I made a simple reverse-lockout mechanism for my Hurst Competition Plus Shifter. I bought a used Hurst Competition Plus 4-speed shifter on the internet, and after cleaning it up and installing it, I discovered that the reverse-lockout feature – the heavy spring that prevents you from selecting reverse inadvertently – had failed. So, I had to be careful when selecting the 1-2 Gate to be certain that I was not in the R gate. While contemplating whether to repair the shifter or live with it as-is, I examined the shift mechanism and discovered that the pivoting part of the mechanism – the part the handle is bolted to – gets closer to the fixed part of the mechanism – where the shifter arms are – when engaging the 1-2 Gate, and much closer when engaging the R Gate. That is, the gap between the handle mount and the body of the shifter mechanism changes as the handle is moved left and right. Careful measurement indicated that the gap between the handle mount and the shifter body was approximately 1/8” when the handle was in the 1-2 Gate and much smaller when the handle was in the R Gate. I inserted a piece of 1/8” thick steel into the gap and tried to engage the R Gate – NO GO, but the 1/8” shim was just right to act as a stop for the 1-2 Gate. With the 1/8” shim in place, the shifter was in the 1-2 Gate when pulled to the left, and reverse could not be engaged. I decided that instead of rebuilding my shifter, I would fabricate a reverse lockout mechanism. The mechanism consists of a 1/8” thick steel plate 1-1/4" wide with a slot that allows it to slide up and down on standoffs affixed to the bolts that mount the shifter handle. The standoffs are nominal 3/8” ID, ½” OD thinwall steel tubing 0.180” in length. A 3/8” washer between the standoffs and the bolt head allows the 1/8” steel plate to slide freely on the standoffs. (Note that although the steel plate is only 1/8” thick, the standoffs need to be about 0.180” long because there is a recess in the shift-handle mount. Also, you cannot use lock washers on the shift-handle mounting bolts because they would prevent the 1/8” plate from sliding. I plan to use self-locking nuts on the final assembly.) The end of the 1/8” plate needs to be notched on each side so that it can be pulled clear of the fixed part of the shift mechanism. Much cutting and filing resulted in an acceptable lock-out mechanism like the one shown. I have not completed the “pull-up” part of the mechanism because I have not yet decided whether I will pull the 1/8” plate up by hand or use a solenoid.
Interesting but you can buy the springs and individual pieces for one of those from Hurst. Here is the spring but it's packaged with the spring for the plunger on the shifters with the reverse lockout plunger in the knob. http://www.hurstshiftersonline.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=99&idcategory=53
Yes, I know I can buy the springs, but that implies that I want to remove the shifter from the car and disassemble it, which I don't. I think this fix turns a "bug" into a "feature" as the software people used to say.
Incidentally, the spring package that you referred to contains only the two springs that fit inside the shifter body of all Competition Plus shifters. It does not have provision for a knob-actuated reverse lockout.
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