Welcome, nice car. The first thing you should buy is a factory repair manual which will have info like the pic below.

Your linkage will be different due to it having a hurst shifter, but it appears you will want to move/rotate the rear one. I'm not sure off hand which way, but you won't hurt it either way doing it by hand.

 

Awesome, thank you so much! Picture helped a lot, and good call on the repair manual. I'll have to find one of those.

Got some ramps this afternoon and got underneath the car, and after a few minutes of moving the gears got it to go back into neutral. Took it for a drive and seems to shift fine now!

I spoke with the previous owner and he said that the transmission had been rebuilt, except for the shifting linkage. Could this be a sign that the linkage needs replacement, or do you have any ideas to address this issue going forward?

 

Awesome, thank you so much! Picture helped a lot, and good call on the repair manual. I'll have to find one of those.

Got some ramps this afternoon and got underneath the car, and after a few minutes of moving the gears got it to go back into neutral. Took it for a drive and seems to shift fine now!

I spoke with the previous owner and he said that the transmission had been rebuilt, except for the shifting linkage. Could this be a sign that the linkage needs replacement, or do you have any ideas to address this issue going forward?

Was it hard to move out of first from underneath? If it happens again, have someone above try to get it out while your underneath watching. This might help figure out what is going on. Hopefully it was rebuilt correctly.

 

maybe a nut or something in the linkage wasnt tightened up and it slipped.

 

mine did this all the time as well, just need to rebuild it, this will cure the problem

 

Common problem when the shifter is not adjusted properly. Jack up the car and safely support it, then climb underneath (it may help to have someone in the car too). Bring a pair of Channelocks with you. While trying to wiggle the linkage out of first gear, rotate the 3-4 shift rod back and forth. Eventually it should pop back into neutral. Check your shift linkages for worn bushings as well as a worn shifter. Repair as needed and adjust the shifter per instructions.

 

Thanks everyone for the insight! Once I got underneath the car it was super easy to push the linkage with my hands so all gears were parallel to each other, and then it popped into neutral.

I didn't need channelocks or any tools, just used my hands...

I spoke with a mechanic and he told me more than likely I would probably need to replace my shifter, because it sounded like "it was shifting sloppy?"

Just as a side note, I did notice my clutch getting stuck a lot when i pushed it to the floor, and then I would have to put my foot behind it to pull it out. Maybe I was just getting used to the clutch, but I am thinking I might need to adjust my clutch as well??

 

Clutch return spring missing?

 

Just get a rebuild kit for your shifter. Much less than a new one and satisfying to DIY.

 

Clutch return spring is there, think I'll have a mechanic check that out, prob just needs a small adjustment perhaps.

Thanks! I'll look into the shifter rebuild kit, hopefully that will be something I can manage myself.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations on where to get a "rebuild kit" for a hurst shifter?

I am also a novice on replacing shifters, do you think it will be a fairly straight forward bolt on replacement, or anything I should look out for before I disassemble the shifter?

 

The shifter needs to be properly adjusted using a special "pin" to slide into the shifter, then adjust the linkages. In a pinch you can use a "close" size allen wrench for a "pin".
I would try to adjust the shifter before re-building it, this would only take 15 min or so.

If you have a Competition Plus shifter, I believe i have a copy of the instructions I could scan.
Tom

 

Thanks for the advice @Renegade. I will take a look at adjusting the shifter first thing tonight. I'm not 100% sure if it is a competition plus shifter, but after looking at the Hurst website it might be. If it's not to big of a hassle, having instructions would be a big help!

 

Good info even if 3 years old! got my '68 out of reverse today using your advice! Thx much, Bill C. - Pinehurst, NC