OK, so here’s my problem and your chance to prove just how smart Cecil’s minions are. I have a 1982 Ford F-100, 4.9L straight six, with a 3 speed+overdrive manual transmission. [I figure about half of you will continue to read on.] The upper shift lever on this particular transmission slips down over the lower shaft portion and is held in place by two tiny roll pins that pass through the combined upper and lower pieces. [Oops, ‘nother bunch of you just fell off. Oh well.] The problem is that inside the lower shaft are two tiny little bushings, which over time, (in this case, 18 years and 251,000 miles) tend to “waller out,” to use a venerable southernism. When this happens, the little roll pins are free to move in the bushings, and the upper part of the shift lever swings back and forth like a boat tiller. While amusing to watch, this makes actually finding and selecting the appropriate gear as annoying as jock itch, especially considering the odd match of transmission and axle ratios in this particular model. [Of those of you who are left, I see several knowing nods and a touch of a smile here and there. You are ones I want to talk to!] Well, of course, the first answer is to replace the bushings, but these are a two-part affair, of which only one part is still available from Ford. What I would really like to do (and the part of the question which requires the real brain power) is change to a Hurst shifter. “Well if that’s what you want–call Hurst you big maroon!” Oh, were it that easy. You see, Hurst lists a shifter for the 3+1 tranny, but only for 78-79 trucks. “Won’t that fit, you redneck goof?” One would think, and in this case, one, being me, wrote a really nice e-mail to their crack technical staff. I got back a reply weeks later that more or less said, ‘Uhhh, don’t know, but it should.’ I could hear the guy breathing through his mouth right through the computer. Now, I don’t want to just go out and buy the derned thing, lie on my back under a pickup all afternoon, and then find out that it SHOULD work, BUT DOESN’T! I NEED THE STRAIGHT DOPE! Will the shifter that Hurst lists in their catalog DEFINITELY work in my truck? NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTTS! Can you please help a frustrated fellow!? By the way, I have already asked this question on the ford-trucks.com message board (‘Uhhh, yeah it should work’) and have beseached the Wizards of Dearborn themselves. (We appreciate your interest in Ford Motor Corporation and our fine family of vehicles, blah blah blah blahhhh blah blah blah, don’t know, blah blah blah Quality is Job 1 blah blah blah blah blah Genuine Motorcraft Parts blah blah blah blah! Blah blah blah Built Ford Tough blah blah blah blah blah, legalese legalese legalese. Thank you again for you inquiry.)
So, there it is folks. Thanks for the help,
Terry
Have you called Summit yet?
I know, they aren’t Hurst, but I’ve yet to hear a bad thing about their tech staff. This way, you get around the e-mail BS and wait and are talking to a real person, one on one, who may be talking to a real person at Hurst, one on one.
I’ve never seen your setup, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work (mebbe I should get a job at Hurst, huh?) Fords don’t mix and match like Chevys do, but I can’t see any reason why they would change the tranny case at this late of a date. My guess is that you might have a clearance problem somewhere, if anything.
The Hurst shifter probably wont work.What I would suggest is to you could go to a junkyard and find an 80-85 model truck and see if you can pull the bushings from that(pick-a-part comes to mind).
So far as I know, the bushings don’t dry rot or deteriorate from sitting, so you should be able to find some in a wrecked truck that are still in good shape.
Good luck.
Thanks fellers–cornflakes, I haven’t called Summit, but I guess it’s worth a try. The problem is that there ARE several slight variations between the car and truck versions of the 3+1 and between various vehicles within the car and truck lines. I suspect that the shifter would have some clearance problems, but it would be nice to know what before I go tearing into it with mucho macho gusto. papa bunny, I thought about your solution, also. You’re right, the bushings don’t deteriorate-they appear in the catalog to be a metal/nylon combination. I was just hoping to get something a little spiffier if I could, and something a little more precise. Having driven other similar models, even when the selector lever is tight, there is a good bit of slop in the shift mechanism itself.
Oh well, wish me luck, and if any of you other Teeming Millions have a gooder solution PLEASE let me know. Thanks again guys,
Terry
Well, I thought about your problem, and even looked around a bit. I didn’t post because I didn’t come up with any great solutions.
Thoughts:
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If you can verify that the '78-'79 tranny, for which Hurst manufactures a shifter, is the same tranny as you’ve got in the '82, the linkage will work; you just need to evaluate the floorboard/seat surgery required;
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The other angle I pursued left me at the mercy of my memory (it’s been 33 years since I last installed a Hurst floorshift - a Hurst Mystery Shifter in my 1957 Chevy Belair, and that required some filing). I recall that, although Hurst (was and) is the Microsoft of the floorshifter biz, there were other brands around. Have you checked out the competition?
Thanks beatle–actually what Hurst lists is a shifter for a 78-79 truck, not necessarily a 78-79 transmission. They don’t actually list a transmission code number for this application, which is the only way to verify if you have the exact same unit. There are several different RUG toploaders with various tailshafts, and Hurst’s catalog and their crack technical staff are no help. The unit in the catalog sounds as though it is made for a column to floor shift conversion using some non-specific variant of the 3+1. So I wind back up with a non-specific “uhhh, don’t know, but it ought to work,” or “uhhh, don’t know, but I don’t think it will work.”
As for other manufacturers, I have done a pretty thorough search, and there are some more folks out there. The only problem is that this particular application is NOT popular, is NOT performance oriented, and is just not one of the great toploaders. I just haven’t found anyone else except Hurst that even comes close. They may be out there, but I’ve had no luck finding them.
If I can’t ever get a definitive answer, I figure I can use that great big tube of JB Weld in the toolbox and just stick it all together, or I can leave it 'lone and pretend I’m out in an old Duryea with tiller steering.
Thanks again, and let me know if there are any more ideas out there!
Terry