shifters

[fryedaddy]

will a shifter and linkage out of a 68-69 cj mustang fit in a 66 fe comet without cutting a bigger hole in the floor.a guy offered it to me ,but i dont know if it will work

[Rory428]

Fairlane and comets usually have the shifter mounted further forward than Mustangs and Cougars. The shifter itself may work, but you would need Comet/Fairlane rods and mounting plate.

[Keith Stevens]

To add to that the Big block Mustang ars ( like mine) use the Fairlane transmission with steel adapter bracket for floor hole position.  These are about 25.00 from about any vendor. You can also buy the rod set for about 100.00.

[427John]

Are you asking about Hurst shifters or the factory shifters?

[Keith Stevens]

I assumed it was factory being there was no mention of aftermarket/Hurst. Good question.

[fryedaddy]

im going to buy a hurst later when i can afford one-after christmas for shre.a friend offered the cj mustang shifter just so i could get it back on the road.im not going to take it if it wont bolt right on and work in my comet.

[GerryP]

Mustang and Fairlane shifters are different.  Not only the shift rods, but the shifter assembly itself.  Mustang uses a bolt-on handle.  The Fairlane handle shape is different and it is not bolted on.  I don't know how to describe it, but it's a manufactured, non-removeable part of the shifter body.  I don't know why it is like that, but it is.

[djburton]

68 and 69 are 2 completely different shifters. The 69 is a 1 year only deal. How complete is it? Does it have the shifter itself,rods,levers,mounting plate? It depends where on the tail shaft housing mounting holes are and the length of the rods whether it will physically fit the trans. The 69 has a bolt on handle as previously stated. If it's Mustang and 69 stuff,it's worth quite a bit of money.Trade it for a Hurst that fits easily.

[gt350hr]

im going to buy a hurst later when i can afford one-after christmas for shre.a friend offered the cj mustang shifter just so i could get it back on the road.im not going to take it if it wont bolt right on and work in my comet.

 Is your '66 already a floor shift? If yes , you would have to butcher the area where the shifter bolts on or custom make a different one. Fairlane -Comet floor shifters are unique. I converted my '67 from column to floor shifter. The adapter "bustle"  bolts on to a specific area and then the tunnel is cut to clear the linkage. properly done  it looks "hacked" LOL but that is the way Ford did it too. The shifter assembly is rectangular and bolts to the adapter with three 1/4" bolts. The console covers the whole thing up. Some have the neutral safety switch on the shifter and others on the trans.
   Randy

[427John]

Yes a 4 speed fairlane with the tunnel hump removed looks like a hack job,but it was necessary to clear the shift rods going forward,the auto versions are about as bad.Earlier Galaxies and Falcons weren't quite so bad but still looked far from professional.

[gt350hr]

   So is/was the automatic. I trimmed mine to the minimum and it still looked butchered.

[fryedaddy]

68 and 69 are 2 completely different shifters. The 69 is a 1 year only deal. How complete is it? Does it have the shifter itself,rods,levers,mounting plate? It depends where on the tail shaft housing mounting holes are and the length of the rods whether it will physically fit the trans. The 69 has a bolt on handle as previously stated. If it's Mustang and 69 stuff,it's worth quite a bit of money.Trade it for a Hurst that fits easily.

he has a 68 and a 69 both complete.and my comet is a factory 4 speed -390,i put the automatic in it years ago,i have a comet-fairlane toploader,i just dont have any kind of shifter or linkage

[fryedaddy]

what kind of 4 speed shifters does hurst offer besides the competition plus? in the end i would like a shifter that is good for street racing-drag.i had a comp plus shifter in it back in the eighties,i never could bang shift it.

[Nightmist66]

what kind of 4 speed shifters does hurst offer besides the competition plus? in the end i would like a shifter that is good for street racing-drag.i had a comp plus shifter in it back in the eighties,i never could bang shift it.

They have a "Super Shifter". That has a much shorter straight stick that bolts on. Reverse lockout is push down and go over/up into rev. Also requires a bit of butchery to the tunnel hump to fit, because the shifter sits over with long standoffs for a straighter shot with the linkage. Will not fit with a console. I have the Competition Plus in mine and retain the factory console. I can shift "okay" with it, I still need practice. But, the 2' long stick doesn't help much. The only real problem I have with it, is I can't seem to downshift quickly from 3rd to 2nd. I just can't bring myself to get rid of the console for a Super Shifter or even a V gate. I think a V gate takes some of the fun out of it. There's something about the H pattern for me. The Competiton Plus I have, has the stick welded on. Mine is an original from the 70's. The current units are still made the same way. See here:

https://www.holley.com/products/drivetrain/shifters_components_and_accessories/manual_shifters/parts/3913180

I made my own linkage for 1-4 with heims. I left reverse alone.

[Rory428]

I have a Hurst "Super Shifter 3" in my 59. The shifter mounting plate positions the shifter higher than normal, and uses reinforced ,straight shifter rods for 1-2 and 3-4, and it also has a reverse lock out lever. Works great, but requires some serious floor cutting to make it fit. My Toploader was drilled and tapped for both the Mustang position, as well as the further forward location for Fairlane/Comets. Since I wanted to retain the factory bench seat, I installed the shifter in the Fairlane position. The Super Shifter mounting plate had both patterns , and the shifter rods were threaded long enough that I was able to wind the pivot buttons far enough to fit.