Saginaw 4 Speed Hurst Shifter

[Spectre1995]

I've got a Saginaw 4 speed in my '66 C10 and I'm having a difficult time getting the linkage hooked up properly. It's a Hurst assembly. I'm wondering if anyone else has one of these setups in their truck, and can post a few photos showing how the linkage rods hook up to the selector levers. I've been fighting it for the past couple days and I'm pretty sure I have the wrong set of rods, but I'd like to know for sure before buying anything else.

I'll grab some photos of the setup I have sometime tomorrow just to post and compare.

Thanks in advance

[geezer#99]

Simple hook up.
I got no pics but let’s see what you’ve got.

[richard2717]

This is in my 68 panel but I would assume the same

.

[Spectre1995]

Here's what I got. I noticed yours does not have that side bracket. Perhaps that's what's throwing me off? I'll wait for the experts to chime in.


On a similar note, hold the judgement on the "new" shifter arm. That is the product of three beers, a wire feed welder, and an old gardening implement.

[geezer#99]

His bolts on the tailhousing like a normal hurst does. And his has shifter arm alignment bolts. Plus a bolt on stick.
Yours is an offshoot of the hurst.
It’s a hurst-Indy. Universal mount, no bolts, non Bolt on stick.
Indy shifters were marketed by Mr. Gasket. They didn’t use the hurst body until hurst acquired Indy shifters in a big merger. IIRC Holley owns them all now.
What you have will work now.. put the reverse rod on first.

I also noticed your trans input shaft has 3 rings on it. That would indicate it’s a 3.50 first gear trans. And the weakest too. It won’t handle any abuse.

[Spectre1995]

So what would the correct orientation of the rods be? threaded ends on the shifter, non threaded ends in the tabs? And on the tabs, would the rods be inserted outwards, with the cotter pin facing inwards, closest to the transmission, or outwards, facing away from the transmission?

I'm aware it's the 3.50 transmission. I figure I'll run it til it blows up, and hopefully by then I'll have a Tremec or something like a T5 in it. Until then it'll be fine for what I'll be using it for. I've read both good and bad things about these transmissions, so I'll find out for sure soon enough

[geezer#99]

They were usually with the threaded adjustable end at the shifter.
Cotter keys to the outside.

[Spectre1995]

So, something like this? I noticed the reverse rod's threaded end does not fit into the shifter lever. The diameter of the pin is too large for the lever.

[geezer#99]

Might need to reverse it.

[Spectre1995]

Okay, thanks. Do the other two look like the correct orientation?

[geezer#99]

Not sure.
Bolt it on and fiddle about.
Start with reverse, work outward.
Use the pics from Richard as a reference.

Do you know about lining up the shifter by inserting a 1/4 inch drill bit thru the half round hole in the bottom side of the housing?

[PGSigns]

I always just shoved a #2 phillips in the alignment hole. If you have the money buy the real hurst shifter. Once you have one setup and adjusted with the stops set and aligned good they feel and work so much better. In the late 70"s the hot ticket was the hurst competition plus box with the super shifter mount kits. Fast and reliable, ran many a street race with that setup in a SS396 Chevelle.
Jimmy

[Spectre1995]

Getting closer. Was able to get the rods in, but had to use a universal style selector lever in order to get it where it is now. The 3/4 shift rod appears to be too short, as the "Neutral" position of the selector lever has the shifter lever all the way forward (arm pulled back towards the bench). Is it possible I have the wrong 3/4 shift rod?

[geezer#99]

Looks like reverse and 3-4 both need to be longer.
I’ve made new rods from ready rod. Some people call it all thread.
Your reverse lever is upside down.

[Richard2112]

I know this thread isn't exactly new but I'm wondering about advantage/disadvantage of a Hurst shift set-up on these trucks. I like the Hurst Competition Plus shifter. It's a classic style. Back in the day, it was the thing to do: Hurst shifter and Cherry bombs. Worked great on a Chevelle, Camaro, Nova....but I wonder if the cost/effort is warranted on our trucks. What are people hoping to achieve: tighter shift pattern or classic looks? Don't get me wrong, it's cool and looks great. Just wondering

[AcampoDave]

Richard, I have a hurst shifter that the tranny shop has cleaned, lubed and installed on a fresh Muncie M22. (I have bucket seats, it would be really close with a bench and likely require a boomerang style shifter handle.) It's smooth as silk and you can bang thru the gears as fast as you can move. (Which I do often enough.) In a nutshell, I think the advantage is simply that.

[Richard2112]

Originally Posted by AcampoDave

Richard, I have a hurst shifter that the tranny shop has cleaned, lubed and installed on a fresh Muncie M22. (I have bucket seats, it would be really close with a bench and likely require a boomerang style shifter handle.) It's smooth as silk and you can bang thru the gears as fast as you can move. (Which I do often enough.) In a nutshell, I think the advantage is simply that.

Thank you for the response. I have recently put a Hurst Shifter (replacement stick) onto my NV400. Since Hurst doesn't make a shifter kit for the round top style NV trans, I had to make a bracket which allowed for the use of a Hurst stick. It looks nice and maintains the classic look but doesn't have the closer shift pattern. I'm sort of ok with that since I really don't need a quick shift in my C-30. (though, yeah that would be nice)

[cadillac_al]

This is the best thread with the best pictures for mounting a Saginaw shifter. I have a Saginaw and couldn't figure out how the shifter mounted. Now that I replied I should be able to find this at a later date.