Convert from column shift to floor shift

[rcbildr]

I have one last obstacle to fix and then my GMC should be road worthy. I took it out for a drive and it wouldn't shift in to 2nd or 3rd. I found part of the linkage was rusted solid and in a effort to break it loose, I managed to break the part off the frame. I've read a little about converting to a floor shift and was wondering if anyone has done that? Is there a kit available for my 60 GMC? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[ChrisDollins]

I'd like to know if there is a good shifter available also. Would like to go to a t-5, but a good 3 speed shifter would be fine for now.

Chris
Posted via Mobile Device

[rcbildr]

I found 2 kits so far, a spectre (sp) for $40 and a hurst kit for around $200. I think for what I'm doing the $40 kit will work.

Eventually, I want to replace the 3 speed and put in a truck 4 speed. Just not sure how smoothly that swap will go because I have the V6 engine.

[1963c-10]

the $40 kits are trash, and you'll constantly be readjusting it when they jamb up. spend the extra money and get the hurst kit. the mister gasket indy shifter will give you the same problems. bent a shift rod on the last column shift 63 i had. myself and 2 other reputable shops tried to adjust and kept having issues. the hurst shifter fixed the issue.
Posted via Mobile Device

[ChrisDollins]

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

the $40 kits are trash, and you'll constantly be readjusting it when they jamb up. spend the extra money and get the hurst kit. the mister gasket indy shifter will give you the same problems. bent a shift rod on the last column shift 63 i had. myself and 2 other reputable shops tried to adjust and kept having issues. the hurst shifter fixed the issue.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks for the insight! Hurst it is!

Chris
Posted via Mobile Device

[rcbildr]

Originally Posted by 1963c-10

the $40 kits are trash, and you'll constantly be readjusting it when they jamb up. spend the extra money and get the hurst kit. the mister gasket indy shifter will give you the same problems. bent a shift rod on the last column shift 63 i had. myself and 2 other reputable shops tried to adjust and kept having issues. the hurst shifter fixed the issue.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks!!! That seems to be the general consensus of the cheaper shifters. When I do buy the shifter, it will be a Hurst.

Looks like the truck is going on the back burner for a while tho. My 83 Z28 is showing me signs the engine needs to be replaced...low oil pressure, burning oil, bad gas mileage...and it's a 305. My neighbor has a 350 that I'm going to talk to him about tomorrow....and then possibly look for a cheap beater/commuter car.

[1963c-10]

I have seen a few of them on ebay lately at pretty good prices. Was one for $125 complete, but used. Was in excellant condition. Keep checking there

[geezer#99]

Don't buy the hurst one unless it comes with the installation kit. Hurst has the shifter but no one sells the kit.
Mr. Gasket can be fixed so it never gets loose.

[jimmydean]

Ebay, get a nice setup on the cheap. The Mr Gasket one a friend used was from Pep Boys or something for less than $100 and worked awesome.

[CRGRS 66]

The hurst that came in my truck when I bought it jammed between 2&3 if you weren't ginger with it, but the mounting kit looked to be at least partially home made. I have a T5 ready to go in when I start re-assembling.

[markeb01]

Originally Posted by rcbildr

I found 2 kits so far, a spectre (sp) for $40 and a hurst kit for around $200. I think for what I'm doing the $40 kit will work.

Eventually, I want to replace the 3 speed and put in a truck 4 speed. Just not sure how smoothly that swap will go because I have the V6 engine.

The original owner of my 1960 GMC bought it with a 305 V6 and 3 speed column shift. His nephew inherited the truck when he passed, and swapped in an SM420 “granny” 4 speed, and he knew almost nothing about cars. It was very straight forward. The only modification was changing the driveshaft, although I don’t remember if the 4 speed driveshaft required lengthening or shortening.

A couple of thoughts about installing a 3 speed floor conversion. I installed my first floor shift in 1965 when every shifter on the market was junk except the Hurst shifters. I obtained a Hurst 3 speed shifter designed for a 57 Chevy. The mounting bracket didn’t come close to fitting my 54 Chevy torque tube transmission, so I just modified it until it did. I was just a kid without instructions, but it fit fine and worked perfectly. It was nearly impossible to break a transmission with the column shift, but I could slam that sucker so hard I broke the transmission 13 times in my senior year. I power shifted my way to twisted mainshafts, broken cases and just about everything else you could do to beat up a transmission. I became a believer in Hurst shifters.

Today Hurst 3 speed shifters remain essentially as they were in the sixties. And so does everything else. If you look at many of the kits, you’ll see all they show is the knob, stick, and boot, because the rest of the stuff in the box isn’t really a shifter. It’s a bunch of parts you put together that sort of work like a column shifter. And most of them are prone to getting stuck between gears.

If you just need something to get you through for a short time, a cheap shifter will work. The real downside is now you have another big hole in your floor or floor pan that needs to be patched when you change transmissions.

Spending the money on a Hurst shifter will provide years of trouble free service (if it is aligned correctly), if you drive the truck everyday and intend to leave it a 3 speed. But if you eventually want to replace the transmission, the cost of the Hurst shifter would probably pay for an SM420 4 speed, and then you wouldn’t need to cut another hole in your floor (needing to be patched later) because the transmission comes with it’s own shifter stick and will need a hole in the center. 3 speed shifters mount close to the side cover and off to the left of the transmission. 4 speed car shifters are also off to the left but several inches farther towards the rear. Since none are in the same place, it's nice to only have to cut the floor once.

So my recommendation is decide how long you want to keep the 3 speed before investing in either shifter or cutting extra holes in your floor.

[rcbildr]

Thanks for all the input and help!!! I decided the Hurst shifter was out of my budjet, so I ordered a Mr. Gasket shifter. The truck will not be a full time daily driver, but I do plan on driving it quite a bit....I miss driving a truck. Last night as I was surfing around I found the ratios for the 3speed in my gmc and the sm-420 and it looks like I will only be really gaining the granny gear....IIRC the other ratios are very close. So I don't think I'm going to do the SM-420 swap, but I might think really hard about doing the NV-3500 swap sometime in the future. Right now I just need to get it on the road.

[geezer#99]

When you bolt that Mr. Gasket on here's the trick to keep it tight and shifting good forever.
THe centre bolt that goes thru the shifter housing and shifter arms and on thru the bracket is supposed to be tightened wuth a lock washer. Won't work.
Once you get the shifter mounted on the bracket tighten the thru bolt up enough to still allow the arms to move and then drill an 1/8 hole thru the nut and the bolt. Put a cotter key in the hole. Nut will never back off like that.
I've done that on 4 shifters so far.

[rcbildr]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

When you bolt that Mr. Gasket on here's the trick to keep it tight and shifting good forever.
THe centre bolt that goes thru the shifter housing and shifter arms and on thru the bracket is supposed to be tightened wuth a lock washer. Won't work.
Once you get the shifter mounted on the bracket tighten the thru bolt up enough to still allow the arms to move and then drill an 1/8 hole thru the nut and the bolt. Put a cotter key in the hole. Nut will never back off like that.
I've done that on 4 shifters so far.

Awesome!!! Thanks for the tip.

[ChrisDollins]

Posted via Mobile Device