Inland shifters...did they come with a reverse indicator light on the dash?

[Dans 68]

Inquiring minds want to know... I've looked through my photos of Inland equipped Chargers to see if I can see an original dash mounted indicator light, but no luck. Only the Hurst equipped Chargers seem to have this indicator light. Tell me it aint so (and if I can get back the money I spent on a reverse light indicator assembly ).

Dan

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Just curious, what vintage of Charger are you asking about, '68?

[Dans 68]

Yes, 1968. Sorry 'bout that.

Dan

[Dans 68]

Well, all righty then. I found the answer in the "Charger, Road Runner & Super Bee Restoration Guide", by Paul A. Herd. Only Hurst shifter supplied cars had the light.

Dan

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Glad you found your answer.  I guess I learned something from this post, because I wasn't aware that '68 Chargers came with the inland shifter. Thought all '68 four speed Mopars came with the hurst.   

[Dans 68]

Thought all '68 four speed Mopars came with the hurst.   

The latest date I have on a '68 383 4-bbl Charger with an original Inland shifter is April 19, 1968. The earliest with an original Hurst shifter is March 6, 1968. At least a month and a half overlap. Good stuff, though.

Dan

[Ghoste]

And unless you grossly overpaid Dan, I'm sure you'll be able to get your money back from that indicator.

[Dans 68]

Interesting enough, I just got a copy of a Galen Govier report on a '68 4-speed Charger, and in which he says that the last day for the Inland Shifter usage was March 15th, 1968. Anyone else heard of this? And is there a paper trail?

Dan

[Ghoste]

It's just a letter penned by Galen or a copy of a document from his stash?  He's been wrong before on things.  As far as his date, it could be a number of things.  It could be thelast date of any in his secret registry, it could be an internal document he has that indicates that date but is it a hard fast rule?  Is it the last day Chrysler ordered from Inland?  Is it just the date an official engineering change was made?  You can bet whatever they had in stock was used up first.

[Chatt69chgr]

Can someone post a picture of the original reverse indicator light installed in a 69 Charger.  I'am converting my car to 4-speed and need to add the lamp.

[bull]

Interesting enough, I just got a copy of a Galen Govier report on a '68 4-speed Charger, and in which he says that the last day for the Inland Shifter usage was March 15th, 1968. Anyone else heard of this? And is there a paper trail?

Dan

I think the paper trails all went up in smoke with the original body panel moulds when that factory burned down. My January 68 came with an Inland shifter but that doesn't tell you much because it's too early. I also don't recall seeing a reverse indicator in my Charger but considering how many hands my car went through before coming to me probably tells you nothing as well. One thing I will say about this is that the Inland has a reverse lockout lever so in a sense that would seem to eliminate the need for a indicator light, wouldn't it?

All I've been able to come up with in my studies is that the switch happened sometime in the spring of 1968 but that they were intermixed for some time as well so you could probably get either brand for a while. Most likely there was no exact cutoff date and they just kept installing the Inlands until they ran out of stock and slowly began installing the Hursts as they came in.

While we would probably like to think Chrysler was a very organized, tightly controlled and well-oiled machine, it was still ran by illogical humans so there's really no way to pin it down short of quoting a document we don't have access to, may not exist, or might contain incorrect information if it does exist. I'm starting to sound like Fox Mulder now so I'll stop.

[A383Wing]

I'm starting to sound like Fox Mulder now so I'll stop.

I Want To Believe! 

[Dans 68]

One thing I will say about this is that the Inland has a reverse lockout lever so in a sense that would seem to eliminate the need for a indicator light, wouldn't it?

Yep. All the original photos (i.e., not restored or restified) I have do not show a reverse light with the Inlands. Only the Hurst shifting crowd got them (I guess with the Hurst shifter it was harder to know what gear you are in when you first drop the hammer.... )

Dan