[pete315]

2 years ago I lucked out and bought a brand new in box original ITM shifter for my Grand Am. Must have been in the box for 30 years. Have to pull up on lever to get into reverse. I know Hurst are great shifters, no question about that. However, this ITM shifter has a perfect throw and shifts like slicing through butter. The reason why people removed the reverse lockout when a Hurst was installed was because the factory shifter levers would not fit on the Hurst shifter. The original reverse shift lever was longer and had an extra hole on bottom. The bottom hole is where the reverse rod was mounted. When car was shifted into reverse to back up or to remove the key from the ignition, this reverse rod was moved, causing the swivel to turn,causing the upper rod connected to the steering column to move. Pretty simple design. On a side note, I should be getting my 455 from the rebuilder soon. Can't wait until I drive this Grand Am with the 455.