First off BB, Ford did indeed use a Hurst shifter, not just the handle, starting in 1970. 69 4 speed models had a crappy Ford built unit, with a round handle with no Hurst lettering.
George, on a factory Ford Hurst shifter, at least for 70, the shifter handle is removeable, and is retained with a thin spring tab. As you mentioned, the Ford Hurst shifter did have slotted ends on the rods, with pivots with a rectangular boss that fit into these slots. Much like the OE Mustang floor shifters. The over the counter Hurst shifters used threaded pivots and shifter rods with threaed ends. However, the handle on your shifter appears to have but shortened, and maybe bent as well. At least the OE 70 Mustang Hurst shifter I had in the mid 70s was much longer, and curved rearward, similar to how the aftermarket Hurst Comp/Plus did. I replaced my OE Hurst with an aftermarket unit, as I didnt really like the bit of movement between the shifter handle and shifter box on the OE shifter. The aftermarket Comp/Plus shifters, at least for Mustangs were one of few that did not have a bolted on handle, it was welded on. One new feature for the 1970 Mustangs with 4 speeds, was the reverse lever on the transmission itself had an extra arm, which was used to connect via a rod, to the steering column. This was to allow the top of the column to rotate, so you needed to put the transmission into reverse, to remove the ignition key, which was located on the steering column for the 1rst time, starting in 1970. Its been almost 40 years now, but I can not recall if my 70s Hurst shifter had any stop bolts, or if the mounting bracket had `Hurst`cast into it, or a Ford part no. I am sure that some restorer would know.
