I’ve always preferred the appearance of the conventional chrome Hurst bent handle stick with a white knob, but this configuration put so much strain on the boot it tore the first one. So, once again my machinist son was called on to fabricate a straight stick of solid aluminum round stock. This was bent about 15 degrees to the right and worked perfectly.
Months later I had to switch to VA medical coverage and was prescribed medication that swelled and paralyzed my right hand for over a month. I simply didn’t have the strength to operate the shifter, so I had my son fabricate yet another shift handle roughly 3” longer than the previous version. This allowed me to continue driving the truck.
Eventually I decided I wanted the shift knob a tad further forward! The higher mounting and straight rods made the shifter work much nicer, but it also moved the shifter head back several inches which placed the knob too close to my elbow. It finally occurred to me a simple adapter could be fabricated to move the shifter handle and also angle it forward at the same time. I worked up a template and transferred the dimensions to a chunk of scrap steel plate. The bottom of the stick moved forward 1 ¼”, while the knob moved forward about 2”, putting it in a much more comfortable position.
After driving it for a day I realized the knob was a tad too far forward in 3rd gear. Since the adapter raised the stick almost an inch, and my right hand had returned to normal, I no longer needed the long stick and went back to the shorter version. I also reset the angle about ½” to the rear. While I had the handle off, I also cut the upper rear corner off the adapter. Although nobody else will ever see it, I thought it looked crappy so a cosmetic improvement was in order. Now all 4 gears are within perfect reach:
Here's the steel plate in mock up:
The finished adapter with a quick coat of silver paint:
The long stick bolted to the adapter:
And the long stick/adapter covered with the boot:
Here's the short stick on the adapter after the rear corner was removed:
The rubber ring on top of the adapter is a valve cover smog grommet. It holds the boot up, minimizing binding on the rubber and preventing pinching wear.
And finally the current short stick reassembled:
Ever since I’ve owned the truck I wanted to install a full diamond tufted interior, including the bench seat. At the time all this shifter business was going on, the only shifter that might have worked is the model designed for the 55-57 Chevy bench seat. I thought long and hard about reinstalling the original bench. It would have required going back to the earlier forward shifter mounting, and a complete new shifter since the handle is welded on the 55-57 Chevy shifter. Since I didn’t have that kind of money, and severe spinal deterioration barred the use of the bench seat, I finally let the seat go and settled on the buckets. Of course now, many years later – Hurst has finally offered a bolt on version of the C shaped shift handle! This would normally reopen a can of worms, but now that I’m retired any more ridiculous, unnecessary, and expensive changes have to be held to a minimum.
By 2006 I was tired of the 3.08 rear end gears and had 4.09 gears installed by a local expert. This made the truck “fun” to drive. It accelerates like a bullet but spins about 3,000 rpms at 60. This is fine for the type of driving it sees, since the truck rarely goes on the freeway.