[Simple Man]

Picked up a Hurst Competition plus shifter at a garage sale. The only number I find on it, besides the patent number, is 559844. Looking around the web, haven't found much info. Most Hurst numbers I've found are 7 numbers, not 6 like this.
Any thoughts?

[Peter Serio]

That # has nothing at all to do with how to figure out what car it fits. Its a serial # that Hurst used to put on the shifters they sold in the 1960s. The idea was that Hurst wanted to know who was buying their stuff and so they asked you to mail in this postage-paid postcard. The postcard was to "activate" your warranty but in reality the postcards that were sent back were used by Hurst for market research. The warranty on that shifter would be honored regardless. Some shifters will fit several years of a certain model of car, some are for cars with a bench seat, some are made specifically for cars with bucket seats. Some are for cars with a console and some will fit with or w/o console.

Best way is to post some photos. Lay a ruler beside the chrome stick.

Hurst postcards for the shifter were printed on Ivory colored lightweight cardboard. The postcards that came packed with every pair of wheels (in the metal drum) those cards were printed on light blue cardboard.

[Simple Man]

Thanks for the reply, Pete! The handle has been "slightly" modified, so that probably won't work. Safe bet it's an aftermarket?

[Peter Serio]

It looks like a GM transmission type shifter, hurst made several million of those shifters in the 1960s. It is an aftermarket shifter.

Depending on the mounting plate & the rods that go with it that shifter might fit an early Borg Warner (pre-super) T10 or a 1960s Muncie 27 spline output shaft 4 speed transmission.

With the stick the way it is now; its nothing more than a parts unit. It does have the 2 stop bolts which is a feature than no GM original car Hurst shifter ever had. In my opinion stop bolts (adjustable) are a very desirable thing to have.

[Simple Man]

Thanks much!