I have a Toploader with a Hurst shifter that I want to put in the ‘70 convertible. The trans is tagged for a ‘71 Mustang and appears to have an original shifter and handle - it was well seated and appeared not to have been out for a while. As I started to clean it up though I noticed these welds that don’t look original/factory. Looks like it was cut and a piece of bar stock was welded in to move the shifter to the left. Questions:
Is this set up original or has it been modified?
Will this work in a Cougar?
The hole is square in 67/8’s & then enlarged to a rectangle in 69/70. 70 Was the first year Cougars had a Hurst shifter installed from the factory. No other shifter was used on the 4speed Cats in 70.I believe it is still avail aftermarket as a “Competiton Shifter”…
So to answer your question,
Yes it (should) fit just like factory, if indeed this is a Hurst/Ford shifter. I didn’t see any stampings…
P.S. Don’t forget the mounting plate bolted to the trans tail piece. A lower shift boot is recommended too.
Perfect. Still cleaning up the shifter itself and will look for markings. Here is the tag on the housing. Codes out as a ‘70 Boss 302 or 351 2.32 4-speed.
Mounting plate is already in place. The shifter is all there but had some rust and pitting mainly on the 3138 outer housing, the 7268 lever, and the .040” flat shim. Can’t read all the stamps and numbers on the housing other than the 3138 and can barely make out the “COMPETITION PLUS” stamp - there are numbers stamped to the right but too much pitting. I’m thinking that the pitting on the inner housing surface, the flat shim, and the lever inner surfaces warrants replacing those parts. The 7265 and 7267 levers have some minor pitting on the outer arms but the interior contact points are fairly clean, so thinking those are worth keeping.
Thanks for the insights here and any other thoughts are appreciated.
Get a rebuild kit. It comes w/ the “shims” you mention. (left side of pic. They are "spring steel or stainless and have pressed detents.) These get messed up & will cause shifting problems. Pitting does not look bad enough to have to replace anything else. Base this $ against new at under $200.
The rust/ pitting is a major reason to install a new lower boot!
