The Hurst Pistol Grip - History And Evolution Of The Musclecar Era's Most Iconic Shifter
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2023
- 1970 was the highwater mark for Chrysler in terms of both performance and Musclecar styling, and one of the most recognized artifacts of this era is the iconic Pistol Grip shifter
Here's the story of how it evolved, the differences between the E and B body versions and what was most probably an A Body unit that found a different application and turned out to be the best of them all.
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40 years ago my brother took me to the DMV to get my learners license . After I passed, we walked outside and my brother gave me his keys and told me I was driving home. 1970 Charger 440 six pack pistol grip four speed. Will never forget it.
You had a cool bro, bro lol
Now, THAT's a brother
Awesome!!!
@StephenMcMillan Good Times. 👍
You lucky dog 🐶!
I love these in-depth looks at small nuances of classic cars, 18 minutes of history on something as small a a shifter! Awesome!
Hi car guy
Absolutely cool! 👍
I wonder if anyone actually made * real wood * (Ash, teak, ebony, walnut, mahogany, maple, etc) replacements for plastic grips on a Pistol Grip shifter? That would have classed a lot of interiors up and felt real nice to the touch!
Wow! Good luck 👍! It sounds like you could deserve a break!
he didn't mention that the re-pop's don't fit or look-right feels-right the original design bayonet-parts like im looking for ( fits my Chevy's hurst shifter base better as it's 180* from how chevy mounted it in the 2012 car and or probably going to modify it to work like the french-car's sliding mechanism 3"in gate 1st-2d and 6'in sideways 1st/2d-7th/R top-parts is modified to have the C7 shift pattern and some blend-sculpting to make it look $$/the part ) aka my 1969 charger ( 2 gen hemisphere stroker 4'5X4.3'in bore ect ) TR6060-hurst-2012-chevy-camaro/2014Z51-corvette 7-speed transmission-dropout at first i was going to go with a "truck/inline" marble/stone ball handle design but after 2022-Christmas mockup and talking with others 2006-now the red-wood idel-hand's version in the non-consonsole/base of firewall is much better , as i didn't/not doing the in trendy things and or $$ as it's a keeper for me/my-family
tried the shifter he likes and the aftermarket reppop's placement that's more to my nee's/mid tunnel/back-tunnel no-thanks! vary uncomfortably to me but then again i started off in a 1977 f150/gramps truck ( and my truck's 1968 c10 and 80's k1500 ) and im/dad/sibling's 6-6'6ft tall and mostly upper bodied and 190-300lb's plus i married/mom's a 4'9-5'5 99-250lb female so compromise is needed 😉
Where I grew up the plastic grips were replaced with actual wood! Hickory, Walnut and Oak were used and matched to the wood griped steering wheels. Made driving more fun!
Check out "Idle hands woodwork" google that and check out those grips sounds like what your talking about!
I did the same with mine shifter. I dont like the way plastic one feels.
I bought a 2009 Challenger RT with pistol grip and I was disappointed that they did not make the original handle. The original handle fits your hand perfectly and was at the right angle. Even the angle was wrong on the new Challenger. So I took mine and cut it off below the boot and re-welded it at the same angle as the earlier cars. It was a great Improvement especially if you are over 6ft tall
You reminded me that I carved a walnut offset T handle for the shifter in my Chevette in high school. It was a straight bit of wood with nuts in one end screwed direct to the nub coming through the floor for the ultimate short shifter. 0-60 in 14 seconds. But I would probably have died in a fiery wreck in high school if I didn't have such a slow car.
I had a Chevette diesel 5 speed, actually an Acadian, in Montreal
We all thought we needed faster cars, but we all know a guy who definitely didn't need one looking back in life. They coincidentally had the same name as us!
We always called the Inland shifters the "Wonder Shifter" because when you really started banging the gears, you always wondered what gear you would end up with.
Your history lessons on Chrysler vehicles is top notch, Tony.
Fond memories of the pistol grip getting my first ticket. Down shifting into 2nd and nailing it right past a patrolman sitting behind a hedge😂. He probably would have let me go except for that pesky TransAm that was disappearing in my rear view was also wide open. Being informed to consequences of spontaneous racing on your 17th birthday driving your older brother’s 73 Charger… good times.
