Hurst Equipped 1970s style

[MoparGuy68]

My car has a "Hurst Equipped" emblem on the rear of the deck lid. But, being a factory column shift car (and still that way), it's not "Hurst Equipped".. This was troubling me.. I could remove the emblem, but it has probably been on the car since it was repainted, over 18 years ago. If I remove it, the paint underneath won't match the paint on the rest of the deck lid.

So, began my quest to make my car officially "Hurst Equipped" in a vintage way.

Initially, I went with the most outrageous choice, looking for a Lightning Rods setup. This path almost happened when I was the high bidder on an Ebay auction. At the 2 second mark, I was sniped, being out bid in the closing 2 seconds. Probably was a good thing.. Would have been a lot of money to pay for an old shifter, even being the crazy hydra of shifters that it is. Plus the Lightning Rods are so 1980s and my car is 1970s.

Instead I obtained two vintage 1970s Hurst Auto/Stick II shifters, from a guy named "Jesus", for 1/10th of the cost that the Lightning Rods sold for. One was missing a spring and the other is not ratcheting correctly. Between the two of them, I should have one working shifter.

With them, I got the same black plastic console cover shown in the 1973 vintage magazine ad. It's curvy shaped like my car, and goes with the black interior. Cover has a few scrapes and scratches, but so does the car.. Jesus included what he claims is a Mopar trans pan bracket and shaft arm.

I need to source a cable, and the cable bracket that bolts to the lower front of the shifter. This bracket is missing from both shifters, and Jesus didn't have one. He threw in a polished T-handle, but it doesn't say "Hurst" on it, and it's not a dedicated 3/8 -16 thread (the hole has two thread sizes in one). I will replace it with either a correct "Hurst" T-handle or black ball knob (like seen in the vintage ad). Haven't decided yet.

I've just placed the shifter and factory cassette player in the car for a few photos, to see how they look together. Haven't started any installation yet. Eventually I'll convert the column to a floor shift style column replacing the 3 collars.

Maybe someone else on here, is running an Auto/Stick II in their car? Or maybe I will be the only one..

 

[1967coronet]

I like it...
Plus you can't go wrong buying from
Jesus.
If all that does not work out.
Pop that emblem off the lid, if they removed it at paint time your good.
If they painted around it just put some double side 3m tape on the back and slap it back on.
Myself I like it, gives you something to discuss with the numbers guys.

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Maybe someone had the old Hurst mag wheels on the car back in the day... Those are now high$$ collectors items.

 

[MoparGuy68]

Maybe someone had the old Hurst mag wheels on the car back in the day... Those are now high$$ collectors items.

Interesting.. I had to look up these Hurst wheels.. I did not know that "virtually all aftermarket wheels were poorly engineered and cheaply built" back then. Even Cragar S/S were in the same category? I would think today, there should be even MORE poorly engineered and cheaply built wheels to choose from. I'll be starting a wheel thread soon, as that is something I need to address on my car next, after electrical repairs.

Here is a Hot Rod Magazine article about the Hurst wheels: https://www.hotrod.com/articles/0806phr-hurst-wheel/

 

[70chall440]

A lot of work not to remove a $21 emblem.. just saying. I can't stand column shipped muscle cars personally so I would be doing something else as well, but I am not sure it would be a vintage, but thats a personal decision. Looks good either way.

 

[moparedtn]

They'll stick those dang emblems on anything, I swear....

 

[70chall440]

I got one with my new pistol grip I bought for my 70 RR, highly doubt I would ever stick it onto a car but each to his own.

 

[MoparGuy68]

A lot of work not to remove a $21 emblem.. just saying. I can't stand column shipped muscle cars personally so I would be doing something else as well, but I am not sure it would be a vintage, but thats a personal decision. Looks good either way.

I'm not a fan of column shifters either.. When the car had headers it was impossible to shift down into 1st gear. Now with manifolds I can, but the shifter actuation leaves a lot to be desired, it kinda sucks..

Who orders their Mopar muscle car with a Torqueflite automatic, bucket seats and a tachometer, but doesn't spend the extra $65 bucks, or so, for a console with slapstick shifter? Other than the original owner of my car, who the hell does this?? These kind of cars should have ALL come standard with a floor shift, automatic or not.

I didn't really see any currently produced Hurst shifter I like. Not really liking the Quarter Stick. Don't find the dog legged Promatic 2 very appealing either. And maybe I'm after the time machine car, where I can sit inside it and feel like I was transported back to the 1970s..

 

[70chall440]

I completely agree on all counts. AT shifters have not really gotten any better looking over the years. I kinda like the quarter stick but it has to be in the right car/setup. I have to say that when it comes to AT shifters, the factory ones were probably the best looking.

 

[Shorthorse]

Maybe someone had the old Hurst mag wheels on the car back in the day... Those are now high$$ collectors items.

They were packaged and sold in metal cans. Even those cans sell for high dollar.