'63 Shifter Rattle - Ideas?

[Seth McCulloch]

I know that the design of the 4 speed shifter on the '63 (which may also be the same as for C1s?) lends itself to some pretty good rattling due to vibration, but I was wondering if anybody out there had any creative solutions to fix - or minimize - this annoyance. The shifter is in good shape, and it's got the tension spring attached. Heavy acceleration through the gears gives off so much noise you wonder if the car will stay together! All substantial mounts (engine, trans, rear end, body) are new, and the suspension is rock solid, so I'm pretty comfortable that the noise and vibration is just coming from the shifter.

Thanks for your ideas,
Seth

[Clem Z.]

Re: '63 Shifter Rattle - Ideas?

i replaced the light weight plastic shifter ball with a heavy chrome plated brass one and the did the trick for me when these cars were new. i even found one the other day looking thru some old stuff

[William C.]

Re: '63 Shifter Rattle - Ideas?

A couple of issues are the tension on the spring for the reverse lockout trigger being too low and also slop in the pivot pin that transfers motion from the shift lever to the shaft that actually moves the shift levers. Both can be inproved with some creative engineering.

[Douglas G.]

Re: '63 Shifter Rattle - Ideas?

Seth,I had a similar problem on my '63 and found the problem to be with the yoke on the drive shaft.It was worn so I had it "spray welded" on the outside and then turned down to the correct dia. An easier way may be to just replace the yoke on the transmission end of the drive shaft.The wear is very obvious once the yoke is removed from the transmission.Good luck.

[John D.]

Re: '63 Shifter Rattle - Ideas?

Seth,First of all I am a big time 63 lover. 2nd of all those 63 shifters are a POC. When those cars were brand new we used to throw those shifters away and put in the Hurst ASAP. You wouldn't be caught dead without a Hurst. But today we have to restore them no matter what it takes. Typically it's the spring and the pin like Clupper said. I don't know about the tranny yoke thing but it sure sounds realistic. My low mileage 63 driver that I sold had a shifter that I absolutely hated because it rattled so much. I bought a new spring from Corvette World I remember and it fixed the problem. Here was a dealer fix for that problem one day when I took one of my midyears to them because of the same complaint. The mechanic pumped the shifter full of grease. Grease everywhere. Didn't rattle for awhile though. JD

[Albert P.]

Re: '63 Shifter Rattle - Ideas?

You could also relocate the shifter to the cross member;ther'e a sevice bulleyin for this for, I believe 1965; a kit ca be purchased from any of the suppliers,and it's an easy fix, and you could always go back to the original.