I am a Chevy fan but, enjoy all brands of hot rods. I have been around friends that really dig Mopars and I always like hearing the history and codes of Mopar cars. Great informative video.
I grew up Ford family until I got my '87 Dodge *Shelby* Charger. Not only am I a MOPAR man now, I specialize in the EEK platform.
I never get tired of Uncle Tony's Mopar history lessons!
Uncle Tony, this is exactly why I love your channel.
This is THEE best shifter hands down will never be beat or duplicated. A pistol grip on a A833 with a competition plus mechanism and 3.91 sure grip wound tight by a 340. Doesnt get any better.
The pistol grip on my 71 Superbee always draws comments at shows and wherever I go.
I own a 1970 Dodge Charger 500 with factory 383 with the 4 speed pistol grip, love the car to death for over 30 years now. Great video Thanks
Really dig these historical videos on musclecar minutia.
Thank you for this bit of Hurst History. My introduction to the Pistol Grip started when I was 5 years old, 1981. My father being long time Mopar nut, had built a 'Trike' from a Corvair engine flipped 180 degrees, putting the engine forward, and transaxle out back. He had a friend cut the bellhousing, flipping the transmission, which allowed the engine to be mounted forward. This is where the pistol grip comes in, and got very creative. He had the Hurst handle, and he remade the wood grips to fit a left hand, and thus he was able to shift the trike with his left hand, the Hurst connected to some links to the Corvair transmission. The left foot was for the clutch, right for the brakes. Throttle was a motorcycle twist grip. Love to share come pictures if you are interested.
Always amazed by his amount of knowledge and clarity of his explanations. A literal walking encyclopedia!
The early Valiant/Lancer floor shifter is cool, it follows the front of the bench and sneak up
That may have been what I had in my Duster for a shift lever. (Not sure if it came with the rest of the Hurst hardware or what, but it worked well, especially for keepin my split bench seat and moved forwards as I do, Fit on the Hurst hardware, was round chrome with no flat spots, no name, seemed made for the bench seat job.
If I ever end up on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire Uncle Tony and they ask me a Mopar question--can you be my call a friend? 😆 TONY FOR THE WIN!
Uncle tony on a side note , I own a 1979 kenworth lw 924 , logging truck , 3408 caterpillar, has a 6 speed with 4 speed auxiliary trans , I’ve carved out of mahogany both my shift sticks both similar to this hurst , I did take my inspiration from the Chrysler hurst shifter 😂
Proof that stuff doesn't have to be a good design to become a legend.
I always thought the pistol grip looked cool, and is iconic to a degree, but I have found I prefer an old school plain round knob on my shifter. It just feels easier and quicker for me to shift than the odd (to me, anyway) hand position of the pistol grip.
Hurst round ball man myself for sure 👍
@@steveib724 changed my millennial-mind about my 1960's chargers tr60.. 7-speed swap after being in the shop in 2022 Christmas mockup to see what it would be like and really the longest hurst pistol grip ( by the dashboard/steering wheel ) works the best and looks more premium, but ya other than this one time/vin im a stone-ball truck-styling guy ( like my 1968 c10 has ) as my 60's-vin took some convincing reasoning to change it out
Yup, I couldn't do a pistol grip (I love firearms; different muscle memory).
Amen.
Simply fantastic video Uncle Tony , I truly appreciate these historical videos. Other channels I watch are cool but you take it to another level. Please keep up with these videos coming . Cheers 🇨🇦
Uncle Tony, You didn't mention the weight of the that long shifter. ('69 GTX) I put some kind of spring like part of a throttle spring some where from the stick forward to some part under the hump to carry some of the weight. Otherwise you'd have to hold it in 1st or 3rd, or it would flop into neutral. My shifter is a console bend, but I don't have a console. but it stays away from my shin better. I made my own rods welding threads of 3/8" bolts onto spare shifter rods I had. And I fabricated my own indestructible shifter mount from 1/4 " plate iron. I also experimented with bellcranks from Brewer's that had different angles and lengths. Shorter bell cranks reduce shifter travel, so you don't smash your ash tray and knuckles, and so on.
I love the content that UTG puts out. The arcane minutiae is most informative and very enjoyable. Thanks, Tony!
