Toploader 4 Speed Hurst Shifter

[Rymadd]

So been looking around for the hurst shifter parts to put on a 4 speed but looks like they discontinued it for early broncos. Anybody have any information on this stuff? Mounting brackets and shifter linkage? Also an actual part number for what shifter you used if you have one in your truck? I've read they can get close to your knee and stuff like that so wondering about how far into the drivers floor pan they come too.

Any info would be awesome.

 

[jamesroney]

The adapter kit for your Toploader to Bronco is still available from Advance Adapters.

The shaft kit is 50-1900, $288
The shift bracket is a 715503, $50
The rod kit is a 715630, $60
and is all good in stock as of 11:00 today. (I just called them...)

I ran this kit in my old Bronco, and I offset the shift stick to clear my leg. I think I might still have that old Hurst shifter in my shed.

PM me if you need the shifter.

 

[hankjr]

Howdy. i looked at going this route and actually picked up a great condition toploader and hurst shifter before i decided to go with a ZF. I figured i would just sell the trans and shifter once it came time to clean out the leftover parts but havent gotten that far yet.

the shifter i got came out of a mustang i think and did not have the rods to fit a bronco but i wasnt worried and was planning to make heim end rods. i took the shifter all apart and cleaned the grime out of it and got it mostly back together without too much fuss. i never bothered to source the new bushings etc that would finish the job, but there were rebuild kits out there

the bracket to mount the shifter is the same as the 3 speed if i recall correctly and the tunnel cover is the same. i cant comment on fit against the leg as i never installed

here are some pics that i had saved.

Hank

 

[kylakekevin]

These are the only pics I have handy of mine, shifter does ride along your leg touching it. It's worth it though for the fun.

 

[kylakekevin]

I'll take some pics this afternoon of where it sits on my leg.

 

[demo0211]

I already had the shift linkage setup on my 74 but installed a hurst shift lever for a 66 Mustang as it has the offset coming out of the shifter so it sits to the right away from your knee

 

[House]

I was looking at possibly using one from a Mopar with a console that had a 4" offset to the right to gain some knee clearance... Haven't finalized the measurements yet though.

 

[hogfan]

I have a buddy that put a Hurst inline shifter in his. Said it limited the people that could drive it and he liked that.

 

[SteveL]

If you need bushings summit sell a pit pack of bushings and clips. You can get stock nylon or metal bushings.

 

[Rymadd]

Wow didn’t know this many of you are still running toploaders. Appreciate the pictures so far. I actually have a mustang hurst shifter leftover from a project I could use, although I was gonna look for a shifter with the bolt on shift lever so I could play around with different ones if I didn’t like it. I notice Toms still sells the 4 speed tunnel cover, is this the same as the 3 speed? How much do you have to cut out of the floor? I already have a hole in the top actually where I had a ZF in my truck, but obviously going to be in the wrong spot now.

 

[SteveL]

Pretty sure the covers are the same for 3 or 4spd.

 

[hucktruck]

I traded out the 3 speed with converted floor shifter for the 4 speed toploader and reused the cover. Works good.

On a side note I had bought the AA shift rods (because one of the ones I was going to use had stripped threads) and they were not even close to being usable for me. The bends were all wrong IMO

 

[kylakekevin]

The side of hump is cut out on mine under the whole cover. This is neutral 2nd and 4th pics

 

[tabyers]

This is my current toploader set up with a JBFab cable shift for the transfer case. The Jeff’s 3spd bracket fits much better than the AA (although not used here)and the rods were useless for me too. I’m taking it all out this weekend so if anyone wants any part of it, let me know. And of course they are upside down!

 

[tabyers]

I’ll try these, sorry

 

[Rymadd]

I’ll try these, sorry

Is this a 3 speed or 4 speed? How did you get the shifter over so far compared to everybody else? If it’s a 4 speed I’m interested!

 

[tabyers]

Yep it’s a 4spd, I’m sure you could do it to a 3spd too though. I just bought a cable operated twin stick from JB Fabrications (needed 1” body lift) and moved the transfer case sticks over with that, then strapped the hurst to the good spot with three homemade brackets. It’s a fantastic set up, but I’m not done with the trails, so I’ve got to go with something lower. I tried looking into swapping the guts out of T-176 but the input shaft is an inch too long so I’m giving up and buying a 5spd.

 

[Rymadd]

Yep it’s a 4spd, I’m sure you could do it to a 3spd too though. I just bought a cable operated twin stick from JB Fabrications (needed 1” body lift) and moved the transfer case sticks over with that, then strapped the hurst to the good spot with three homemade brackets. It’s a fantastic set up, but I’m not done with the trails, so I’ve got to go with something lower. I tried looking into swapping the guts out of T-176 but the input shaft is an inch too long so I’m giving up and buying a 5spd.

So you made brackets to mount the shifter, what about the rods? have any pictures of your setup?

 

[tabyers]

The rods are homemade as well, the AA rods didn't work at all and it sent me down a bit of a path. You can see in one pic that there is an offset half clevis on the reverse leg because I wanted to put it as much towards the middle and as low as possible. There is a strap type bracket on the top of the shifter that bolts to the intermediate housing hole and two on the back that mount in the transfer case bolts just like the conventional floor mount brackets. I went through a ton of complicated ideas but in the end, this worked the best. The other pic shows the cable shift which was plug and play on the transfer case side and just a matter of mounting the hardware on the floor, which was tight but doable.
Also, if you didn't already know, you can get a top cover with a shift tower off of a Jeep T-176 and forgo the hurst altogether. That could be a nice set up. I don't know how they feel though. Sorry I don't have better pictures.

 

[Rymadd]

The rods are homemade as well, the AA rods didn't work at all and it sent me down a bit of a path. You can see in one pic that there is an offset half clevis on the reverse leg because I wanted to put it as much towards the middle and as low as possible. There is a strap type bracket on the top of the shifter that bolts to the intermediate housing hole and two on the back that mount in the transfer case bolts just like the conventional floor mount brackets. I went through a ton of complicated ideas but in the end, this worked the best. The other pic shows the cable shift which was plug and play on the transfer case side and just a matter of mounting the hardware on the floor, which was tight but doable.
Also, if you didn't already know, you can get a top cover with a shift tower off of a Jeep T-176 and forgo the hurst altogether. That could be a nice set up. I don't know how they feel though. Sorry I don't have better pictures.

I actually have a Jeep top shifter and was planning on using it, however ever since I got it I've been staring at the thin cast aluminum tower the handle rides in and felt like I'm going to break it power shifting lol. Did some digging online and have read some others with that very issue so I think the Hurst shifter with mechanical stops might be the way to go. Plus I've always dug a shiny chrome hurst handle