hurst vertical gate

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lil Scamper

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i have a hurst vgate shifter that iwant to install in my 74 scamp, i was wonderig if anyone knows how much modifying it will take, and if anyone has and shifter rods that might work for the abody length tail stock, the shifter was origanally on an abody 833 liberty proshifter that was converted for b body so the rods have been shorten, any help is appreciated
 
i have a hurst vgate shifter that iwant to install in my 74 scamp, i was wonderig if anyone knows how much modifying it will take, and if anyone has and shifter rods that might work for the abody length tail stock, the shifter was origanally on an abody 833 liberty proshifter that was converted for b body so the rods have been shorten, any help is appreciated

Street car? If so, you might wanna rethink that. The V gate is a great race shifter, but is a real BEEOTCH to down shift. They go from high to first with ease, like when pullin off the strip access road, but downshiftin from one gear to the next is a PAIN. They were just not designed for the street.
 
i have a hurst vgate shifter that iwant to install in my 74 scamp, i was wonderig if anyone knows how much modifying it will take, and if anyone has and shifter rods that might work for the abody length tail stock, the shifter was origanally on an abody 833 liberty proshifter that was converted for b body so the rods have been shorten, any help is appreciated
You'll probably end up with a good-sized hole in the transmission tunnel. As for the rods, I'm not entirely sure what'll be involved. If they need to go longer, you may be able to cut them on the long, straight sections and weld in sections of heavy-wall tube to put things where they need to be.

Street car? If so, you might wanna rethink that. The V gate is a great race shifter, but is a real BEEOTCH to down shift. They go from high to first with ease, like when pullin off the strip access road, but downshiftin from one gear to the next is a PAIN. They were just not designed for the street.
I got the same thing from Super Shops when I bought one, but never found it to be that difficult to downshift. I quickly developed the habit of downshifting by placing my thumb on top of the T-handle, lifting the trigger with the middle and ring fingers and pushing/pulling the handle as needed. It's a little weird, but well worth the oops proofing that the mechanism affords. It was also fun to watch windshield repair guys struggle to move the car into a bay. There was a lot of "Hey, man. Where's reverse on this thing?" involved. 8)
 
I had one in my dart, never really had a problem on the street. 4th to 3rd is no problem as long as you don't pull the lever it stays in the 3/4 gate.

I have recently taken mine out for my resto. I can take some pics of the rods if you like.
Let me know

Garth
 
pics of the rods.

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Garth
 
i dont think it will be too hard to drive on the street,i like to think im halfways competent enough to figure it out, and then it just takes practices, i got the shifter rods figured out, but after looking at the pictures i noticed that my mounting plate is different, i think maybe someone just hand fabbed the one i have b/c only 2 holes on the shifter line up with it and its alot rougher looking than that, i can make it work tho, anyway thanks for the help and tips, much appreciated
 
like this? have used it for years. as long as you like shifting it works awesome.
 
I have one going in my Demon some day soon. I actually have three shifters and each one came with a gaggle of rods. I've made three of them work on the bench. haven't had it in the car yet, so I don't know what I'm facing there yet.

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they work ok on the street, your gonna have to wack a good size hole though. my hole is a little bigger in the back than need be due to a different vertigate than the one pictured. if your running a pro shifted trans, how the shifter works will be the least of your worries on the street. :toothy6:

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I ran one in my daily driver (73 camaro) in after high school and loved it. I never had any problems shifting. I would love to get one with rods for my OD 4 speed that is going in my 69 D100 SWB.
 
b/e tail shafted. put it right where i could reach well. never had a problem with it . love shifting it with this. small hole in the floor as seen in the pic.
 

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im not running a pro shifted trans the v gate came off of one, one just running an aluminum mancase standard gearset 4 speed that passion is supposed to be rebuilding right now, it will have one of their slick shift kits but its still no liberty, my vgate is like the one pictured with the blue car and from the look of it the stock hole fit pretty good
 
im not running a pro shifted trans the v gate came off of one, one just running an aluminum mancase standard gearset 4 speed that passion is supposed to be rebuilding right now, it will have one of their slick shift kits but its still no liberty, my vgate is like the one pictured with the blue car and from the look of it the stock hole fit pretty good

