And here is the under dash portion showing the master cylinder connected directly to the 1960 clutch arm which previously operated the OEM dual master cylinder. With this arrangement the pedal ratio is exactly as designed by the factory.
Before installing the transmission the first time, alignment pins were fabricated by cutting the heads off 4 correct sized bolts with a Dremel tool, and ends slotted for installation and removal with a large screwdriver. They point straight to the rear, although they looked skewed in the photo due to curvature of the camera lens. These pins help prevent damage to the clutch plate when human arms get too fatiqued trying to wrestle the transmission in place:
This photo also shows the clutch selected, a Centerforce I chosen for all the wonderful advertised features. I have to admit it works perfectly, but I’d be much happier with a stock replacement pressure plate. After accelerating, when engine rpm is up and torque is removed just prior to a shift, the weights have a tendency to float and rattle annoyingly. I don’t imagine anyone would care in a race car, but I’ve found it irritating ever since it was installed. Cost and work effort will keep it in place for a long time, but I’ll never buy another one. I don’t mind noise in my hot rod, but I don’t like rattles.
No driveshaft modifications were needed swapping from the TH350 to the manual 4 speed, other than replacing the forward driveshaft yoke with a TH400 version. Both transmissions use the same tailshaft mount.
Once all this was sorted out it was time to move on to the shifter and shifter stick. A new Hurst Competition Shifter was initially installed. And here’s what the first shifter mechanism looked like. The shifter fit in front of the and below the high hump pan.
The stick that came with the shifter seemed ridiculously long to me:
So it was quickly replaced with a shorter stick from Hurst. And yes, I had 3 bucket seats installed for a long time. It wasn’t very attractive but sure was practical for grandkids and having my squeeze sit next to me.
I still kept thinking I could make the shifter better, so I began studying the Hurst Super Shifter. Rather than buying a whole new shifter, the shift rods and mounting bracket for a Street Super Shifter were acquired and installed. This moved the shifter back into the floor behind the pan, with the shifter head actually protruding into the cab. I hated cutting the floor, but the difference in performance was like night and day. With the straight rods and higher mounting, it feels like a power shifter by comparison.
This of course led to more shifter stick adjustments and removal of the center seat. This is a shot of the new shifter mounting, and absence of the center seat. It’s also pretty obvious the strain the boot is under.