Back in the 90's my brother had one in his 1970 440 super bee and his 1971 383 roadrunner. Awesome!
I installed a pistol grip shifter in my '65 Valiant bracket racer when I swapped the AT for the Chrysler four-speed. I found power-shifting a little tricky with that style shifter. I eventually replaced it with a t-handle style that was angled toward third gear, which I thought was an improvement at the drag strip. Of course, I still approve the "look" of the pistol grip handle!
The T Hurst T handle just says race transmission put T handles on most all my 4 speeds accept the collector cars with the pistol grip
Pistol grip shifter was a great marketing item and everyone wanted one back in the day. Good video explaining the issues with it, spent a few days (and nights) working on my buddies 69 road runner fixing bent linkage and adjusting it from constant power shifts. Crazy to see what these old 60's cars are selling for now...we beat them like a rented mules back then, just an old used car lol
This made me think of the 79 gmc brigadier. The lever came through the floor at the back wall, up a foot, horizontal to a couple inches from the driver seat, horizontal forward to even with the front of the seat, then 45⁰ up and forward.
It moved up and down to shift.
You had to take your knee off the doghouse to use reverse, low hole, first, and 5th.
Cruise control was your calf resting on the doghouse, your heel on the top of the pedal, and occasionally thinking about the carnage if number 5 or 6 decided to visit the fiberglass your leg was laying on.
One of the few people who can talk about and tell me shit I already know
When i was in trade school back in 78, a friend loaned be the two "wood" sides of a pistol grip, with some wood i made a a T-handle that the foundry class used to cast who knows how many out of aluminum, you could drill it as a T-handle or a pistol grip.
They have been reproduced for a while now, but I have three originals NOS NIB. One box is open and I love imagining shifting a 4 speed with these. So good in the hand (no duh!)
This was an absolute lesson for me, down under. We never got the A833 box down here, so I have zero knowledge on them. We had to wait until 1972 for our home grown Borg Warner single rail 4 speed, which uses a shifter mount very similar to that 3 bolt triangular pattern shown. Until then, we only had the 3 speed, which as mentioned, was floor shifted in our first Valiant in 1962 (which were leftover 1961 models). Our Pacer and early Charger models had a unique 3 speed shifter, which the mount sandwiched between the rear transmission mount and housing, therefore, only available with bucket seats. I might have to do a follow up on that for your viewers.
I remember the first time I ever saw a Pistol Grip Shifter - or was it? On the bus home from school in around 1978 or '79, I saw a light yellow B body parked on a side street in a neighborhood. It was close to two miles from my house, so I ended up up there on my bike and went to go check out that car. It was a beat up rust bucket, and the pale yellow looked like house paint which had been brushed on. When I looked into the car, I saw what looked to me like a Hurst T handle which had been drilled and tapped to mount standing on its side, on the shift lever. I was probably in eighth grade, but I knew what a Hurst T handle was. Later on I learned about pistol grips, and always wondered it the one I saw was real. I don't remember seeing any wood on it, and it was that gray color like a T handle.
Ha!!! Right towards the end of the video you hit the nail on the head. I have a 71 Charger R/T automatic car (bucket seats of course). 30 years ago someone converted it to 4 speed. I have no console (or bench) but I have the Pistol Grip setup out of a B-Body Bench car. By far it has the best "feeling" throws. I've owned my car for 25 years and only 1 person has ever picked up on that. Good stuff brother.
I found a pistol-grip shifter in the trunk of wrecking yard Coronet and bought it. It had been laying in rusty water for years, probably. I think it was the E-body shaft, because like you say, it was the wrong angle for my A-body. So, since it had peeling chrome and rust, I had no qualms about modifying it. After measuring and double-checking, I made a prototype out of wood and took it to a guy I took high-school metal shop with, who by that time was working at an oil-business welding and fabrication shop. He cut the pistol-grip handle part off, and ground off the remaining chrome. He took an untempered length of tool-steel, replicated the wooden piece I gave him, and welded the pistol handle on. He ground and smoothed his weld perfectly. Then I sent it to a chroming shop that did mostly street-rod stuff, and chromed it up. It was perfect. The plastic bits looked bad, so I carved mahogany replacements. It took me a couple of tries to get them looking perfect. I wish I still had that shifter - but I'm glad to know what pistol-grip kit will fit if I decide to switch my '65 Barracuda to a 4-speed.