yea those are alot smaller, should be alot less headache for you
 
Morning All,
I worked on these shifters for guy's a bunch 30 yrs ago. As They could not get them to shift right.They said "I used the pin like the directions said and they work great at the track but can't shift it at all on the street" What I found was One rod (I think 3-4) needed
to be turned 1 turn off of where the alighment pin put the levers. Then they shifted like butter on the street or when there was work to be done. Someone pointed out street shifting, palm up with thumb on top of handle then fingers under into gate rings or tee to downshift. Yes that worked great. They were easy to street drive that way. I just found a new old stock Large body Mr Gasket one for my 512" 69 Dart. Still in the box. Need to make up heim joint rods and a mounting plate now. But would need to do that with any shifter. As I am useing a 18 spline B body 833.
The question I have is? There seems to be 4 different versions of this shifter. 2 just pictured in this post. Mr Gasket small body, with T handle gate spring on the bottom back. Mr Gasket large body, with 2 ring gate rod with spring on rod and very heavy with straight rods. While the small body had bent stock style rods. Then Hurst had the same 2 versions also. I worked on them all for guy's 30 yrs ago but never gave it any thought.
You know just another job. I got them because word got around the Twin City's that I was the guy that could realy make them work slick. Does anyone know any history about these? When they are setup right there is nothing like them.
Take care,
Rick
 
I had one in my Chevelle and loved it!!!! Sold the chevelle Still got the shifter on the garage wall for a future 4 speed mopar
 
If it's adjusted correctly and in good condition, it shouldn't be a problem, just have to lift the trigger when down-shifting.....mine took no more room than a conventional shifter as far as the opening.....measure twice - cut once.

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Rickster
 
good fab skills ... anything can be done.

My dad had a v-gate in his street challenger. I still have the homemade linkage for the challenger and the mr gasket ram rod shifter .... it will be going in my dart!
 
Morning All,
I worked on these shifters for guy's a bunch 30 yrs ago. As They could not get them to shift right.They said "I used the pin like the directions said and they work great at the track but can't shift it at all on the street" What I found was One rod (I think 3-4) needed
to be turned 1 turn off of where the alighment pin put the levers. Then they shifted like butter on the street or when there was work to be done. Someone pointed out street shifting, palm up with thumb on top of handle then fingers under into gate rings or tee to downshift. Yes that worked great. They were easy to street drive that way. I just found a new old stock Large body Mr Gasket one for my 512" 69 Dart. Still in the box. Need to make up heim joint rods and a mounting plate now. But would need to do that with any shifter. As I am useing a 18 spline B body 833.
The question I have is? There seems to be 4 different versions of this shifter. 2 just pictured in this post. Mr Gasket small body, with T handle gate spring on the bottom back. Mr Gasket large body, with 2 ring gate rod with spring on rod and very heavy with straight rods. While the small body had bent stock style rods. Then Hurst had the same 2 versions also. I worked on them all for guy's 30 yrs ago but never gave it any thought.
You know just another job. I got them because word got around the Twin City's that I was the guy that could realy make them work slick. Does anyone know any history about these? When they are setup right there is nothing like them.
Take care,
Rick

Could you or someone else elaborate on setting these up with the "pin method"....ive heard someone else mention this before, but unfortunatly i dont have the original instructions for my mr gasket vertigate and i need something to go by when trying to adjust it
 
mshred,

If you look at the shifter body, you will see a 1/4" hole low center going thru the
shifter body and both levers. What it does is pins the 1-2,3-4 levers togather and
centered in the shifter body. Sometimes it is called "shifter center". Most all Mr Gasket
and Hurst have these holes. Then you adjust the rod length to fit in the transmition
side plates in the Neutral position without the levers moveing. If the shifter works smooth on the test drive you are done. If not you move 3-4 rod 1 turn longer or shorter
to get the shifter to float from gate to gate. I use a drop or 2 of 3&1 oil in the top of
the shifter body for lube but no more. Every other oil change.
One thing to watch out for. Hurst and Mr Gasket both I have found the rod plates on the tranny were to thin. You would tighten the nut down on the shoulder flats on the shaft and not the plate and then round off the shaft torque slots and loose your adjustment.
Hope this helps,
Rick
 
mshred,

If you look at the shifter body, you will see a 1/4" hole low center going thru the
shifter body and both levers. What it does is pins the 1-2,3-4 levers togather and
centered in the shifter body. Sometimes it is called "shifter center". Most all Mr Gasket
and Hurst have these holes. Then you adjust the rod length to fit in the transmition
side plates in the Neutral position without the levers moveing. If the shifter works smooth on the test drive you are done. If not you move 3-4 rod 1 turn longer or shorter
to get the shifter to float from gate to gate. I use a drop or 2 of 3&1 oil in the top of
the shifter body for lube but no more. Every other oil change.
One thing to watch out for. Hurst and Mr Gasket both I have found the rod plates on the tranny were to thin. You would tighten the nut down on the shoulder flats on the shaft and not the plate and then round off the shaft torque slots and loose your adjustment.
Hope this helps,
Rick

