1962 4 Speed transmission options

Hurst actually made a round shifter handle as well as the flat one and in the '60s you could buy the short straight one like you would use in a corvette or a bent one for use with a bench seat.

I am not sure of when that came about but I used saginaw trannies a lot. I bought a crashed '34 for the drivetrain in the later '60s that was supposed to have been built in the early '60s and it had a sag in it.

 

The Saginaw 3 and 4 speeds came along in 1966. As PB said, Hurst sold shifters with a variety of handle shapes for both bench and bucket seat cars. With the exception of the Mystery shifter, the only Hursts I ever saw with round handles were for factory applications, like the shifter that came in my '64 GTO. Speaking of which, in '64, even though it was a Hurst shifter, there was no "HURST" on the handle; apparently, the old farts in charge at Pontiac didn't want to advertise someone else's product. They were too clueless to realize that a Hurst shifter would help to sell their cars to the market the GTO was intended for.

 

Thanks! What month or what is on the cover. Glad I kept every issue since the first one I bought July 1961. Bob

 

Not a four speed, but this ad from the July 1961 Hot Rod shows the first factory application (as far as I know) of a Hurst shifter even though it's a three speed. Note that the handle wasn't the flat style.



This is from the May 1962 Motor Trend, it shows a four speed shifter with the flat handle similar to what we still see today, although it's not a removable handle.

 

The yoyo's were on hursts around that time too werent they??

 

Yes, but I've only seen three speed shifters with the integral yoyo knob.

 

Now, you're really taxing me. Let me take a look in my magazine mountain.

 

Heathen,
I wasn't sure that the Sag was early enough for a suggestion. I always used them because they fit mu budget better than a Muncie unless I just happened into a Muncie in a trade or the like. But I didn't start building on my own until '68.

A friend had an all stock Hawk GT a 4 speed car and it had a round handle hurst. Look like a Mystery Shifter but I can't imagine anyone using one in a stock vehicle.

Same here.

I suppose you could have put a Yo Yo handle shift lever in a 4 speed shifter of you really wanted to. May be a neat trick to do to a sleeper. It would give it the " I screwed with my mom's car" look.

By the way Heathen you been dealin' out some good information here lately. Just thought I'd say it if no one else does.

 

Thanks. I'm sure that I'll suck up some free information from someone else and even it up.

 

X2. This is the kind of automotive knowledge that I enjoy learning about. Especially at my age. Without Internet and especially the HAMB, I wouldn't be able to learn from the people who experienced the good olden days themselves.

Thanks for sharing!


iPhone - TJJ app

 

Listen to it now---some day, I'll just be a senile old bastard sitting in a wheelchair in a home someplace yelling things like "fuelie heads" and "close ratio Muncie" to the baffled nurses as they pass by.

 

Thanks to everyone that posted info on this thread! Now that I'll be looking for a '62 or older dated T-10 should I bother looking for one that was in a Strudebaker, Chevy or Ford? Is one better than the other?

 

OMFG! I just saw my future!!! And its not pretty!

 

This has been sitting under the lathe for years, how can you tell what year, etc. it was made? Thanks......................

 

Looks like September 19 but a can't be sure on the last two didgets. Bob

 

The tailstock looks like 9/19/60, making it an out of an early '61 model.

 

It seems to me that although Studebaker T-10s had a Chevrolet style bolt pattern, there was something different about them, like maybe the input shaft length. Of couse, the T-10s used in Fords had the '49-'64 Ford style bolt pattern. Did you say that you've already got an adapter?

 

No adapter yet, got an email from a HEMI guy in Vermont telling me what works best.

 

I think it may say '59 from the shape of the blur.. A more clear picture would confirm what year it is.


iPhone - TJJ app

 

Truer words were never spoken. Anyone who was around back then and had the pleasure of driving with both transmissions will tell you the B/W shifted like butter compared to the Muncies. I've got one out of a '62 Vette (340hp) that was rolled with only 3,000 miles on the clock. It's the smoothest shifting transmission I own (I've got 5 Muncies, 2 Ford toploaders also) and all of them have been in multiple cars over the years. I've tried to somewhat baby the B/W when it's in something because I don't want to hurt it but there is still the occasion during a stoplight encounter that the Hurst gets rowed with my right foot glued to the firewall and the tach at 6,000+. Just let the engine go a bit past the peak torque, tease the clutch (hardly enough to release it) and grab a gear. Stirring hot fudge in a double boiler isn't any smoother.

Frank

 

It's Monday February 24, 2025 and I received a "Like" on this thread from 1Nimrod. Read through all three pages, last post was 14 years ago, time sure does fly by. No progress to report, all the bits & pieces are still here and I'm still looking for a T10. Have a great week!

Bob

 

It's a great read...
I really enjoyed all the members pulling from their past...

Dustin Sirrine

 

That’s not correct, as Chrysler offered the rare and fragile Pont A Mousson four speed in the early sixties, before their in house NP four speed was tooled.

That early transmission was pretty fragile as the max wedge cars used a three speed or Torqueflite, and not a four speed.

The Chrysler Newport had a floor shift three sold as standard equipment back then, as the dash and steering column design wouldn’t accommodate a column mounted shifter.

you might consider going that route, although first gear wasn’t synchronized.

Contrary to popular opinion, four speeds weren’t common to cars in 1962, except the Corvette, 61.62 Chevies, 62 Fords (61 was shipped in the trunk for dealer installation), and some pontiacs.

I don’t think it was even available until after 1957 (probably 59 at the earliest) in the Chevy passenger car, although NHRA corrupted the rules to allow its use since it was a corvette option. They did the same thing to allow use of the Hydramatic in early Chevy sedan deliveries of the era, since it was available in GMC trucks.