67 C10 floor shifter conversion.

[my67C10]

well i got the floor shifter and i want to get as much knolage as possable before i go out and start putting it it. for some reason the collum shift linkage is not wanting to work. i attempted to put it into netrual and it went into gear, i think that something is bent. i can get under the truck and put it into netrual manually so its not the tranny. i will be gratefull for any help. thanks

[matthufham]

automatic? trace the linkage to the transmission and there's a lever on the side of the tranny. push it towards the front all the way, and that'd be park, one back is reverse, 1 more, neutral..

[my67C10]

it might help i give all the information. its a standard.

[70c/10barebone]

I had a similar issue with my 3sd. I bought an Indy model floor shifter from Hurst at O'reily, cost around $100. Maybe it's just me but behind my 250 it feels way to close to the seat in 1st and 3rd. I'm having regrets about installing the floor shifter and will probably return to the tree when I find good linkage replacement parts.

[19673ontree]

my favorite thing about 1960 thru 1972 chevy trucks is the three speed on the column , I remember riding with my dad in his new 69 c10 and watching him shift it , and not to forget that wonderfull clutch pedal squeak , dad's truck had that clutch pedal squeak when it was new , if I had to take away my 3 speed on the column I guess I would just get rid of the truck ,

[davidh]

Originally Posted by 70c/10barebone

I had a similar issue with my 3sd. I bought an Indy model floor shifter from Hurst at O'reily, cost around $100. Maybe it's just me but behind my 250 it feels way to close to the seat in 1st and 3rd. I'm having regrets about installing the floor shifter and will probably return to the tree when I find good linkage replacement parts.

I looked into this. There's a specific hurst shifter for about $200 that works much better than the universal one and has more room around the seat area. Call Jegs or Summit.
I got mine lined out on the column or I was going to do it..

[Green Machine]

The 6 cyl 250 engine and tranny sits back about 3 inches more than the v8 does on the 2wd, that is why the shifter is closer to the seat. Most of the three speed column shifts that get replaced with floor shifts never really had any problems, they just needed adjustment.

I'll try to explain the adjustment. First, inspect all 4 of the rubber bushings and replace as needed. If the shifter is hard to move when the weather is cold, the grease under the shift socket on top is old and dried out, just take the wheel off and turn signal and clean and lube it up on top. Lube everthing up at the bottom of the column with some wd40 so it moves nice.

Now here is the biggest problem with these and the fix - shifter getting stuck betwen gears - at the very bottom of the column there are 2 small bolts that hold the lower bearing, loosen but don't remove them. They are on a slanted slot/cam. Turn the sleeve to remove the slack between the lower shift levers, this will keep the selector between the shift levers from sliding past the levers causing it to be "stuck".

Next with the parking brake on, put the shifter in neutral and loosen the shift linkage adjustment bolts under the hood. Find a 3/16 drill bit and you will see there is a slot where you can slide the nail in and align the levers with the column. Go under the truck and insure the the tranny is in neutral. Now the tranny is "centered" with the shift linkages. Tighten the linkage bolts and you are done. No more shifter problems !!!.

One other place to check for wear is the roll pin that holds the shift lever to the socket, easy to replace and will tighten up the shifter feel. If the truck has had a ton of usage, the shift socket itself can get a little sloppy, but that is pretty easy to replace if you have the top apart to lube it.

Those shifters really are pretty durable and just have some one in the truck run through the gears while you watch under the hood. It is a pretty simple mechanism and a few minutes watching how it works and understanding how it operates will let you adjust it so it works perfect. Hope that helps.

[Brad]

Green machine, is this in FAQ section? If not, I think you should copy and paste just your write up and put it in there! If I had read this 10 years ago, I'd still have my shifters on the column.

[70c/10barebone]

I'm with Brad on putting this in FAQ. It sounds like an easy fix but after getting stuck at a few lights in between gears I didn't want that to happen ever again. I kept all the linkage and parts so I'll try adjusting during my upcoming frame off.

[my67C10]

hey 70c/10barebone if you know how to weld what you should do is take a wedge out of the shifter allowing the top to get pushed forward. i wouldnt make the wedge out anything more than a quarter of an inch. if you do this at the verry bottom of the shifter possably so the rubber boot hides the cut/weld marks it should bring the top of the shifter about 2 1/2-3 inches forward.

[Green Machine]

Well after seeing so many people have problems with these, I thought I could help explain. Waiting for my camera to charge and I will try to get some pics with maybe a few more details.

Our 68 has over 200K miles on the original linkage and a lot of town miles so it has been shifted alot. I think I have had to adjust the linkage and grease everything only 2 times since my dad bought it in 1972. Thats 38 years of shifting (some pretty hard) with very few problems. Pics coming.

[Green Machine]

Note, to adjust you just need to loosen the two side bolts and loosen the top clamp bolt to adjust, the side bolts are removed and the clamp slid down for clarity.

Pic #1 shows the shifter misadjusted. You can see the selector has gone between the two shift arms and is the cause for the "being stuck in two gears at once" or "it won't shift at all" complaint.

Pic #2 shows the lower "cam bearing" turned counterclockwise in the slot removing almost all slack between the parts, don't remove all clearance or it will get too tight, I would guess about .010 would be plenty. Notice with the shifter adjusted like this it is almost impossible for the selector to get caught between the shift levers.

Pic #3 shows a better shot of the alignment guide and the use of the proper 3/16 drill bit alignment tool. Now I better go sweep the carpet before my wife sees the mess !!!

Hope that helps
Green Machine

[1BadSS]

Yes, but how do you properly adjust an aftermarket hurst floor shifter? PO's son installed it and its stuck in 1st gear only.

[Green Machine]

Note : I just consolidated my 3 speed info into one post, Mods - you can move its to the FAQ if you think it is useful.

OK - Hurst floor shift adjustment - Put tranny in neutral if possible, Loosen up nuts on shift linkage andfind a 1/4 inch drill bit. There is a hole in the side of the shifter, push the bit in hole moving shifter arounf if needed until bit aligns all of the parts. Insure shift levers on tranny are in neutral and tighten linkage nuts carefully, so that the arms stay in there neutal position. Go bang some gears -

[my67C10]

even if i can get the collum shifter to work i am still going to get the floor shifter in. possably sell the old linkage to pay for some other goodies.

[70c/10barebone]

Thanks for the Pics and knowledge Green Machine. Do you know where to get new linkage bushings for the column?

[Willy Prost]

This is for 70c/10barebone and others that have a foor shifter.

Does the shift handle bolt to the shifter with 2 bolts? The Hurst catalog has about a hundred different handles to bolt onto the shifter.

I just bought another shift handle with a different offset/length.

That's what I did with my 71.

[El Nido Kid]

This is tons of good advice. My 69 came with the hurst shifter. Anybody solve the back up light problem?