Rick, thanks for all the tips! mine doesnt have adjustable stops at the moment, so im going to make some for it...when i set it all up i will keep in mind your method! thanks!
 
mshred,
I forgot to mention the over throw stop bolts. Back them off before you
start. Adjust the complete shifter without them FIRST. Make shure everything
works smooth and how you want it. Then to adjust the over throw stop bolts,
hold the shifter handle snug in gear and turn the bolt on that lever in to touch
the lever. Back off the bolt( 3/8-16) 1/4 to 1/2 turn and lock it down. Then do the next gear. You only need to make stop bolts for 2nd-3rd-4th. You don't hammer first so no real need. This is what has worked for me. If you set your stop bolts to touch the
lever at rest in gear you will bounce out of gear on a hard shift. There to keep from
damaging a fork from diabolicle--diabalikle--dablickel-- race thrashing.
There are'nt many of us gear grabbers any more. Nothing like a perfect 7000rpm
manual shift!! Nice to hear "How you old guy's shift like that!!"
Also, you need your clutch disengagement at full pedal down, .040min to .060 clearance
measured with a feeler guage between the disk and pressure plate. More and you are over traveling and waisting motion, less and windage will drag your input shaft and make it shift hard. Free travel at the top meens nothing, what you have at the disk at bottom
is where the action takes place. Borg & Beck roller always worked fastest for me, the diafram style seemed lazy to re-engage. Not near as fast off the bottom. Lighter yes but was not as consistant at the light for me. Just preferance I guess.
Take care and have fun,
Rick
 
mshred,
I forgot to mention the over throw stop bolts. Back them off before you
start. Adjust the complete shifter without them FIRST. Make shure everything
works smooth and how you want it. Then to adjust the over throw stop bolts,
hold the shifter handle snug in gear and turn the bolt on that lever in to touch
the lever. Back off the bolt( 3/8-16) 1/4 to 1/2 turn and lock it down. Then do the next gear. You only need to make stop bolts for 2nd-3rd-4th. You don't hammer first so no real need. This is what has worked for me. If you set your stop bolts to touch the
lever at rest in gear you will bounce out of gear on a hard shift. There to keep from
damaging a fork from diabolicle--diabalikle--dablickel-- race thrashing.
There are'nt many of us gear grabbers any more. Nothing like a perfect 7000rpm
manual shift!! Nice to hear "How you old guy's shift like that!!"
Also, you need your clutch disengagement at full pedal down, .040min to .060 clearance
measured with a feeler guage between the disk and pressure plate. More and you are over traveling and waisting motion, less and windage will drag your input shaft and make it shift hard. Free travel at the top meens nothing, what you have at the disk at bottom
is where the action takes place. Borg & Beck roller always worked fastest for me, the diafram style seemed lazy to re-engage. Not near as fast off the bottom. Lighter yes but was not as consistant at the light for me. Just preferance I guess.
Take care and have fun,
Rick

thanks for all the info rick...dont be surprised if you ever get a pm from me in the future...i have to say after driving a stickshift drag car, this car nor any other drag racing style car i own will get an automatic:toothy10:
 
mshred,
PM is welcome anytime. We just scratched the surface info. These setup tips even work
for those other 2 brands. The other areas for good solid shifting are critical too. They are,
from the engine back. Everything needs to be square, perpandicular, and inline. That includes, main case input bore to output bore, front face and tail houseing face square
with the centerline of the mainshaft bores. Same with the bellhouseing. I am a master grade machinist buy trade. You would not imagine the off machining I have found over the last 35yrs on tranny cases. 883 best, M20 & M21 worst. But have found bad aligned
machining at one time or another in them all. Don't take much and they won't shift or they break to easy. And same parts in a heavy'er car with more power and you can't
break it? Something is most like'ly machined a little off. One breaks-One won't.
Everyone line bores and square's there engine, what about the tranny case and bellhouseing? Then they are the first to say that tranny is weak.
Sorry started to ramble on a bit there.
I read about the ones that do the full monty to the engines then throw a clutch
and 4-speed hap hazzard on the back and complain it's junk. It just deserves the
same attention is all.
If this helps just one person get there car to shift, well the ramble on was worth it.
It is what has worked for me. If anyone would like me to put this info in it's own
thread let me know here or PM.
Take care
Rick
 
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