Installing a Brewers Hurst / Inland conversion shifter
Hi all,
I search high and low and no real feedback on the installation of this shifter so I’ll do a little write up with some details, pictures and data.
The car is my 1968 GTS, it’s a restored matching numbers car and while I love the car that way I’m good with hidden upgrades like the shifter.
A shout out to brewers for a nice piece, great customer service and fast shipping.
I bought the billet mount also as needed for the swap and it comes with mounting hardware for the mount and shifter. The shifter comes with the fasteners for installing the handle.
The old Shifter assembly out and a comparison of the two. I should note that the new shifter is made to use the stock inland shift rods.
The screws that hold the mount to the transmission are a 7/32 Allen and can be very tight or even damaged if someone has been there before. Use a good, clean, USA made Allen wrench and go easy. A coupe good hits to the head of the screw with a drift and hammer can help “shock” the screws and help.
Another item I bought was a hurst pit kit. I had this for awhile and knew the bushings were not going to fit but the clips fit perfectly and were a needed replacement for the old clips and cotter pins used over the years.
Don’t forget an installation diagram, mine was from the 68 service manual, it’s handy to have for arm and linkage references.
I pulled the bushings out of the handle along with the reverse lockout cable and then used the set screw for the cable to anchor the reverse lockout handle in place. It’s clean and reversible should the need arise (not)
The lockout T handle set screw is a 6-32 screw and I had to run a tap through the other side to get the screw to seat on the handle, the hole was there already just not tapped through.
The finished product looks and fits like the stock shifter but the feel and travel is much better and it feels “stronger” when really banging thru the gears.
Here are some measurements I took before and after the shifter installation. They were measured from the same point on the shifter ball, the 3 gear location from the ashtray location for the 1/2, 3/4 and reverse shifts and the R location to the drivers side door panel for the side to side dimensions.
Inland body.
Neutral gate, 1/2 to 3/4 = 1 3/4”
23 1/4” to 25”
1/2 to reverse = 2 1/4”
21” to 23 1/4”
1st to 2nd throw = 7”
5” to 12”
3rd to 4th throw = 7”
5” to 12”
Reverse, neutral to gear= 4”
Side to side in gear 1”
Hurst body
Neutral gate 1/2 to 3/4 = 1 1/4”
24” to 25 1/4”
1/2 to reverse= 1 1/4”
22 3/4” to 24”
1st to 2nd throw = 5 3/4”.
3 3/4 to 9 1/2”
3rd to 4th throw= 5 3/4”
3 3/4” to 9 1/2”
Reverse, neutral to gear 4”
Side to side in gear 1/2”
So there you go. A pretty comprehensive write up and maybe worthy of being a sticky or pinned, enjoy.
Cliff Ramsdell
Hi all,
I search high and low and no real feedback on the installation of this shifter so I’ll do a little write up with some details, pictures and data.
The car is my 1968 GTS, it’s a restored matching numbers car and while I love the car that way I’m good with hidden upgrades like the shifter.
A shout out to brewers for a nice piece, great customer service and fast shipping.
I bought the billet mount also as needed for the swap and it comes with mounting hardware for the mount and shifter. The shifter comes with the fasteners for installing the handle.
The old Shifter assembly out and a comparison of the two. I should note that the new shifter is made to use the stock inland shift rods.
The screws that hold the mount to the transmission are a 7/32 Allen and can be very tight or even damaged if someone has been there before. Use a good, clean, USA made Allen wrench and go easy. A coupe good hits to the head of the screw with a drift and hammer can help “shock” the screws and help.
Another item I bought was a hurst pit kit. I had this for awhile and knew the bushings were not going to fit but the clips fit perfectly and were a needed replacement for the old clips and cotter pins used over the years.
Don’t forget an installation diagram, mine was from the 68 service manual, it’s handy to have for arm and linkage references.
I pulled the bushings out of the handle along with the reverse lockout cable and then used the set screw for the cable to anchor the reverse lockout handle in place. It’s clean and reversible should the need arise (not)
The lockout T handle set screw is a 6-32 screw and I had to run a tap through the other side to get the screw to seat on the handle, the hole was there already just not tapped through.
The finished product looks and fits like the stock shifter but the feel and travel is much better and it feels “stronger” when really banging thru the gears.
Here are some measurements I took before and after the shifter installation. They were measured from the same point on the shifter ball, the 3 gear location from the ashtray location for the 1/2, 3/4 and reverse shifts and the R location to the drivers side door panel for the side to side dimensions.
Inland body.
Neutral gate, 1/2 to 3/4 = 1 3/4”
23 1/4” to 25”
1/2 to reverse = 2 1/4”
21” to 23 1/4”
1st to 2nd throw = 7”
5” to 12”
3rd to 4th throw = 7”
5” to 12”
Reverse, neutral to gear= 4”
Side to side in gear 1”
Hurst body
Neutral gate 1/2 to 3/4 = 1 1/4”
24” to 25 1/4”
1/2 to reverse= 1 1/4”
22 3/4” to 24”
1st to 2nd throw = 5 3/4”.
3 3/4 to 9 1/2”
3rd to 4th throw= 5 3/4”
3 3/4” to 9 1/2”
Reverse, neutral to gear 4”
Side to side in gear 1/2”
So there you go. A pretty comprehensive write up and maybe worthy of being a sticky or pinned, enjoy.
Cliff Ramsdell