[63Longtop]

Going to look at a 73 4 speed GA this coming weekend. Didn't most of the cars come with the ITM shifter, but the hurst was optional? It has a small hurst emblem on the insert, does this sound correct? Yhanks

[Brian Baker]

To my knowledge, all of them had ITM shifters and there was no Hurst option.

[Alvin]

Common for ANY non-Hurst equipped vehicle to now have a owner installed HURST Shifter upgrade.

[Brian Baker]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Common for ANY non-Hurst equipped vehicle to now have a owner installed HURST Shifter upgrade.

Or even to still have the ITM shifter and someone put a Hurst ball on it in an effort to impress an unsuspecting buyer.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by Brian Baker

Or even to still have the ITM shifter and someone put a Hurst ball on it in an effort to impress an unsuspecting buyer.

Sounds more like it. The Inland shifters weren't that bad a shifter & that's what I've always ran across in 4spd '73's. Have examined at least a dozen that were bone stock & parted two other '73's that were too rusty to build. Both were non console. The aftermarket Hurst 4 spd shifter with a flat handle & bumpstops tended to make their ways into tons of Chevelles, Nova's, Impalas, & early Camaro's that had the ill shifting factory Muncie shifters in them. The shifter had to be pretty bad to swap it out.

[77 Canamman]

1973 were all ITM. 1974 was a mixture of Hurst and ITM.

[77 Canamman]

The 1974 factory issued Hurst shifter:

[dos75GAGTO]

Man that's Purdy...

[fiedlerh]

1973 were all ITM. 1974 was a mixture of Hurst and ITM.

I agree. This is how the parts book lists it.
My friend who ordered my 74 Grand Am new requested a Hurst shifter and that is what he got. The strange thing is that there is no documentation on it. I don't have the original bill of sale and it's not indicated on the PHS nor in the accessory/option book, nor on the order form. Not sure if it came that way from Pontiac or if the dealer installed it. There must have been some kind of dealer info on it because the dealer didn't say no.
If any one has any info on how it was ordered, please chime in.

The factory Hurst shifter was a cheapened version of the Competition Plus. No fore/aft adjustment stops, bayonet mount instead of 2 bolts, rubber bushings where the linkages connect to keep it quiet. They got a bit sloppy with age and I bet many owners eventually replaced them with a Competition Plus body. I know I did.

[chris66]

Question, Rick. Do the 74 Console handles have the same crazy bends as the 73 ITM models? All handles the same 73 and 74, no matter if ITM or Hurst? thanks Chris

[77 Canamman]

Originally Posted by chris66

Question, Rick. Do the 74 Console handles have the same crazy bends as the 73 ITM models? All handles the same 73 and 74, no matter if ITM or Hurst? thanks Chris

Yes, for the most part. The '74 handle, if equipped with the Hurst shifter had the name Hurst stamped on the handle just like the same era F body shifter levers. The '74's used the same cheap looking knob as the F body. The '73 knob was black and round, and used the word "lift" between the R and 1.

[fiedlerh]

Asked Dennis Kirban, who used to work at Hurst about the the 74 Hurst shifters. These are after his time at Hurst, but he suspects they were dealer installed since there was no GM option code for them as far as we know.

[rexs73gto]

After a certian build period all the manual shift cars came with the hurst shifter I din't know what the break point is now but they came stock after a certian date so the dealer if was asked most likly just said ok you'll get it as they knew the shifter after that date was hurst any way. Also to anwser your question about the **** handles there were I believe 3 different handle for the cars with console wheather it be a Grand Am or a Lemans or GT or GTO in 73. Plus there was a different handle for cars with bench seat & one for cars with buckets & no console. So tha makes 5 total. When I reolced my shifter I used the handle in a good hurst comp plus. All you have to do is remove the handle from the junk inland shifter by pulling the tabs on the sides of the handle which slide out very hard on the outside of the rubber boot the handle sits in , then drill out the handle which by the way have stamping in them already so you will see where to drill them out then just put the handle in the new shifter base & bolt it in. I had to shim mine a bit on the inside side of the bottom of the handle to make it sit in correctly but it is just a quick bolt in to make it work. Just make sure the correct handle is used. The ones with all 5 bends in it will work in most all of the console cars you may just have to make a few adjustements it it's not the correct one , but the correct handles are very hard to come by for the 73-77 cars you may want to convert.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by 77 Canamman

Yes, for the most part. The '74 handle, if equipped with the Hurst shifter had the name Hurst stamped on the handle just like the same era F body shifter levers. The '74's used the same cheap looking knob as the F body. The '73 knob was black and round, and used the word "lift" between the R and 1.

Excellent information.

[77 Canamman]

Originally Posted by 63Longtop

Going to look at a 73 4 speed GA this coming weekend. Didn't most of the cars come with the ITM shifter, but the hurst was optional? It has a small hurst emblem on the insert, does this sound correct? Yhanks

How did the Grand Am look?

['ol Pinion head]

Were the black 4spd knobs with "LIFT" also used in '77 1/2 Z28's.
Remember seeing that knob in the 70's, & it wasn't in a Pontiac.

[77 Canamman]

According to my partsbook, the 494367 knob was also used on all 4 speed Chevrolet applications except Vega/Monza from 1971-75. The parts book also noted that Pontiac A bodies also used it in 1974, but I have usually seen the F body style knob on those.

[Pontiacdaver]

Here is the knob on my 74, it was ordered in November 73. I assume it is the original knob by the wear on it. The pic was taken before I cleaned the interior.

[rexs73gto]

When I bought my 73 new it was an auto but I never stopped wanting a 4 spd, so after about 9.5-10 years while working a a Pontiac dealership I ordered all the parts I needed new to swap the auto to a 4spd. everything went very good with the swap I even found a 4 spd to put in it really by chance as I was going to a swap meet the next weekend & a friend told me he had a trans an M-22 muncie. We had had some dealing in the past as he lived in the Detriot area & me on the other side of the state. When all was said & done it cost me about $ 125.00 for the trans, but I had about $ 300.00 in al the rest. I think the cheapest part of the whole deal was the top plate for the console, it cost I think at the time about $ 8.00 & I sent 4 back because the chrome was nicked on the top part of teh plate. I wish I had everyone of them now chipped or not.

[77 Canamman]

Dave,

I assume that your shifter is the Inland Tool, not the Hurst?