After driving my newly assembled 1977 Corvette for about a month, I decided the stock auto shifter had to go! The problem is that no one seems to make a bolt in performance auto shifter for C3 Corvettes! After looking at many brands/models of shifters available, I decided on a Hurst Pistol Grip shifter with Rev Lockout and a button for the Line Lock that will be going in soon. I used a Hurst p/n 316-2006 for a forward pattern TH400 but the following installation procedure will work with most any of the Hurst Pistol Grip and probably Quarter Stick as well.
The shifter isn’t a direct bolt in, but I came up with what I believe is a fairly easy, cheap and quick way to install the unit without major modifications. Installation is accomplished using the stock shifter mount bolt holes and an adapter plate that you’ll need to fab up with the procedure described below. The only modifications to the car itself was a slot added for the cable to pass through and a groove I filed where the cable went through the original shift cable hole. A better method would be to drill a hole in front and slightly to the right of the original hole for the new cable to pass through, but I wanted to install this with as little mods as possible. The shifter only needed one hole drilled in the base (see 3rd picture below). I also removed the shifters N/P safety switch assembly since I didn’t want to mod the car to make it fit in. If you want to use that part, you would have to cut some on the console support bracket to make the shifter fit.
The first thing you’ll need is a piece of steel 2” wide x 1/8” thick. I bought a 3’ long piece from Lowes for $6.97 which is what I used. On one end, I marked and drilled holes that matched the stock location/size of the bolt holes on the original stock shifter. Next, I marked 1-1/2” from the end then 2” from the end. I then clamped the steel in the vice on the 2” line and bent a 90 degree bend and used a hammer to get it bent tightly. Then, remove from the vice and put back in on the 1-1/2” mark and bend the opposite way also using hammer to help in the process. The second bend wasn’t quite 90 so I could get a slight slope with the part (see 2nd picture below to see what I’m talking about). Now I measured 7” from the holes out onto the steel and scribed a line. Cut there and you’ll have your adapter bracket (1st picture below).
Now take the bracket and place in the car with the two holes over the rear holes for shifter mount. You then can mark a line to drill the one front hole needed for mounting. Drill the front hole through bracket making sure it’s spaced the same as rear off the edge (5/16 was my offset from edge). Now you can place the shifter in the bracket the way it will be mounted in the car. Mine butted against the 90 degree bend and I left about 1/8” of the shifter hang off the bracket on the pass side. That gave me the best centering in the original automatic shifter console. For right/left centering of the shifter in the console, I found the best was to have the end of the cable pin on the shifter even with the right edge of the console. Holding the bracket and shifter together, I marked the rear existing shifter holes on the bracket. Drilled those out then bolted the shifter to the bracket temporarily and marked the one hole that need drilled in base of shifter. Once I drilled that front hole in shifter base, the adapted shifter assembly was ready for installation.
Before installation of the shifter, you need to mark and cut/file a slot for the cable to pass through the console support bracket. The picture below shows where I did that for mine. I also filed a groove where the cable went through the original shift cable hole. I figure that will keep the cable from sliding around in the original hole. If desired, a better method would be to drill a hole in front and slightly to the right of the original hole for the new cable to pass through.
Next, I passed the new cable down through the floor and installed in adapted shifter. Fastened the cable to the shifter with the provided clip then bolted the shifter & bracket down using 3 of the original bolts. That results in a sturdy installation and should be centered properly in the console if you measured/mounted the shifter to the bracket properly.
Attaching the cable to the trans is easy… just follow the shifter instructions. I did coil the cable up above the trans to keep away from the exhaust.
Finally, to finish the installation, I needed a shifter boot that would work with the new Hurst. After thinking a minute about the original boot, I decided I could modify it to make it work well!. All you need to do is split the sewn seam with a razor blade. I then trial installed (in neutral) and wrapped it around the console, tucking the front right portion down into the console. After slicing two small (1/8”) slits in the joining/overlapping edges of the leather, I used two small zip ties (black ones) to fasten it together. You probably could get creative with velcro or even a zipper if you wanted to, but the zip ties worked well for me! Once zip tied together and tested, the boot works great! When you want to get reverse/park, all you have to do is push the release through the boot. The release is even hidden by the boot to make the shifter look better. You’ll of course want to try the shifter before driving to make sure it doesn’t bind with the boot, but mine worked with no problems so yours should do well too!
