worn linkage?

[klb76]

I just got my hands on a 1976 corvette. I blew all my hard earned money buying it and now I have to start fixing stuff. I am having a problem with my shifter linkage. The best way to describie it is that it is loose or sloppy. I have been under the car and checked it all out, everything seems to be in order. I seen in eckler's that I can buy a rebuild kit for the linkage for around 60$ which seems reasonable to me. So I was wondering if anyone has tried this out before and if they had any tips?

 

[69MyWay]

Is it possible that somebody changed the clutch in that car and did not tighten up the shifter mounting bolts all the way?

Do you have the stock shifter, or a HURST?

I have done the "rebuild" kit on the Hurst which more or less consisted of new bushings and retainer pins. I had to drill some of the plates out larger to accept the new bushings. Now the shifter is nice and tight.

Check the mounting bolts first though.

Oh, btw, it will never be as tight feeling as a modern car, or even a Honda civic, so make sure you really have a problem before you take it all apart!

 

[klb76]

Thanks for the reply, everything is tight and adjusted going from the bottem of the shifter to the transmission. Also I believe it is a HURST. What is the best way to tell? Right now I have a HURST T-Handle on the shifter lever so that is why I am thinking it is a hurst. And I definitly have a problem, almost a safety concern. Right now I am cruising around without a shifter boot just so I can see when I am lined up with the plate. Is the best way to remove the shifter from inside the car?

 

[69MyWay]

Jack the car up after taking the shifter handle off.

Go under and remove the bolts holding each of the three shifter arms on the trans. If it is a full blown hurst, there will be two bolts holding the shifter assembly to the trans. Look on the driver side outer plate where all the levers come together right at the shifter. There should be a 5/8" bolt up high, and a 9/16" head bolt down low. You might have to remove the trans mount to gain full access. The bolts do not have to come out, just get unthreaded from the trans bracket.

The shifter will now drop down.

Summit racing sells a Hurst rebuild kit for about $8 (just new pins and bushings).

There is a notch on the very bottom that must be lined up in the neutral position. You can do this with like a 1/4x20 bolt, or drill bit.

If you have that much play, something is serious wrong in there. Maybe you can eyeball it when you have the unit out on the bench.

 

[klb76]

Well I finally got a chance to get that shifter out. This was no simple task. I am a big guy so first I had to jack up the car, then I had to jack up the transmission. After that I realized that there were 10,000 bolts holding everything in place. But I got it all out and looked at it and your right something was seriously wrong. It was so worn that I had to use a anvil and hammer and also a Vice to bend everthing back to where it was supposed to go. I found out it is a HURST shifter with a Muncie M22 tranny. nice setup. I got it all back together about 2:30 in the morning but she shifts sweet now. Thanks for the help.

 

[69MyWay]