Many collectors and gearheads prefer a manual transmission over an automatic, as it provides greater control over the car’s speed and a more intimate connection with the vehicle. However during a certain period of vehicle history, drivers were fed up with their manual shifters; in the 1950s, manual shifters were either too much to manage for the casual driver or too clunky to be enjoyable even by the standards of everyday manual users. The system needed to improve, and fast. Luckily for customers of companies like Chevrolet, Pontiac, AMC, and Plymouth, a big change was fast approaching in the form of the one-and-only Hurst Shifter.

The Hurst name for which the shifter is known came from humble beginnings. Hurst-Campbell, founded by George Hurst and Bill Campbell in 1958, started as nothing more than a number of auto repair shops in suburban Pennsylvania. They received funding from one of their customers–the wealthy investor Lawrence Greenwald–to help them move into the automotive manufacturing industry, specifically in the creation of aftermarket bumpers for the VW bus. However, VW quickly started producing enough bumpers to dispel the need for outside competition, and Hurst-Campbell pivoted to the production of an equally niche piece of vehicle equipment: gear shifters.

Hurst-Campbell’s reputation as a creator of masterful shifters began on the drag strip. The company had created custom motor mounts for drag cars that came into their early auto shops, and they began implementing their prototype floor shifters into the cars as well. The shifters in particular enjoyed considerable popularity among racers, and word began to spread until most drivers in the NHRA, off-road racing circuits, and even NASCAR wanted to use them. Some racers even went so far as to have Hurst floor shifters installed in their personal vehicles to replace the clunky gearboxes that came standard.

This information quickly reached the ears of automotive executives, and General Motors began using the shifters–sans the famous Hurst nameplate–in their early 1960s Pontiac models. However, Pontiac Division Manager Pete Estes went to bat for the shifter producer, claiming that the inclusion of their official name could only serve to drive up the popularity of their cars; when the plaque was finally officially incorporated into the 1965 Pontiac line, sales indeed saw a significant increase. 

But just what was it that made a Hurst shifter so great? The initial popularity can be attributed to the unique smoothness that the piston-operated system provided drivers. It made correct shifting much easier in spirited driving and out on the racetrack, and as such became an absolute essential for anyone wanting to win. By the mid-60s, the Hurst shifter was available as an aftermarket upgrade for great transmissions like the Muncie in GM muscle cars. The Muncie branded shifter was prone to clunky shifts during hard driving, due to the indirect mounting to the vehicle’s crossmember, while the Hurst was praised for accurate shifts via its direct mount to the transmission.

The unmatched level of performance present in a Hurst shifter is as important for collectors in the present day as it was for car enthusiasts decades ago. Hurst as it was known in this period was no more by 1970, when a falling out between Hurst and Campbell and a company buyout by Sunbeam appliances meant that neither of the shifter’s inventors were involved in its production anymore. Although the Hurst name has lived on in subsidiary products of the Sunbeam conglomerate and seen many aftermarket copies, an authentic Hurst shifter is solid gold if found in a classic car. This is due both to the shifter’s relative exclusivity in the grand scheme of automotive history and its practicality–a car equipped with a Hurst is much less likely to have sustained damage due to improper shifts and is much easier to manage when compared to other collector vehicles lacking such a smooth shifter from the same period.

Hurst-Campbell’s accomplishments continue to be celebrated long after their last official shifter-equipped car rolled off the line. This is most widely due to the practical boost in performance that their wonderful creation provided for consumers and continues to provide for collectors, but this should not be the only reason to commemorate their work. Motor vehicle history was significantly impacted by the work of just two men and the product of their personal blood, sweat, and tears. Their story is one not simply of fiscal success but of the importance of a good idea and how hard work can change lives. And it is a story that gearheads will proudly continue to tell and retell.

References:

Hurst Performance - Wikipedia

A Detailed Look Back At Hurst (hotcars.com)

Hurst Shifters | Hemmings