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Thanks for that link GMAD_Van Nuys.  The template that I used to cut the hole in my car was from the original tunnel picture in post #20.

My understanding is that Fisher Body punched out the holes in the tunnels in 67-68 and welded in the reinforcing ring while in 69, the holes were cut on the final assembly line and no reinforcing ring was used.  I have a 69 Z-28 that has a ratty hole cut in it and no reinforcing ring.  The location of the hole does not match the 68 template that I used.

I have not tried the MaxArc travel adjustment yet.  It appears that that would also raise the shifter handle up which would help to solve the problem.  I did some really rough measurements on the clearance between the handle and the shifter plate.  In 2nd gear the handle is about 1" from the plate while 4th gear is about 3/4" from the plate.  In 1st and 3rd gears, the handle just bumps against the plate, with 1st hitting a little more than 3rd.  That might make sense given the 2nd and 4th measurements.  Reverse, however, goes past the front of the plate and will definitely need to be adjusted more than the other gears.  Unfortunately, my help for taking the trans and block out of the car was running out of time for me so everything is now out. 

Swapping the mounts on the frame took care of it...mostly.  Now the bolt holes in the rubber mount are too far back by about half the bolt hole but I think I can make that work.  The new issue that I found is that the throw on the shifter is so long that it hits the front of the shifter hole plate that goes on top of the console and comes up just short of the back of the plate.  Gotta go research the best way to shorten the shifter throw.  But I'm making progress!  Thanks for all of the help!

Quick update...I spent several hours under the car this week looking at a bunch of metal that, not surprisingly, wasn't going to change length to get the shifter and mount where they should be.  I finally called the Tech Support line at the Wright Connection, who, as I said above, built the transmission.  The third question was "Do you have the motor mounts reversed?".  I didn't think that they were reversible but he was right.  I'm in the process of swapping them right now and expect that both of my problems will be solved.  Stay tuned....

The reason I am modifying the hole is because the car was an automatic and the only hole was a round one about 2" in diameter for the shifter cable.  There are multiple templates for the shifter hole out on the web, but they don't all agree so it has been a struggle for this engineer to take cutter in hand with confidence.  I started small and worked my way up to where, by taking measurements, I thought I had all of the clearances I needed.  Turns out I was wrong when I actually put the critical pieces in the car.  I have the reinforcing plate that I plan to weld in.  The hole in it is smaller than the template hole but, after yet another measurement tonight, I think I have another 1/4" I can open it up in the front without exceeding the hole size in the plate.

I watched the video that posted in a previous reply and did notice the slotted hole in the mounting plate.  I'm going to look into that and maybe I can tip the shifter back a skosh and get even more clearance.

Thanks for your help!

I'm glad to hear that someone has a (nearly) matching combination that works.  That means there is hope!

I checked the crossmember and the two holes are to the rear. 

I also did some more measuring of the hole in the tunnel that I cut and I can cut out another 1/4" on the front edge to match the template.  That may be enough to solve the shifter problem.  That just leaves the trans mount issue.

The distance from the front to the rear of the bell housing is 6 5/16".

The shifter is a Hurst Competition Plus model 3914340 which was for 1st gen Camaros.

The shifter mounting kit that I bought was specific to the Hurst Competition Plus shifter-Muncie transmission combination.  I had Craig rebuild the shifter and install it on the trans so it would be set up properly.  He has been around for a while and has an excellent reputation so I feel confident that his work is good.  But that doesn't mean I won't call him if I strike out with you guys who have the very specific experience that I'm looking for!

I'm have to travel to a funeral tomorrow so don't think that I've lost interest if I don't respond for a while.

I am using a new 67-68 style shifter mount that I bought from Camaro Central.  Here is a picture.  Let me know if there is something specific you want to see in a picture.

Does a Hurst shifter typically require a custom mount for a 68?  Or does it depend on the the model of the shifter?

Thanks again for your help!

One other note is that the shifter is a Hurst Competition Plus shifter in case that means that the hole I cut in the tunnel should be farther forward than what the template shows.

Forgot to mention in the original post that it is a small block, the original block in fact.

The bell housing part number is 3840383.

Keeping in mind that this is a brand new transmission from end to end, the tail housing number is 18-066-901-E.  Below that number is "AGE   AA".  I'm going out on a limb here to say that the AGE stands for Autogear!

I also took a bunch of measurements of the new trans (AG) vs. the old Muncie (M), which has never been in this car so it may not fit either. Disclaimer is that I was measuring the new trans while on a creeper under the car.

