I have an 83 Trans Am and am going to do the shifter, I want ideas and to see whats been done already. I was thinking of a pro 5.0 shifter but i dont like the 500$ price tag out of principle. Lately ive been thinking of a hurst or just making my own, but I dunno show me yours or give me ideas. Id also like to know if I could find leather seats from a formula with no writing or emblems on them.

 

I got on a shifter kick with my Mustang. I bought a Hurst, a Pro-5.0, and a Steeda Triax. The Hurst was by far the cheesiest of the bunch. I settled on the Pro-5.0, and sold the Steeda on Ebay.

That said I wouldn't spend $500 on a shifter. I don't know where you're getting that price anyway. You can buy the Pro-5.0 for a Camaro/Firebird T5 for $200 with free shipping on ebay.

 

Hopefully this isnt the style Hurst shifter Drew's talking about! I love this shifter and get lots of positive comments. Bought it through Summit Racing for 65 bucks I believe.

 

My B&M with Hammer shifter can be seen in my Car Details below.

JamesC

 

The shifter revolution started with Hurst. The Hurst Competition Plus was one of, if not the first with positive stops. But then Pro 5.0 and others came along with billet shifter bases and heavy duty construction and made Hurst look really bad. The Hurst Billet is comparable to the other shifters, but they're incredibly expensive for what they are. They charge heavily for the brand name. Now Hurst is part of B&M so you're just buying a B&M made shifter with the Hurst logo. I have no first hand knowledge of B&M's shifters. Their entry level shifter looks like the Chinese knock offs you'll see on Ebay. Some of the "name" brands are just repackaged Chinese junk.

You can just change the **** or the handle on the shifter and it'll make a little difference, but the real benefit of an aftermarket shifter is the positive stops. The idea being that the shifter keeps you from forcing the internal shift forks to the point where they bend or break. The shorter throws also make it easier to hit the get you're aiming for. The nice thing about the billet shifters is they're more sturdy and durable. The Pro 5.0 is built like a tank. The weakest link is the T5 it's bolted to.