Hi everyone,

I have a 68 with a muncie M21. It has the hurst shifter as well. The gear shifter hits the console in 2 and 4th but if I shift gently it does not hit the console. So after I am in 2nd or 4th gear it is not touching. It is the slack in the shifter that when you wiggle it, hits the console. When you shift at a normal rate (not super gentle) you end up hitting the console from the slack.

If it is due to slack, is it still worth looking at the alignment of the 3 rods? they look all lined up in neutral but maybe I need to re-center neutral reference and shift everything forward slightly? Is it possible that the rods are correctly aligned since every gear works fine but I still need to readjust the neutral reference to have the shifter a little more forward so 2nd and 4th don't touch the center console? I can take pictures tonight if that will help.

Thank you in advance for your advice everyone.

If your shifter is a competition plus you can move the stops in a bit. If not you may have some worn linkage. There isn't much wiggle room in the 4 speed console so it took some tinkering to get mine just right.

I think you might have to bend the shifter handle. I had left my console move with the shifter and used the space under the console to hide da beer!

The tranny was rebuilt about 3k miles ago if that helps narrow anything down. I will try to take pictures tonight of the linkage and shifter. I really appreciate the help, thank you!

Can you slide the console back a bit?

I can do that but not sure if the console is adjustable? I guess my main question is, can there exist a scenario that the rods are correctly aligned when in true neutral yet the play in the shifter cause it to still hit the console? If you guys tell me yes and that adjusting the rods will not cure the problem and only misalign everything then I will leave it alone and only attempt to shift the console back very slightly if it is adjustable. I will crawl under it tonight and post some pictures.

For the shifter to work correctly the neutral position has to be right on. Is the chrome shift lever inside the car round or rectangular? When you crawl under the car look for stop bolts on the shifter (hurst competition plus). This will be the easiest fix if it is one. You can slide the console around but will have to move the console mounts.

I'm betting the shifter needs to be rebuilt.

Michigan Larry, it shifts fine (besides a rattle I hear only in 4th gear, not sure if that means anything is out of adjustment or just something rattling) but if I recall it is a rectangular lever. Also when I was under the car I believe I saw it say Hurst competition and observing the mechanism it looked like there was an adjustment on the lever itself so you could slide the lever (on an arc) and then tighten a bolt after you adjust it to where you want it. I wasn't sure if I was seeing things last night but is that what you are referring to? It looked like it was already maxed out to one side (towards the direction I need to fix this, meaning I'm out of room for adjustment), if so what does that mean? a shifter rebuild or is it something else is out of adjustment?

I was trying to tell you not to adjust your shift rods to try to make it not hit. If it is a comp + there should be two "stop" bolts on the front of the shifter. This is for limiting the throw in second and forth so you don't damage the shifter, rods or the tranny. You should be able to move them in an limit the distance the shifter will travel in 2nd and 4th. Be careful that you don't over do it and keep the tranny from making a full shift. Go to the Hurst website and look for adjustment instructions for a comp +. They do a much better job than I can.

The rattle in fourth could be a sign the shifter needs a rebuild.

Thank Michigan Larry, I appreciate it. Right I am not going to touch the shift rods, I was referring to something I saw that looked like stop adjustment on the shift lever. I will take a look tonight and post some pictures. It would be nice if it was an easy fix like adjusting the stops. What I will do is shift into second gear and see if there is any room on the stop to reduce the slop. The rattle in fourth should not damage anything when driving I hope.

Depends on if it's a stock shifter or aftermarket. My comp+ shifter doesn't have stops( not adjustable ones anyway). I wonder if you don't just have the wrong shifter lever.

ok guys sorry about the late photos (working on scraping underbody and painting, see body section in forum for pics).

Here are some pics of the shifter, it looks like it is a comp+ shifter, I see the stops that Michigan Larry mentioned, hard to reach but I assume they are adjustable. Firebob mentioned his are not? I did take a picture of the other bolt that can move the entire shifter lever, but then I'd need to readjust the linkage, but it seems its maxed out already in the direction I would want to prevent 2nd gear from hitting the console slightly, so I think adjusting the stop is the only way.

Hurst competition plus 3216274 3306126, I believe this is the correct one for the car.



Here's the other bolt (not the stop, I was mentioning)

There should be a stop bolt on both ends. One limits travel in 3rd and the other in 2nd and 4th.

Found this on another site. Hope it clears it up for you.

The stop bolts are there to eliminate over shifting the gears on the main shaft. To properly adjust them, loosen both bolts, step on clutch pedal (set e-brake first!)push shifter into first gear firmly but do not force it. Tighten the rear stop bolt until it just touches the linkage, now tighten the jam nut. Now put the shifter in second and repeat the process with the front bolt. This is all assuming that you installed the shifter corectly using the nylon alignment pin that goes therough the shifter body. If not do that first. Remove the shifter arms from the trans, insert the pin through the notch in the shifter body, now with the trans levers set in the neutral (center) position, re install the arms to the trans. If the arms do not slip over the studs on the trans lever rotate the rods to make them fit. Remove the pin and re-adjust the stops. Should be perfect now!

Found this also.

There is a 1/4 inch hole at the bottom of the Hurst mechanism that runs through all three levers. This is called the neutral alignment hole. To ensure proper adjustment, run the shifter from first into second and then back to neutral. Insert the neutral alignment pin (or a 1/4 inch drill bit) into the neutral alignment hole. If the 1-2 lever interferes with the smooth insertion of the alignment pin, remove the 1-2 linkage rod from the shifter and thread the adjuster button either in or out to eliminate the interference. Repeat this procedure with the 3-4 lever and reverse. To adjust the stop bolts, back the bolts out of the shifter frame until only a few threads remain. Push the stick firmly into third gear and hold. Screw in the stop bolt until contact is made. Release the stick and back the stop bolt out one turn and tighten the jamnut. Push the stick into fourth gear and repeat the procedure.

Thank you very much for your help Michigan Larry, I greatly appreciate it. I believe the linkage is all aligned when I was looking at it last night so it is a matter of adjusting the 2nd/4th stop. (The picture of the other bolt I posted I believe moves the entire shifter assembly relative to the transmission, it's already pegged at the direction I need it so I will leave that alone and only touch the stop). The stop for 2nd/4th is pretty hard to reach, any recommendations on what tools will fit best in there?

I adjusted the stop bolt and the shifter no longer hits the console! thanks guys! there is very little room for adjustment but I got it just right.