Front edge of trans to center of trans mount bolt on tail housing:  14 5/8" (AG)  14 1/4" (M)
Case length:   10 1/8" (AG)    9 7/8" (M)
Mid-plate thickness:   9/16" (AG)    1/2" (M)
Front edge of tail housing to center of trans mount bolt:  3 7/8" (AG)   3 3/4" (M)
Front edge of tail housing to front of shifter mount U-bolt:  10 1/2 (AG)   10" (M)

All of these numbers tell me that the mount and shifter should now be farther back than on an original Muncie but they are both short of where they should be so I'm baffled.  I jacked up the trans and measured that the bolt holes in the rubber trans mount appear to be asymmetrical by 1/8-1/4" so I could gain a little on the mount by turning that around but I think that will only be enough to partially line up the holes with the crossmember.  The only variable left that I see is the bell housing.

Thanks for your help!

I have a 68 that I am building for my wife.  Originally it had a Powerglide but when I got the car, it had a TH350 in it.  She wants a stick so I bought a brand new Muncie M20 from Craig Wright of the Wright Connection.  It has an Autogear case and it is the same length as an old Muncie that I have as near as I can tell.  I bought a used bell housing and cut a hole for the shifter in the trans tunnel using one of the templates I found on this site.  I put the block, bell housing and trans in the car to make sure that the shifter hole was in the right place.  The problem is that the holes in the trans mount are about an inch short of the holes in the trans cross member and the shifter is hitting on the front of the hole I cut.  I think if I could get that inch or maybe 2 back, I would be all set.

Is the trans crossmember for a TH350 the same as for a Muncie?  Does the length of the different bell housing part numbers vary?  Do you have any other ideas about what could be wrong?  Thanks!

Has anyone successfully used a "big cap" HEI distributor in a small block 68 Camaro without modifying the firewall?  If so, what brand and model did you use?  Did a 14 inch air cleaner fit without modifications?  The car I am rebuilding came with a small cap HEI distributor and one of those big honkin' yellow Accel coils mounted on the firewall.  I'm looking for something more subtle and would prefer not to have the coil visible at all.  TIA.

Followup - I did a search online for C'upper case O'68A instead of C'zero'68A and got a hit for a service manual on eBay for this exact model.  I bought it and found that the trailer connector is also a factory-installed Motorola radio connector!  Starting from the male end, the first two conductors are for the front speaker which has a compatible two conductor version of the "trailer" connector.  The other two conductors in the radio connector are for rear speakers which must be controlled by a rear speaker controller KM15S or KM19S.  I don't have one of these controllers but am assuming that it plugs into those conductors and then has outputs for rear speakers.

The wire with the woven jacket on the other side of the radio is the power lead.  The lack of a ground connection makes me think that the case is the ground.

While I realize you don't have the service manual in front of you like I do, I'm open to other interpretations from more experienced people.  Thanks for your inputs above.

I'm rewiring a 68 Camaro RS with an American Autowire Update harness.  The car had a Motorola C068A AM radio that wasn't hooked up when I bought it and I'm struggling to figure out what the wires coming out of the radio are for.  The radio has writing on the side and a sticker on the bottom which makes me think that it came from a junkyard or something though I did find this model identified online as being original for the 68 Camaro.  The connector for the wires looks like a connector for a trailer's brake lights but is molded to the wires so it doesn't appear that someone kluged it on there.  There is also another wire on the other side that has a woven jacket on it and a spade connector.  I'm guessing that this is a chassis ground but am open to other ideas.  Can anyone help me out here?  Thank you!

Maybe I'm figuring out the answer to my own question.  I looked at the new rubber insulator pads that I have and see that one of each pair does not have a hole for this pin to go through it like I thought.  So, can someone please confirm that this pin is not part of the bracket like I assumed, but is welded onto the spring itself?  Thank you

I took the monoleaf rearend out of my 68 RS and found what looks like a bead of metal around the locating pin on the leaf spring brackets on the axle tubes.  It is light grey in the picture and is on the bottom of the leaf spring keeping me from getting it out of the bracket.  It is fairly uniform around about 90% of the pin, but the last 10% it thins out to nothing on both springs.  On the left spring there are two drops of what looks like weld spatter (one is shown at 11 o'clock) on the spring.  I made a couple of passes over it with a file to make the bright area at 11 o'clock on the bead.  Neither the assembly manual or chassis repair manual say anything about putting something around the pin after the spring is in place.  Can anyone tell me what this is so I can figure out how to get the (broken) springs out of the brackets?  Thanks