Like 777.. Epic!!!
History Corner with Our Uncle Tony...
Getting a Grip...with the Pistol
🐴
In the 80s I worked at a speed shop and my boss used to tell a story about a guy in the early 70s that came into the store and wanted to buy one of these Kowalski shifters. My boss couldn't figure it out and then it dawned on him that he was talking about the guy in the movie Vanishing Point. LOL...For those of you that have no idea what I'm talking about, look it up it's a cool old movie.
My 1970 Chevy Malibu had a Munsie 4 speed "Rock Crusher" with a "Pistol Grip" shifter
Had such memories of these shifters, I’ve adapted a E-Body non-console one to my -95 Cummins Ram, NV-4500. Way more ergonomic then the factory stick.
The grips loosened after a while, but was remedied by filling them with epoxy and bedding them in silicone when reinstalled.
Yes UT, I did "get something out of this" EXCELLENT vid. Chock full of Mopar shifter info (some of which i did not know). As for the A833 being a balky trans,i've had a slew of them & every one took muscle. Once while roaming the pits at Talladega during a practice, i watched Richard Petty struggle with his after backing from the garage. Finally, with his right hand already on the shifter,he wraps his LEFT hand around all & frees the shifter to get low gear & drive away. Never saw that in my life. Can't wait for your upcomming A833 vid.
Great video, sir! Really enjoyed that :)
Super informative! I never knew there were 4 iterations of the pistol grip- awesome content as usual 👍
Take Hold ! Of the Grip.
I remember shifting my friends roadrunner into 3rd and smashing my hand into the opened ashtray!
Great story Tony. I wish you would make a Mopar book of your awesome experiences.
Well now I know what I have,I have a 71 b-body shifter, that's why it worked when I put it in my 67 super sport Chevelle,sorry I was 19 in 1990 and was always experimenting with things
Apples to oranges but taking the inland shifter out of my Camaro and slapping a hurst in there was up there with the best modifications I’ve ever done
Cold plastic feeling it is!!!!
70' Challenger RT/SE...
Im 12 years old....
Sitting in the car in the garage...
Thinking it's a 357 magnum pistol grip!
Then we got the 68 Charger R/T!
We grow up to fast.
Compared to my 66 pontiac chromed antenna column shifter. I have to laugh! Hahaha
I remember when I brought home my Coronert R/T to show my dad over 50 yrs ago. He couldn't understand why I wanted a car that ran so rough and had a manual transmission.Later I put in a pistol grip to which he said I had a Freudian complex.He never understood the muscle car thing.
MR Gasket V-Gate shifter are Awsome!…I just installed one in my 68 and OMG I love it.
My 73 Challenger 340 had the console & pistol grip shifter. Wish I still owned that car. It was fun.
My first car was a 70 RR with the pistol grip shifter. Still my favorite looking shifter and, to me, the most natural feeling manual shifting process. Miss that car everyday. Thanks for the trip down memory lane and the history lesson UT 👍
Great info Tony!
If a particular driver liked to ride with his hand on the shifter after making his gear selection like most gearheads, that added length drastically increased prying-leverage prematurely wearing the shifting sliders out inside the transmission...
Love it! Most iconic shifter in history!
I've always wondered why the 71-74 B-body bench shifter was never offered in a 70-74 E-body with bench. Seems like a perfect pairing to me.
Very neat. My favorite shifter still to this day is the Hurst T handle in our GTO with a Muncie 4 speed. Those are quality and work great with the close ratio gears
So glad you're going to show the c bodies some love. Have a 68 dodge polara 500 vert with factory 440 that I've been thinking about doing a manual swap. Good stuff Unc
Tony is an incredible historian.
first car i ever speed shifted was my buddy's '70 440+6 pack road runner. the car was a beast! i once flipped the red toggle for the air grabber while stopped at a cross walk and, no lie, i startled a college student walking by just at that moment. good times...
