O-dawg

My 72 cutlass's back up lights dont work.....The car will start in any gear which makes the neutral backup safety switch suspect.Now I brought a new one but before I install it Im trying to understands exactly how they work.......When I shift my floor shift th350 shouldnt the steering column rotate the little thing on the neutral saftey back up switch....I ask because earlier when I was under the dash and I shifted through the gears with the car off....I didnt see anything move on the neutral saftey switch.Am I misunderstanding something?

joe_padavano

The backdrive linkage from the trans to the steering column is missing. Either this car was converted to floor shift (and the linkage was not properly installed) or it was removed to clear headers.

O-dawg

Wow!Thanks man!I do have headers so maybe thats why they did it........I wish there were something I could do to keep the headers and still run the back drive linkage

svnt442

You can make a switch to work on the floor shifter if there is no way to clear the headers. It might take some minor engineering, but it's doable.

joe_padavano

Depending on the specific headers, you can often get the backdrive linkage to fit with some minor bending. Failing that, there are aftermarket cables for street rods that run from the steering column to the trans.

O-dawg

Thanks man!I do want the car fully funtional even though it is custom to a degree.....There is hope!Thanks!

Fun71

I had no interference between the headers and the backdrive linkage on either my 70 Supreme or the 71 convertible. Both 350 cars with Heddman headers.