my 69 has a 4 speed muncie with a new hurst shifter. worked great for about a year, but suddenly its giving me trouble, sometimes. at a full stop i have to force it into 1st. shifts better while moving. had to shut off the motor to get it in reverse. then later today it was working fine. at least the forward gears anyhow. any ideas
thanks

I would start by checking the basic adjustments of the shift rods making sure they are not bent or wore-out, next I would look at the hurst shifter and make sure it is clean and lubed under the dust cover and the shims between the plates are not worn out.

have you checked oil level in it? I know its manual, but....

If you believe in the saying: "Can't find it then grind it" then your Syncro rings are worn.

When you mean you have to shut the car off because it would grind hard if you forced it or you just push on the shifter and it feels like a brick wall? I wonder if your clutch is sticking to the pressure plate.

Sounds like the clutch or the pilot bearing.

I second Bluebird

It does sound like the clutch might not be disengaging enough. Also the adjustment of the shifter may have "shifted". I can't remember if it was 1/8 or 1/4" drill(1/4 sounds too big) slipped into the aligning hole to align all the shift rods.

Firebob is correct, start with adjusting the shifter itself. When you bought the new Hurst shifter it would have come with a plastic pin that you push through the notch in the shift levers. Adjust the shift levers by moving the nuts on the shift arm trunions until the notch in each shift lever lines up perfectly with one another.

Basically loosen the trunions on all shift arms, push the plastic pin through all the notches and tighten down the nuts that hold the trunions in place.

Then do a cluch adjustment and I'd be willing to bet you'll solve the problem. Also, and this goes for all Muncie 4-speeds. When attempting to put the car in reverse, always go to third gear first, THEN into reverse. This process re-aligns/resets ALL the syncros inside the trans thus allowing for a "grindless" reverse gear. A trick I've seen MANY old school 4-speed guys use and it saves wear on the syncros!

If you can't find the plastic pin a 1/4" drill bit will work also.

Joe,
I'll bet going into third first and then to reverse with no grind has more to do with the lag time than with aligning anything in the trans. There are no syncros for the reverse gear. That's pretty much why they grind. It's also why they wear out. Also why it's a good idea to replace the reverse gear any time you tear one down. You just have to give it a second to stop spinning so the gears will mesh better.
Just from my limited experience rebuild one.

Firebob, I'm going by what I've been told and all I can tell ya is that is works. My M21 was completely rebuilt and converted to an M22 by a guy who knows them like nobody else. He was the one who told me and since then I've had a couple of other older hard core 4-speed guys tell me the exact same thing. Anway, if you do the 3rd gear before reverse trick it will not grind and or clunk and it will save a ton of wear & tear on the trans...

Putting it in any gear before slipping it into reverse will stop any rotation in the transmision and allow a grind free shift into reverse. Any little bit of clutch drag will get things rotating in neutral pretty easily.

i'm leaning toward pressure plate. i hear rattling sometimes when accelerating. anyone know if a scatter shield can be removed with engine in car?

Yes.
I support engine with a large wood block between floor jack and oil pan.
One time in a hurry jambed small short boards between cylinder heads and firewall.
It was a race car, not a beauty queen.

a piece of the metal clip on the clutch fork was broke(by the throw out bearing). possibly my problem.

new clutch, pressure plate, pilot bearing, throw out bearing, clutch fork. same problem. shifter is adjusted correctly, adjusting rod can't go any further out. fluid is fill. rrrrrrrrr