Hurst "T" Shifter?? When I was just a kid, my future Brother-in Law had a Hurst Olds W30 with the wing, hood pins, bucket seats and the T handle Hurst shifter. I was in love with his car more than my sister liked him at the time.
side note trivia - THOSE original "T" shifters had NO 4 speed pattern on them and the newer replacement ones ALL the 4 Speed Pattern on them
Your video brings back great memories. I had a 70 GTX with pistol grip. You are 100% correct a power shift to third was pure luck. I remember writing to Hurst to complain. If my memory serves me right they recommended the Competition Plus shifter. Enjoy your videos.
My old Challenger had the Hurst pistol grip shifter. Loved that thing! Was originally a 340 car but had a 383 when I got it. Had the 3:73 Sure Grip too.
I am a GM guy, Even worse: a BUICK guy for over 30 years. My MOPAR friends don't really get why I like UTG so much. Well firstly, cool cars are always cool. Chrysler built some cool cars. Secondly as a Buick guy, the Chevy guys think I'm practically an alien life form, even though I own a '66 Sting Ray. And I love talking up Buicks when I'm with Chevy guys. They kinda don't know what to do. I'm GM, but not the _right_ GM lol. So MOPARS? Sure! Fine with me!
No worries; there's always counseling...😎. Just kidding. We appreciate you Buick guys. You're the only GM that can give our Hemi's a run for their money. Cheers to the 455!
Buick is the only gm muscle car I’d ever own. I would love a GSX! What u got?
@@minnesotatomcat No Buicks now, I sold the Buick I bought in 1989, in 2020. I had '70, 71, 73, 87, and 97 Buicks though. I had a stroke at 45, and it seemed that I just couldn't maintain an old car any more. But I was fixing my 21 century cars no worries two years later, so I got back into it with the Chevy last year. My 1970 Buick was an early-build 1970 Skylark Custom. That's the model name. It was also a convertible. I built it into a GS455 clone with a 30-over Buick 455 with all the trimmings, and a Chevy 12 bolt to take the torque. I killed three automatic transmissions with that engine, and one rear end. I built everything but the rear and transmissions, I didn't shoot the color, and I didn't stitch the seats, that's about it. Was respectable, not a show car but it was all mine from my work. I drove it about 350K miles. I want to build a small journal 327 for my Chevy now, just for fun. Building the engine from nothing but the block, crank, and heads was the most fun I had working on cars. I've done the big cube thing, now I want to play with small displacement.
@minnesotatomcat9585 I am a true mopar or nocar guy and a Buick would be the only GM product I'd buy
@@bbb462cid God bless you, buddy. Whatever you build, enjoy it. Life's too short.
Thanks
COOP
...
Little remembered is the awesome bent Hurst shifter for console A-body Barracudas and Darts (late 68 - 69). I have one in my Formula S and it's gorgeous and works well.
The pistol grip is the coolest shifter.....ever!
Great video 👍🏽
Funny, I can almost hear that rattle as you were talking about it, my grandpa had one in his old dodge truck lol
These were made at the building where I worked a few years ago In Moorestown new jersey. When we moved in and signed the lease. The guy told me that the molds had been thrown out in the dumpster when they cleaned out. I could have cried.
My72 charger had a tall pistol grip shifter with the bench seat loved that car man!!
Iconic!
Vanishing Point, one of the few details that jump to mind when I think of it :D
It cemented the Challenger as my favourite American car (followed close by the Mercury Cougar XR-7 '68)
My 74 road runner as ive come to find out was a home made race car. Custome deep sump oil pan kinda like you made for the slant 6 and a B body A833 with a custome relocation bracket for the hurst shifter that moved it back and up where the E body mount would be. Has a short throw 8" Hurst straigh shifter. The more inwatch your videos the more the weird things i find on this car make sense
Great video Uncle Tony! I would love to see a video on the evolution of the Mopar cold air induction, from the 64 cars thru the 73 cars. That would be very appreciated! Thanks!!p.s. the 70 Air Grabber is my favorite in the bad ass department but I'd have to say the shaker hoods and the superbee hood is super cool too
Tony! Please do a comprehensive 340 video!!! The facts the lore the street stories.. stock vs not stock. How to get out of. 68-71 bs 72-73… and how to get the most out of a stock 73. :). Thanks !
