself is just too puny and sloppy to live up to the rest of the car IMHO. Looks more like an odd stubby growth than a shift lever! I've got my credit card out and ready to order but am hedging based on just these two questions, so any help at all is mucho appreciated.

Oh yeah the "Hurst Equipped" emblem on the dash is JUST TOO FRIKKIN' COOL!!!! I Hope LMPerformance sells those too or I guess you go to Hurst!!!!

Nice t'meet y'all and thanks for any advices......

 

Welcome to the site...get ready to lose a lot of time in here, it is addicting. i will try and help with your questions.
1) It is fine for everyday driving, I do it. Maybe stiff is the wrong word, I called Hurst and they told me it could be a bad bearing and to disconnect the bottom of the shifting arm from the tranny and then go inside car and see how it feels, if it is stiff it is a bad bearing and they would send a replacement if it is smooth , it is fine, well I did this and it was smooth as silk so i guess it is inherent in the tranny and the pooer must magnify it a bit ...who cares, I would order it again in a minute. It is more like a clunck clunk or heavy click click into each gear...a bit notchy!

There is NO adjustments to this shifter...per hurst
There should be absolutely NO warranty issues with a shifter change.
I got the emblems from LM but I got the # from the hurst site and gave it to them.
This shifter is NOT sloppy!
Hope this info helps you.

 

Thanks VERY MUCH for the detailed reply.....after reading and re-reading this thread for quite some time I'm actually honored that you of all people responded.....great review you did earlier!

I also realized afterwards that these are questions I could just as well ask Hurst (and/or Ford) myself so I'm waiting on answers from them for the heck of it....who knows if I'll get any though. So I appreciate it.

Also it's a little unclear about which exact T-handle may fit the threads so I have a tech support email question in to Hurst about this and will share the answer if anyone's interested.

BTW - My wife learned to drive a stick in a '67 GTO with a Hurst shifter and T-handle and after all these years she's still smoother and quicker with a manual trans than anyone else I've seen (and how cool is it that the first thing she learned to do was a big smoky burnout??!) so she's gotta have that....I'm a "plain white ball" kinda dude 'cause I figured it would look old-school WICKED in the black interior of a Mineral Grey GT, and your pictures prove that to be true!

And that emblem on the dash just "makes it".......nice!!!

44 Years old and I only fly and paint simulated helicopters for Flight Sims...... :worship:

 

No problem, I dont why you are so surprised that I responded....good luck with your decision and thanks for the compliments

 

That's just the new guy to the forum kissin' up to the regular members as part of the introductory process.......I have a one-time limit on that so no worries. Appreciate the insight and help!

 

Just got through installing my Hurst shifter last night.

Installation was pretty easy...took me about two hours including putting the front end of the car up on jackstands so I could crawl under from the front. Some of that time was wasted finding my Allen wrench set. :scratch:

As discussed before the shifter is very solid feeling compared to the stock unit. Since the main parts of the shifter are almost identical to the OEM unit I would have to attribute most of the increase in rigidity to the polyurethane mounting bushings used by Hurst instead of the softer OEM bushings. I noticed elsewhere in this forum where someone had installed the polyurethane bushings available from Steeda on their OEM shifter and it had helped a bunch.

The Hurst and Ford Racing Parts shifters that were co-developed look pretty much identical, with the main difference that I see (from pictures) being that the FRP version has a round stick that looks like it would fit the stock shift **** versus the Hurst versions chrome plated flat bar w/logo which has 3/8" x 16 threads on it to fit the Hurst handles and *****. Both of the shifters seem to gain their shorter throws by raising the position of the "cartridge" that holds the pivot ball about 1" higher than stock then (I suspect) adding a little length to the lower part of the lever. The shifter itself has no "detents" and is very smooth, so the slight "thunk-thunk" sound from shifting it must be coming from the transmission itself. My guess is that the firmer polyurethane bushings don't absorb the sound as well as the soft OEM ones did. It's noticeable, but I don't find it bothersome.

As reported by David, the shifting action is very short. I had previously extended the height of my stock shifters **** about 1-1/4" over stock when I mounted an "8-ball" **** on it several months ago, which resulted in longer-than-stock shifter throw, so changeing to the Hurst shifter shortened the total throw of my 1st to 2nd shift from about 5" to about 2" (or less). This, of course, raised the shifting effort somewhat...I find it to be firm but reasonable. Found very little increase in interior cabin noise from the unit...you have to listen carefully to hear any at all.

All told, I'm enjoying the heck out of it. Only driven it for a day now, but I'm sure I'll be bangin' gears like a wildman in no time...

 

It looks like stock...except a little shorter

Seriously, I got that one (without the chrome stick and ball) but got a 2-1/4" white "pony" ball from MRT to put on it.....I just didn't like the chrome stick....but I do like the white ball.

Will put up pics when I get it in (this weekend weather permitting)...

Jay

 

Heh! Finally got time to order th'Hurst unit from Leon at LMPerformance today...it should arrive Wednesday or Thursday and I'll be hoping to install it next weekend.

