Technical THREE SPEED SHIFTERS

I have a Hurst Mystery shift in the garage, it was available in the late '50s. I am pretty sure that Fenton was available and perhaps Sparkomatic. I have seen driver quality Mystery Shifts going for about 150.00 these days and crusty ones for about 80. Hurst Yo-Yo shifters were around back then, but they are as rare as hens teeth. Sparkomatic marketed a Yo-Yo shifter after that like in the mid 60s but it looks just like the Hurst so you could pass it off.

Any other 50s era brand is so pricey its scary

 

This is going in a Model A, so there is no stock linkage there.

 

THANKS for this! what does it look like? anything like the Hurst performance plus? or the other Hurst shifters pictured in this thread?

 

Still can't grasp why anyone with a toploader Frod 3 speed wouldn't simply remove the forks and replace the top tin cover with a Jeep REAL SHIFT TOWER! Real floor shift. No linkage.

 

The T-85 is not a toploader, it's a side loader with linkage arms on the side.

 

Depends on when it was produced. The later shifters had a flat shift handle. But the shifter that gave it its name had a round handle, like a swan neck looking shift handle. it was adjustable to clear the seat and be more comfortable for the driver. I would commonly come loose hence the name, its a mystery what gear you are in. LOL

here is an early model. Note the jam nut on the bottom of the handle.



here is a better pic

 

Got you, thanks for the photo... I have to say, that does not look like a great design.

 

I do not have a pic and they are actually quite rare. Mine is the flat 2 bolt handle. The most common are the earlier ones. I am actually pretty fond of the earlier model. We used to get the stick adjusted and tack weld them when i was in high school. They are an excellent bench seat handle.

 

There's only one shifter for a three speed transmission in my opinion, the Hurst Syncro-Loc.

 

Her is a fabricated 3 spd w/o.d. from the Studebaker site, from 2009, just to get ideas rolling
around in your mind.. Link with more photos here:

Studebaker Drivers Club, Inc.® - Hurst Shifter on T-86 w--o/d -- Pictures OLD GUYS (studebaker-info.org)

 

Spark o matic is total junk, I had one in my 51 Merc in 1963 and that bugger always got stuck between gears.

There are just better shifters around. Hurst Indy shifters can usually be found pretty reaonable and you can find regular Hurst 3 speed shifters.

It isn't the shifter that has to be authentic to 1960 it is the proper shift handle and knob that have to be authentic.

Don't pass up a cheap but decent 4 speed shifter, they will shift a 3 speed easily enough if you just let the reverse lever hang and go along for the ride. I had my Competition plus on my 48 for a while with the 3 speed before I traded my buddy out of a 3 speed Hurst shifter and stuck the Competition plus back in the cabinet.

 

That is Fact.. Glad you said it.
Another name that always felt 'breakable' was Foxcraft.
I also had a Lancer ( same as Valiant ) slant six. with factory floor shift.Not for competition

 

Hurst Mstery shifter on GM 3 speed o.d. unit..just some fabrication ideas...

 

Here's a bracket I made up for the T89 in my Studebaker truck. Would be perfect for an A-bone installation.

jack vines

 

Later model Indy shifter. Just glad to see I’m not the only one running a 3/spd. , 40 shifter handle grafted on it.

 

I put a Sparkomatic shifter in my 61 Willys wagon 3 speed with a BW OD back in the early 70s, as I remember it was fairly simple and never failed me
I was quite the novice at the time (still am)

 

In the late 50's guys were converting column shift linkage to the floor, in shop class in Hi-School. I have seen it done with column parts off mid-40's ford stuff. It's a simple mechanism.

 

here you go...made one for my '49 Chev in '59

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=97533&highlight=floor+shift

 

Now that is cool, does it work good?

 

When I bought my chopped Model A, years back, it had a straight 3-speed, floor shifted. It had been an early 50's build, and I wanted it to stay that way. Problem was, you couldn't get in, get out, or drive once you managed to get in. It was a real mess. Then I remembered that back in the say, most hot rods were floor shift, so in order to be cool, and make room to get your honey a tad closer, you converted to a column shift. So I did, and man am I a happy camper. I used a '53 Ford column.

 

This link is to a blog on the hot rod Reverend web site. It’s got pictures on a T-85 o/d with a Hurst shifter and brackets he managed to find. It’ll give you some ideas about the brackets to clear the solenoid as mentioned above. These are very difficult to find. Back in the 60’s I had a set of those on aT85 o/d I put in a 55 bird with the small tunnel. I used a corvette synchro lok to get the short shift arm. Even at that it sat a bit high.

https://www.hotrodreverend.com/post/2017/09/20/55-ford-restoration-blog-part-10

 

Never missed a shift...even at the midnite nationals...BUT... the used car salesman took it around the block and couldn't get it out of low gear...what a Putz,,,no sale !

 

Not to be contrary but Ive got a Sparkomatic in my 64 C10. After modifying, adding some bushings to take up slop and spending time adjusting it to work "well" Id say its still a steaming pile of shit.
If you dont have the feel for it you'll get stuck between gears and have to get out and move it manually. Ive got a Hurst on the wall to replace it eventually.

 

If yours is the stock Chevy non-synchro three-speed tranny, that's half of the problem. JMHO, but they're a steaming pile of shit. Best thing Chevy ever did was put a Ford 3-speed full synchro in their cars and trucks.

jack vines

 

I just happened to have this '57 Chev 3-sp OD hanging around my storage building, and I remembered it had a floor shift conversion. I dug it out, and danged if it's not a Hurst.

 

Fair enough, but its not the only vehicle I have w the same trans but it is the only one the shifter jams up on.. The ol Hurst never fails to do its job.

 

As I said, the shifter was half the problem. Agree, the Hurst makes the best of a bad situation. They're the only one's I bother with today.

Back in the day, I used all the cheap shit and mostly it worked, but once I could afford a Hurst, I never went back.

jack vines

 

Here are a few photos of the Hurst Syncro/Loc that I have in my 55 Chevy Cameo. It was a NOS shifter that I found in The HAMB classifieds. It's for a 55 - 57 Chevy 3 speed O.D. trans in a passenger car. Not sure when Hurst started making Syncro/Locs, but I think that it was in the early 60's.

 

Just got back from picking up a Hurst shifter. $50 and it came with a 3 speed mustang transmission, I have to find someone to pass that along to. should be easy as I know some guys that collect 60's Ford stuff. It is either a Mastershift or the Synro-lock it has grease on the side and I have to clean it off. It's the wife's anniversary today and I have to act right so I could just take the two hours time to get it... I'll look more into it tomorrow.

 

After cleaning up this shifter all it says on the side is "Hurst" some patten numbers and a few numbers under that. It does not have any names like syncro-loc or anything else. Let me try to get a photo up.