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How to ID original shifter (69 Hurst) |
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IndyTom
AMC Fan Joined: Dec/20/2014 Location: Indy Status: Offline Points: 6 |
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Posted: Dec/20/2014 at 6:48pm |
I am looking at a few 69/70 AMX's. While every 70 will have the Hurst 4 speed shifter how can I tell if the 69 was originally equipped with the Hurst or if it has been retrofitted with the "off the shelf" upgrade?
It's obvious when the unit still has the reverse lockout pull, but when internet shopping and not having a a versed seller on the phone how can I tell? Would hate to get one that just had a different rod bolted in and still be stuck with the Ford linkage. It would be great if there was a tell tale measurement or visual clue (I know the Hurst sits farther to the left... but remember we are dealing with cruddy internet pics from across the country ). |
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401MATCOUPE
AMC Addicted Joined: May/20/2010 Location: Salisbury, MD Status: Offline Points: 5370 |
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First visual clue would be the shape the shifter handle....Factory 1969 and 1970 AMC Hurst only had a round Hurst Handle. No seperate reverse lockouts...ever, that was only aftermarket. In 1971 the Javelin AMX line turned to a rectangular shaped blade, 71 SC/360 was round (someone correct me if I am wrong...but what I remember)......all factory Hurst shifters have "slide in" blade design attachment to the shifter. All aftermarket Hurst shifter have a handle that bolts to the mechanism. Another feature of the factory Hurst mechanism is the reverse light switch provisions (Aftermarket has no provisions), and first/second and third/fourth gear shifter rods are fixed and not adjustable in length (Aftermarket in adjustable threaded rod).....the tail shaft adapter bracket is aluminum (Aftermarket is steel and different shape)......
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Ross K. Peterson
68X,GoPac,343,AT,52A(1stCar) 68X,GoPac,390,4sp,52A 69X,GoPac,390,4sp,64A 70X,GoPac,390,4sp,87A,8 70X,GoPac,390,4sp,BBO,8 70 Jav SST,390,AT,BSO 74MatX,401,AT,Prototype 74MatX,401,AT |
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71SC360
AMC Addicted Charter Member Joined: Jun/29/2007 Location: East Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 5469 |
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Next to actually finding the build date or build sheet for the car, it's tough to be 100% sure. There are a few ways to tell from the interior but they can be changed. Some of the best "quick glance" ways to tell is..... If it has an "original" ribbed headliner in it, it wouldn't come with a Hurst shifter. If the "original" PS crash pad has a thick grab handle with two parallel grooves cut into the face, it wouldn't have come with a Hurst shifter. If the shifter surround "hump" is metal it wouldn't have come with the Hurst shifter.
One way that's a little harder to disguise is the actual opening in the tunnel for the shifter. A car that came with an Inland shifter (the Ford style) will have a squarish opening for the shifter hump, with rounded corners. A car that came with the Hurst shifter will have a similar style opening but it will have a dog leg towards the lower rear corner. It will fit the shape of the plastic shift hump... |
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ramblinrev
Moderator Group Joined: Dec/28/2008 Location: Wisconsin Status: Offline Points: 11463 |
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It's hard to pin down the exact build date of a '69 AMX but the 'running change' to the Hurst shifter happened in early December '68 production.
I may have a Technical Service Bulletin with the sequence number of when the change took place.
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74 Hornet Hatchback X twins (since 1977)
62 American Convertible (still worth the $50 I spent in 1973!) AMCRC #513, AMO #384 70 AMX 360 4-speed (since 1981) |
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IndyTom
AMC Fan Joined: Dec/20/2014 Location: Indy Status: Offline Points: 6 |
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This is the interior of one of the cars in question.This example is 1,000 miles away and being listed "by a friend". So you know...
It is a Hurst bar, but not sure of the guts or originality. |
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401MATCOUPE
AMC Addicted Joined: May/20/2010 Location: Salisbury, MD Status: Offline Points: 5370 |
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That is not a original handle (round), for 69 car, the 71-4 handle (rectangular) will fit the original mechanism....the mechanism, rods and brackets remained the same for factory shifters.
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Ross K. Peterson
68X,GoPac,343,AT,52A(1stCar) 68X,GoPac,390,4sp,52A 69X,GoPac,390,4sp,64A 70X,GoPac,390,4sp,87A,8 70X,GoPac,390,4sp,BBO,8 70 Jav SST,390,AT,BSO 74MatX,401,AT,Prototype 74MatX,401,AT |
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Slate
AMC Addicted Joined: Feb/28/2012 Location: Airyzona Status: Offline Points: 2783 |
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Looks like the later Javelin shifter on first glance. The blade number would be at the bottom where it mounts to the shifter. In any case it's not a factory '69/'70 shifter(chrome blade at least). This the flat blade design instead of the rounded type that was only flat on the sides. The Hurst letters are large unlike the much smaller letters on the narrower
factory Hurst installation. Finally, the backward angle of the shifter blade is about 90 degrees and the lower straight portion is longer than the factory piece, which sweeps back maybe at 45 degrees. Steve |
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71SC360
AMC Addicted Charter Member Joined: Jun/29/2007 Location: East Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 5469 |
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Too tall to be an original 71-74 shifter...
At first glance I would say that car is an early production 69. First it's a red interior (most common in early production 69). Second it has the early style PS crash pad. The last thing I notice is the seats are 68-early 69 seats with the wrap over bolsters and the ventilair inserts. The later 69 seats had the ventilair covers that went all the way to the outer piping... |
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IndyTom
AMC Fan Joined: Dec/20/2014 Location: Indy Status: Offline Points: 6 |
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So the "stick" is 100% not original and 50/50 if the mechanism is
Inland (the Ford style) or also updated to Hurst. This should be fun to figure out at this distance!
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71SC360
AMC Addicted Charter Member Joined: Jun/29/2007 Location: East Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 5469 |
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It also has the padded sides on the radio pod... found on 68 and early 69 only...
Most likely this car came from the factory with the Inland shifter... Edited by 71SC360 - Dec/20/2014 at 9:04pm |
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