Hi MECTransam, Been lurking on this forum for years, finally joined when I read your post.... I got some experience with HURST Shifters and thought I'd add my 2 cents. Running with the bolts loose is a bad idea, you'll end up breaking the lower (smaller) bolt eventually if you shift hard enough long enough. You should be able to tighten the shifter mounting bolts without having the reverse lock out bind up. If it locks up like yours is, 90% of the time the small hairpin shaped spring that preloads the sliding part popped under the sliding plate, causing the plate to bind when the bolt is tightened. The spring should fit in a little groove on the edge of the sliding part. Once it's back in place, bolt the plate in behind the shifter without moving the sliding part, as any movement can cause the spring to get stuck under the slide again. After everything is tight, try and move the lock out from the top, If it moves, then attach the rod and red knob. If it still binds, check the back of the shifter body and the shifter mounting plate for burrs, ect. I've also seen the thinner steel mounting plates bend, and bind the loc out. ( I'm a (AHHEM ) Ford guy, so the mounting plates are pretty thick steel or aluminum and don't bend....)Also make sure the reverse loc out itself isn't bent or bowed...
You should see what I'm talking about with the spring when you take the loc out out. If not, I'll try and post some pic's
John
Here's a pic I found on the internet, you can see the little spring on the right....
