Just looking for thoughts here at this point. My newly acquired '69 Mach 1 Has a Boss 302 engine and trans. The shift linkage is lousy. The lever of the shifter says Mr Gasket, so I presume the whole assembly is. I know that Hurst was bought by Mr Gasket at one time, so was wondering if this may be a rebranded Hurst shifter or just a cheap imitation. Really haven't been able to find much of anything online. Never-the-less, it needs to go. But before I spend $400 plus on this, I have another concern. The tall gears of the toploader matched with the 3.25 axle (the car was originally equipped with a FMX) makes for a somewhat uncomfortable 1st gear. My thoughts are to skip the new shift linkage and go directly to the TKO. Thinking this would get rid of the first gear issue and give me some fuel economy to boot.

This being said, any thoughts on a vendor for a TKO conversion package? Or, what would you guys suggest?

Doug

 

I bet the shifter is pretty much the same as a Hurst Comp shifter, which is what I run. If it is, and if it's sloppy, there's a linkage bushing kit that Mr Gasket/Hurst sells that will likely tighten things up. You should also yank the shifter and clean/lube it as much as possible.

The Hurst Comp I have sitting on my toploader was sitting (with the trans) in a field for a couple years before I got to it. The shifter was full of dirt and sand, and the bushings on the linkages were shot. I pulled the cover panel off the shifter, cleaned and lubed it (with carb cleaner and synthetic brake lube), replaced the linkage bushings, and it's very tight and smooth with almost no slop.

As far as the gearing goes, some of it might be the gearing, some of it might be the motor. First, see if you can find the data tag on the trans. This will tell us exactly which transmission you have, along with the gearing (close- or wide-ratio). Then, keep in mind that a real Boss 302 (are we sure about that?) isn't going to make good power at low rpm's. I wouldn't want to run around with anything less than 3.50's out back. Boss 302's have huge ports and want to run at high rpm's.

My toploader is a close-ratio unit, hooked up to 3.25's in the rear. I also run an aggressive cam that doesn't really build power until ~2500rpm. First gear is a bit of a bear, but once I'm moving the close gear ratios are an absolute blast. I fully intend to change the rear end gearing to something a lot shorter now that I'm not driving the car on the freeway all the time. But even so, it's nice to always have a gear to downshift into, even at freeway speed.

 

Thanks for your input. Yes, definitely a '70 Boss 302, and the trans tag says RUG-AW1, so it is close ratio. Just seems hard on the clutch to get moving. I did take the shifter apart and cleaned it up good. Doesn't seem to have the same number of shims (or thin plates) as the hurst does. Makes me wonder if it has been apart before, and something is missing. Don't know that I can find parts to this.

Doug

 

I don't know if Hurst sells parts separate. Could be worth a call. IIRC, my shifter has a shim/thin plate in between each shift plate, but I'm not 100% on that. I kind of doubt anything's missing on yours though; they're really a PITA to completely disassemble.

When I got to mine, the action was really rough and it didn't go into gears properly. After cleaning and lubing, I'd swear it was brand new. It's worth a shot to see if you can get yours working. Even if you decide you don't like it, they're not cheap and can be sold to fund a replacement.

I understand first being hard on the clutch; mine's the same right now. But unless you plan on driving the car on the freeway for extended periods of time, I'd really recommend keeping the trans and changing the rear gears. You'd get a ton of driveability out of the combo, and it would be a blast to drive

Before I found my toploader, I considered the TKO route. I eventually rejected the idea based on a largely negative response from the race crowd. Apparently TKO's are great for putting torque to the ground, but they are not designed for high-rpm shifting at all. Lots of owners have problems with the 2-3 shift getting jammed when shifting above 6k (as your motor will like to do, when built properly), and you have to drop the tranny to gain access to the top access plates to unjam things.

For the same price you could get an Astroperformance T5 built to handle the power, and it would shift smoother and wouldn't have high-rpm shift issues. If you really want that 5th gear, that's the way to go. You could potentially sell the toploader and make enough to fund the swap, but I'd recommend playing with what you've got before going that route.

 

Double post

 

Thanks Tad. I'd like to work with what I have and make it work. Save money for other upgrades. I'll take another crack at the shifter. Just wish I knew what I was dealing with. It really isn't much of a job to take it apart. Maybe just get a new comp plus and go on.

 

That's always an option. Not a cheap one, but an option. Just make sure the shift pattern on yours matches the Comp Plus before you pull the trigger, otherwise you'll need new linkage as well.

 

Diputado took another option of swapping out the gear clusters to get a wide ratio, but he had to do a transmission rebuild due to some input shaft damage already. That will be a lot cheaper than a TKO though.

 

Yeah, but it kind of negates the value (and fun) of the close-ratio unit. If I really wanted a wide-ratio gearbox, I'd sell the close-ratio unit and buy a rebuilt wide-ratio.

 

Just noticed this post (been travelling lately!)....and like Clowe1965 said, I was running a close-ratio Toploader with a 289 and yeah, first gear was tough on the clutch. My trans. is a RUG-AE2 model that came behind a 428 CJ engine and WAS a close-ratio. Swapped out all internal parts to make it a wide-ratio (AND with the correct smaller input shaft), and have been really pleased with the result. As for the "fun" aspect...the car is (to me) more fun to drive now since it's got a lot more pep off the line and during upshifts to 2nd and 3rd. 4th gear, of course, is the same with either the close or wide ratios. All depends on what kind of driving you do....if it's straight away from the stoplight stuff, then the wide-ratio is better. If you're trying to race around curvy roads, then maybe you'd be better with the close-ratio. BTW...saved all the original close-ratio gear clusters, parts, etc. in case I ever sell the car (doubtful!!).