Just for kicks to swap with the white ball occasionally, I also ordered the T-Handle that's shown on the last page of the PDF instruction sheet that Hurst has on their website for this shifter. I figured since it was included as an accessory with the instructions it should be the right thread size (3/8-16) - Hurst tech support never answered my question about the right T-handle P/N so thanks for verifying the threads, railray. So I went with their P/N 153 4813......will let anyone interested know if it fits or not. For $24 bucks how can ya go wrong.....

Oh yeah...also had to get the emblem for the dashboard....too cool....Think I'll mount it a on the dash about two or three inches away form the right edge on the passenger side, so the dash panel will read "'Hurst Equipped' Airbag"

...should give the passengers something to wonder about.....

 

LOL....I covered the "airbag" on purpose because the emblem looks retro and the airbag doesn't! 2 birds with 1 stone.

 

Heh! LMPerformance delivers, Stoopy installs.....heres some pics for anyone interested:

Had a little problem with the ramps I had available - so here you see, in all it's glory, the creative use of the shadetree mechanic's best friend - wooden planks - used to build a "pre-ramp" to get the overall angle of the ramps lowered and avoid any rubbing against the valence, since it needed just a coupla inches to clear the top flat part of the ramp......yeah real hi-tek I know.....




Yup, higher shift point and harder bushings than stock for sure!



Was a good thing the wife was around to help maneuver this thing down through the console while I was underneath, kinda a tight fit and that trans crossmember down there doesn't help - THANKS for the heads up on the rear metal flange in your review comments, David!



Heeeheeee, man I DIG how that old school look just fits right in!!



Here the T-Handle P/N 153 4813 that I got as well....$24 well spent I say!



...and the obligatory "Hurst Equipped" emblem.....right where I said I'd put it



As for how it works, yup this shifter feels EXTREMELY solid and the throw is much shorter than stock. Shifting effort is noticeably higher and it will take some getting used to - this may not be for everybody! Personally, I like it and it's better than "rowing the boat" on the stock soft shifter which had much longer throw than I thought it should for a car like this. Shifts from any gear to the next are very precise and there's no worry about getting the wrong gear although I didn't have that problem with the stock unit either.

You still feel that you're waiting on the trans synchros to allow you to shift. You CAN bang it around but, well, the whole combo doesn't feel as happy about that as the Hurst/Muncie combo in my old Cutlass 442 did......but, much differences all the wayaround in the two cars anyways....

Overall I'm pretty happy with it, shifts are nice and tight just like I wanted and can't wait to drive around some more and get the full feel!

Gotta say, two thumbs up on it! THANKS for the previous pics, comments and advice!

 

Looks sexy! Good job.

Is it possible to install this shifter without being on a lift or ramps? Just wondering, since my parents have had my ramps ever since I moved out to Maryland .

 

That hurst never gets old, man is it nice
The way everyone describes it makes me want it more because it's all I want in a shifter.

 

Thanks! And...well......no there's no way you'd want to consider installing it without a way to lift the car, ramps or good sturdy jackstands would do. Or a grease pit. 80% of my time was spent laying on my back under the car with my head well past the trans area, my feet probably weren't even sticking out the front of the bumper and I'm 6'1" so you are well under there. Unless you're REALLY thin and I mean like Olive Oyl.

Seriously you'll need some room to work becuase those $#@& little 10mm nuts that hold the rear of the shifter to the bottom inside of the trans tunnel take FOREVER if you don't have a 10mm DEEP DEEP socket....the studs they are on are so long, you can't get a socket on them until they're halfway off, and there's a LOT of turning to do thanks to those long little studs. They also are very tight-threaded so once you break them loose and get them down some you still can't finger-loosen them. Just tight enough to need a wrench for the whole trip down. And they're well at the top of the curved tunnel so there's so much stuff in the way you can only get about an 1/8 turn with the wrench, then pull off, move back, put on, turn 1/8 again, lather, rinse, repeat...... Yeah, you'll want some room under there to fidget around and cuss while you deal with 'em.

But it's all goooooooood!

 

Oh yeah, I got an installation tip to pass on!

Take a friggin' file under the car with you. Normally I don't mind or care or gripe about skinned knuckles, but there is SOME little flashing from the factory casting on the side of the rear trans output shaft area....I kept getting rubbed raw from one certain place on the trans and today I have all these little stupid annoying scratches from some needle-shaped piece of crud, it wouldn't be so bad except for the slight infection that makes it a little hot and tender....dang thing was pin-pricking me when it wasn't scratching me (those aren't freckles)......a minute or two with a file woulda been smart in retrospect. But it's funny how you don't notice this stuff at the time.



Otherwise I'd say it was actually a pleasure to be working under a two-week old car......good lord was it CLEAN......kinda wanna go back under there again and check some more stuff out!

 

Didn't you say you were going to put it over "AIRBAG"? What's that to the right of it?

 

No, no...that's what Dave did. I wanted to give my passengers something to think about.

Then again maybe we need an official mounting template so 10 years from now we can start a rumor about a select group of "limited-edition Hurst-Equipped '05 Mustangs"...or not!

 

Great idea. I'm considering this setup as well. Not certain about white w/black inlay vs. black w/white, seems all the pics have been white w/black.

Anyone have a pic of a black ball installed?

 

I've been watching this one and it look's great!! A great old school touch that will fit perfectly with my ride. Here goes another couple buck's.... :bang: I would say the "Evil GT 500" deserves to be Hurst equiped though.