What on earth IS this?

[Harry P.]

Since there is so many differing opinions as to "how stupid" it is to shift an automatic transmission let me add in my two cents. I don't know much about Fords and Chevys but I can tell you about Mopars and what was popular back in the day (and maybe even today for that matter). If you wanted better performance from a torqueflite you simply swapped in a manual valve body into an automatic transmission. This required you having to shift through the gears. You couldn't avoid it. You were basically reversing the shift pattern where high was now low and low was high. It was a performance edge and really served no other purpose. It was primarily a drag racing application but could also be utilized on the street if wanted. It gave a definitive advantage to racing the four speed cars as you didn't have to coordinate your left foot with your right hand.

What you're describing is a mod to an automatic that actually had some benefit.

This "three headed monster" Hurst Lightning thing is pure nonsense. No real function, just "flash"... and a huge dose of silly.