You nailed it on the 6ft guy and a Short Guy, My Buddy back in school had 70 T/A Cuda Hitting 2nd gear when he hammered on it was always a problem for him, he was about 5' 4" and know that i watched the rest of the Video, makes me wonder if the car had the right shifter, was a automatic from the factory and was changed to the 4 speed shortly after it was new
I enjoy your channel very good content
My 2010 Challenger SRT8 has a 'pistol grip' shifter, but it's not like the original pistol grip, still shifts nice.
The Mopar Pistol Grip, muy macho! I don't remember ever hearing the Ford or GM guys trash talking it, I suspect they wished they had something like it.
Maybe it didn't come stock this way, but back in the day a high school buddy had a 71 340 Duster with the short E-Body style pistol grip shifter. And as I recall it was a bench seat car.
I'm putting a B-Body bench seat shifter on an F-Body Overdrive-4, in my '82 Mirada. The F-Body floor tunnel looks like it was born there when you put it next to the transmission hump.
My ls1 Camaro has an aluminum hurst pistol grip shifter. Had it since high school
In 1981 I bought my first car, a 72 Roadrunner with a pistol grip. Hated the shifter until I took it apart and cleaned/greased the shifter mechanism. Worked great after that.
I loved the pistol grip in my 70 challenger R/T
Dude!! Never driven one or road in one. But someday!!! Until you described the realism of the muscle car era!!! Thanks!!! Lol!!✌️
Definitely look forward to a c body four speed video
Hiya Tony, hi Gang-
Don't forget the ultra rare Pont-a-Mousson 4 Speed that was supposed to be available in the 1960 Chrysler 300...
Apparently only a dozen were sold that way!
Cheers 😁
I have the A833 with a bracket to put the shifter 1/2 way between the 2 mounting pads. Fits perfect in my 72 Demon.
I loved those so much in the 70's, I put a carbon fiber handled one in my 73 CAMARO. On a TKO 600 Tremec 5 speed with a short throw lightning bonett. It had a hefty price on it too.
While the pistol grip shifter is a very cool piece, the plastic wood was very cheap, the coolest factory Hurst shifters were installed in the 65-69 Oldsmobile 442'S where the handle was stamped with 442 and had an H embossed in it, that in my opinion is the baddest factory shifter ever created!
Nice!
Great video. I own a 1974 satellite, rr clone with the 340.. when I bought the car it had a 727 auto. I wanted a manual, so in one of the old mopar muscle mags, there was an outfit offering a complete 5 speed kit bell to rear. Shifter option was the pistol grip, so he'll yes I got it with the shifter...fitment was great. Shifting is smooth under regular conditions, try the speed shift not so much, first to second was good , then that trying to jam that bitch into third most time no way, ya leave the stress out, then shove the shifter ahead viola third. It's just sorta neat that you mention 2 to 3 shift.... thanks man.
Be cool if you could do a video on power (guessing you mean staying in throttle) shifting vs. lifting slightly in a carb/points car.
A lot of information on something I never thought too much about, but I do recall missing third gear in a '70 Roadrunner, when I thought I had powershifted it perfectly. I did not really like the pistol grip shifter for the reasons you state, that they feel cheap with the plastic, but also what you didn't state- I think it's the case that the 2-3 shift is really not accommodative of your actual wrist like a ball type shift knob is. There has to be some rotation, and what you end up doing is pushing on the flat corner of the top of the pistol grip shifter, which isn't great in terms of comfort.
Also, lest we disparage only Chrysler cheapie shifters, those Muncie jobs in GMs were simply awful.
I wish you would do an episode explaining witch cars are the A bodies,which are the B bodies,E bodies,C bodies etc.
I had my uncle who's a master carpenter he carved out real wood sides.
Gunslinger is advertised in the Mopar magazines. They will make duplicate replacements pistol grips in whatever wood you choose to ditch the plastic.
👍cool !
Just an observation Tony. The shifter mount is on the extension housing and not the tail shaft. (Aussie watcher here) Check with Kiwi. Respect.
My first car was a ‘70 Roadrunner full bench seat (no buddy seat) with what I believed later was the longest of all the pistol grips. Can’t say for certain but somewhere in the 16” range wouldn’t surprise me. This other one you’re mentioning as longer is completely foreign to me and I’ve had about 35 Mopars over the years.