I have a 69 cutlass s with a 4 speed, it has the 442 shifter but it was added, my question is two fold, if the car has a console with the shift pattern did they use a shift pattern on the ball or was it plain?

my second question is more hypothetical, if a hurst olds DID come with a 4 speed, would it have 442 on the handle or would it be a plain hurst handle?


and not related to the shifter per se but if the 69 hurst olds did come with a 4 speed what would the engine code be? I think it was qe for the 455 and auto? would it be just the next letter? like QF

 

the shifter ball would be plane if the shift pattern was on the console.

 

A Hurst Olds is not a 442, so there would be no reason to use a 442 handle.

The engine code would be whatever unused letter they decide to use. Guess away!

 

The plain ball is supposed to be correct, but I bought my '69 W31 from the second owner, who owned it from 1971 til '96 and it had the shift pattern on the ball, and it was very worn, very hard to read the pattern at all, leading me to believe that it was original. It has the pattern on the console as well. I also realize that the ball could have been replaced a couple of decades ago, early in its life and as such was worn over the years as the car has 120,000 miles on it.

 

I will check some more I do not think I have ever seen a plain shifter ****, my 4 speed came with a funny kind of brown shifter **** with the 4 speed pattern on it, not sure if it was the original or not.



ok regarding the engine code was just wondering if there was any methodology to the lettering sequence.

 

****, black-plain: 65-442-390749; 66-9-409990

 

same here, black plain ***,shift pattern on console

 

2 interesting related items:
1. The '65-'69 manual shift consoles have the shift pattern on the console. I'm guessing the design engineers did not anticipate that the vast majority of the those consoles were going into 4-speed cars. The 3-speed shift pattern is cast into the top plate. With 4-speeds, they drilled 4 holes and attached a 4-speed patterned plate over the 3-speed pattern. Had they correctly anticipated the demand, I would think it would have been done the other way around.
2. '60s 3-speed floor shifts even without consoles did *not* have the shift pattern on the ball.

 

so the 69 to be "correct" would Not have the pattern, and it was either black or White? are these available? and was there ever offered the walnut ****? (similar to the one offered for the GTO).

 

also interesting the only 65 to recieve a hurst shifter was the 3 speed, all 4 speeds were a saginaw shifter

 

More specifically, it was the M14 heavy duty 3-spd manual trans with a Hurst shifter that was introduced midyear in March '65 and was only available (as an option) on a 442. That was the debut of Hurst shifters in production Oldsmobiles.

 

GTO's had Hurst in 64 right? one thing always surprised me about chebbies they never got on the bandwagon, had muncie shifters....

 

396730 ****, walnut grained, 67-72 AT floor shift

 

Yes both plain and with the shift pattern are available (Fusicks), but not in woodgrain, white is also available, though not correct, (I have both).

 

The shift pattern on the ball is for cars without a console; the console has the shift pattern on it... plain black ball on a four speed w/ console, 10 May 1968!

 

Except 3-spds as I noted.

 

according to the parts book, all 70-2 4 speed cars had the black ball with the pattern, so I guess their console didn't have the pattern on it.

 

I believe that is correct, trying to get a mental image of my buddies '70 442/4spd. and there is no pattern on the console.

 

My friend John back in NY had the exact same car as the one I am building. When I needed to buy the shifter ball I called him, he said that it had the shift pattern on the console ,so the plain black ball is the one I purchased