Instead of making yet another thread on the infamous automatic shifter, I thought I'd bump this since I'm on the verge of breaking down and installing an aftermarket Hurst or B&M (all the same company now) automatic shifter on my 83 wagon and am looking for some extra input (or someone to give me a better alternative).
To cover/summarize the topics covered in other threads: My stock shifter's cable broke before my ownership of the car. The previous owner had defeated the locking pawl so the shifter could be moved, however this is unsafe and the main thing that's kept the car off the road. I've purchased three separate shifters from various Mustang vintages (including a NOS '74-'78 Mustang II shift handle) however they've all come up too short: the lever can't be extended into low without hitting the seats. Rebuilding the existing one isn't really an option here since it doesn't really seem like a viable option either both because it seems rather complex/tedious and it doesn't address the root cause of the problem leaving me open to this issue again in the future. I'd like to avoid the "coat hanger" fix and since we've already gotten the old shifter out, there doesn't seem to be much point in putting the old one back with a just a backyard fix.
The car has the original Sport gauge cluster console, which I'd like to keep. However, I'm doubtful any of the current aftermarket shifter offerings from B&M/Hurst could be made to fit in the opening without cutting the console.
Has anyone got any experience with after-market automatic shifters in their Eagles (installation, gripes, warnings, etc)? Better yet: anyone managed to get these installed into a stock console and make it look halfway decent/work correctly? Or on the flip side: anyone know what we might be missing to get the Mustang II shifter to work? I see it installed in other cars here on the forum...
Topic: Hurst Shifter (Read 3080 times)