hurst vertical gate

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NITROTRIP said:
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
Click to expand...

I agree with you Rick 100%...alot of guys dont know how to set stuff up properly with the right parts or how to drive for that matter, and then wonder how or why stuff breaks...I listened to a Herb McCandless seminar this summer and he provided alot of good tips for the 4 speed racing and such, some similar to what you are saying...however, it would be nice to have a 4 speed guru like you share on here with us...maybe start a thread on "tips for racing with a 4 speed" and post some of your findings..im sure it would be more than appreciated by me and any others interested in racing a 4 speed- good to debunk the myths in my opinion

thanks so far!
Matthew
 
Rick,

I want to personally thank you for sharing your knowledge on properly setting up a 4spd race car..... Since I was young I've always loved 4spd cars and feel that too many people don't give then enough credit. With the advice you provided in this thread, I fully intend to set up a A833 with a V-gate shifter and have lots of fun with my 63 Dart. I am and always will be a gear grabber, and thanks to your advice I think I'll be one for a long time to come. My most sincere thanks to you sir.


Jay
 
NITROTRIP said:
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
Click to expand...

defiantly preference on the clutch set up. the majority of people like their clutch adjusted toward the top/middle. i have no intent on pushing that pedal all the way to the floor on a powershift. all the guys i've talked to including the clutch experts say about .250 min air gap between the throw out bearing and the levers with the pedal disengaged is around ideal. some guys use stops under the pedal to shorten up the travel for better control. The Long style adjustable plate is usually the choice in quick ( 9-10 sec) street/strip cars.

proshifted4speed021.jpg
 
dart66nj said:
wanted hurst ram rod vertical gate shifter
Click to expand...

fwiw there is the Hurst Vertigate and then the Hurst Ram Rod, Ram Rods are better but super hard to find for A bodies. The Ram Rod fits in a smaller cutout in the floor plus has a shorter throw. That said I found and A body Vertigate, have it setup right and it's sweet. Once I get the clutch squared away all will be well, assuming I get my 18 spline parts back from Liberty one of these months ! For now I have a 23 spline in my Duster but having troubles with the Centerforce DF clutch pulling it apart Wednesday to see what the heck is/went wrong.
 
I installed the vgate into my scamp that i was talking about earlier in this thread, you say the ram rod is smaller than the vgate? how different is it in appearance because mine fit into the stock tunnel with almost no modification, i machined my own mounting plate from half inch aluminum and maybe that has something to do with the good fit but i am just wondering if maybe it is a ram rod. The car is street driven but i have had it on the track once and only with street tires, the shifter worked great and i have no trouble downshifting on the street. I got a laugh out of watching my buddy with a 5 speed honda civic try to drive the v gate though, its shifts smooth but he understands why they call them muscle cars now.
 
Check out my post about the ram rod, and you'll see how it's supposed to look.

Antoon
 
Guys like Nitrotrip should be appreciated- they are willing to share knowledge that only experience provides and isn't taught in school.
 
Back in the mid to late 70's, I had both a v-gate and a ram rod. The v-gate was in a 67 notch cuda and the ram rod was in a 68 fb, both 340 cars. The notch had a 69 340 bought from a roll over. I found a shop that worked on the other 4 speeds and when I asked about rebuilding either of mine, they laughed. As I was walking out the door, one of the guys followed me and ask me to look at some Mopar 4 speed stuff he had. He opened his trunk and had 2 complete Direct Connection aluminum main body and tail housings. He told me he'd take 75 for all of it and I jumped on it. He and his buddies are probably kicking themselves now, if they ever realized the value of those pieces.

Bill S.
 
Welcome to the 4 speed ranks.when I bought my very first Mopar in 1970 a 340 4 spd Duster I had a Mr. Gasket vertical gate shifter installed. Best move i ever made. Now I am 62 yrs.old and have finished my 1970 340 Duster with the same shifter. I love this shifter and you will learn to also. Take your time and enjoy what this type shifter can give you. Down shifting will become second nature to you and the up shifting will make you enjoy driving a 4 speed. Take it from an old man it is bad to the bone fast!
 
i have been looking for a shifter boot for my mr gasket shifter as well. From everything i have found there are none in existance. One option i am debating on is modifying something else to make work.
 
I want to get a vertigate for my 64 Dart. All that seems to be out there are setups for GM's. Can anyone that has one out of his car draw a diagram with hole dimensions so the I can fab up a mounting bracket?

Mike
 
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