Larry, I was lucky enough to actually come across another one of these handles from a board member..... If you think about it, they probably didn't make that many of these since only several hundred cars were made with these 4-speeds in 73. But is the linkage the same as earlier cars? All munice 4-speed linkage the same?
Update. Installed the new shifter mechanism and handle the past couple of days. Took the car out for a test drive yesterday and was pleased to note that it works well. Much smoother shifting now. Lot more room between the shifter arms and rods as compared to what was in the car. One minor glitch is the speedometer isn't working so I'll have to jack it up again and move the crossmember back to gain access to the cable and try to seat the cable in the gear. Attached are some pictures of the new shifter as installed. Compare it to the picture of the old setup. Big difference. Larry
Very Cool! So you not only got the shifter but all new rods? All from Pete? What kind of rods were in the car (muncie, Inland...?) I know nothing about 4 spd stuff....... Looks great!
Rhett, Yes, everything came from Pete Serio. What was in the car was a mismatched set of aftermarket rods and shifter(relatively new shifter). The mounting plate for the shifter appeared to be from a late 70's Z-28 or Trans-Am. Caused the shifter to be tilted to the rear more than it should be. Don't know what the reverse rod was from but it appeared to have been bent to be used in this car. This has been a great learning experience, especially considering I've never messed with 4 speed stuff before. Larry
I checked my 73 GS trans tonight, it only has 1 groove on the input shaft which I think makes it an M-21....???? I guess I was wrong...????
Well I found an orignal 73 GS 4-speed Hurst shifter, and I have it mounted to a 63-64 M-21. I contacted Pete and he helped me get the right linkage and mounting plate which work for this combintation. The shifter goes into 1-2-3-4 perfectly, but I can not get it to go into Reverse. Any help here? Will I not be able to pull hard enough on the shifter unless the transmission is mounted in the car to engage Reverse? All the rods more free, not binding or anything touching, I can also shifter into reverse by moving the lever with my hand. I adjusted all the linkage properly inserting the rod through the shifter before adjusting the nuts.
You should be able to put it in reverse if the trans is secured. Will the shifter go into the reverse position when it is not connected to the reverse lever? Is it possible that you had the trans in reverse when you adjusted the reverse arm? I think the shifter has a "gate " that has to be moved for the shifter to go into the reverse position. You may want to talk to Pere Serio and ask him about it. I know just enough to be dangerous!! Larry
I think that the 73-77 A body have a different linkage. I payed $125 for a 4 speed pedals and linkage from a Pontiac but I sold it so never found out how it would have fit. As far as I know the easiest way to find pedals and linkage for the 4 speed is from www.theabodysite.com as the Pontiac parts work I am told.
I don't know your shifter but a couple easy things that come to mind are could the reverse lever (on Transmission) be upside down? and does the shifter have the reverse lockout feature? Try pulling up or pushing down on the handle when shifting into reverse. Russ
I bolted the transmission the the engine and was then able to pull the shifter far enough to get it into reverse. Thanks for all the help though. Must require a decent amount of force to pull these into reverse. Does anyone know if the transmission mount is the same as the earlier cars, I would imagine so??
