[Green Hornet]

Looking for a reverse shifter rod for 71-74 (Muncie 4 speed)

It's a fattie......(.47 diameter).....and stamped S- 5621

[chuckies76ta]

Is this what your looking for? https://www.kijiji.ca/v-transmission...2903?undefined

[starlightblack]

Originally Posted by chuckies76ta

Is this what your looking for? https://www.kijiji.ca/v-transmission...2903?undefined

That's the T10 version.

[Sport69]

Would a 69 Muncie rod work?

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by Sport69

Would a 69 Muncie rod work?

Dont believe so, and def not from a '69 Firebird or Camaro. On the '69 F-body's the shifter is positioned further back & lower than any other factory installation. Have complete factory Hurst 4speed shifter setups for '69 F, early 2nd Gen Muncie, late 2nd Gen T10, as well as 70-72 Pontiac A-body.

[Sport69]

Just a thought, sorry I can't help you out. Good luck.

[Formulabruce]

OPH IS right ( again) but, the only difference is the length of the rod to the swivel. My buddy has a set off his car could get a measurement in a week when he's back. You could maybe modify a 69 style , if not reproduced.

[Green Hornet]

I had assumed that the 74-79 ST-10 rod would work and it doesn't....not even close...

Bought the supposed correct reproduction from Motor City Muscle Car...and it's not close either..

[Scott Thelander]

so post up pictures
of whats NOT correct if you would

some of us may have rods and not know the correct applications ...

[unruhjonny]

that kijiji link is mine - lol!

When I had my car last set up, it had a reverse lockout (lamp activation) rod for a 74-77 BW, along with the HCP (Hurst Competition Plus; aftermarket) rods and levers, and the original three speed column lockout assembly which was still mounted on my car - that all was teamed with a reverse light switch (bottom of the column) that illuminated the lamps in the wrong position - it actually worked out perfectly!

Since my car is now blown apart, this linkage stuff is one of the things that I really wanted to sort out, so that if I run a four speed, I have all the correct stuff - nothing will be left "rigged".

I found a guy who had the correct Muncie/HCP four speed rods;
He was a really nice guy and was able to share images of the OE Muncie vs Borg Warner rods.
He was able to confirm that the 1-2 & 3-4 rods were the same between BW & Muncie (with only the "button" ends being the visual difference), as well as the levers were in essence the same between the two.
Unfortunately for me, he wouldn't break up his set as the reverse rod was the "hen's tooth", so I decided to keep him in mind, and continue looking a bit more.

I knew based on the OEM-BW reverse rod and the HCP rod/lever set, roughly what I needed;
I borrowed a good candidate reverse rod from a bunch that one of my brothers had - it was nearly perfect, but it had a too long straight section after the "button" end.

My plan was to look at the PDX swap meet for any candidate reverse rods...

Then after looking for a while, I decided to take a chance on an ebay listing for a set of five rods;
The listing appeared to be two reverse, two 1-2 & 1 3-4 rod;
The seller said he believe they were "from a corvette";
He provided me a rough length of the reverse rods, but I was taking a real chance...
Well wouldn't you know it - this one worked!!







Those images show the BW 1-2 & 3-4 rods in place, along with the BW levers on a 1968 M20.
Now hopefully I can figure out what these "Corvette" rods really are, so that I can recoup my money on the ebay purchase - I am suspecting that they are C2/Muncie rods.

If you buy the HCP set with the levers, those WILL work, but they only work with their corresponding levers - not the factory levers.

Another possible option is the stuff that Inline Tube sells - this was going to be my next go-to if the PDX swap meet and ebay purchase didn't work;
I was told that their stuff is based off of 1969 GTO parts - and they do sell the rods individually.
Now OPH says that the 69 GTO rod won't work, and I'd take his opinion in high regard - but I am sharing what I was planning to do if I couldn't find anything to fit the bill.

What makes matters convoluted is that I was told before 1967(?) GM never stamped shift rods, and even post 1967 rods may have only a few charecters, if any at all - so you have to know what to look for.
As an example, I have three full sets of BW 74-81 rods;
I used a 1-2 & 3-4 rod (seen in the pictures), so I have one loose reverse rod (kijiji listing)
I found that all the BW 1-2 rods that I own have the whole stamped part number;
While the 3-4 rod typically has one to three charecters (the last or last three numbers in the full part number);
The reverse rod has NO numbers - the one I have listed on kijiji has nothing stamped on it - this is why I wrote the full part number with a paint pen;
My two others have a "S" stamp - that's it.

[Green Hornet]

Originally Posted by Scott Thelander

so post up pictures
of whats NOT correct if you would

some of us may have rods and not know the correct applications ...

OK....top one is correct...71-74 Muncie....

2nd one is incorrect Motor City repop...

Third is wimpy Hurst aftermarket.....and 4th is 75-79 Super T-10..

[crashent]

the 2nd and 3rd rods are for an A-body, not an F-body...

Hope this helps... Crash

[Green Hornet]

Thought I'd give this a bump...

[unruhjonny]

If you're interested, I could sell you one of these (?)pre-67 GM "Corvette" reverse rods.

(hmm, it looks like I never showed any pictures... that's seems unusual for me.)

The issue that I have observed is once you start mixing up levers and rods, it goes south FAST;
The deal is trying to get the reverse rod set just right so that when in neutral there is no interference - shifting into reverse pulls the rod away from the transmission casting.

I wanted something as close to 100% correct as feasable, and this was what I came up with:
1) a small output (early tail shaft) M20 (control factor #1)
2) factory 2nd gen F-body levers (control factor #2)
3) BW 1-2 & 3-4 rods (these are nearly dead ringers for the correct Muncie stuff)
4) a 'mystery' Corvette reverse rod

here is a side shot with it in neutral:


(the spare rod is pictured in the foreground)

here is another view of it in neutral:



and another view:



If there was any doubt that engaging reverse isn't typically the issue, here it is engaged in reverse:



I believe the biggest deviation from a 100% correct Muncie rod setup is that the adjusting end of the '5621 rod is placed on the outboard side of the shifter arm (away from the transmission), while this setup places the adjusting end on the inboard side of the shifter arm (towards the transmission).

Let me know if you're interested.

['ol Pinion head]

Originally Posted by Green Hornet

Thought I'd give this a bump...

Ck with me next week, will go through the shifter tubs in the building & see if have a correct (& extra) reverse rod.