So when I got the car this was how the shifter works. I am not familiar with Oldsmobile but I am thinkin something is not right here. In the first photo the car is in park but if you tap the shifter back it will move freely into the next slot on the plate without depressing the shifter lever. At this point the shifter is locked in place. Refer to the second photo and at this point the car is in neutral. If you depress the shifter lever and pull it back one notch you are now in reverse. So the shifter sequence is park to neutral, neutral to reverse. the biggest negative here is you don't have to depress the shifter lever to go from park to neutral. so if you accidently bump the shifter it will roll away. Can someone tell me what im seeing here and why I might be having this behavior?

 

Someone has modified that shift gate, as evidenced by the saw slot and the not-factory fasteners. You need to replace it for the shifter to work properly. It's a little hard to see in this photo due to the shadows, but note the shift gate on the lower shifter. In particular, note the notch that locks the pin and shifter lever into the PARK position until you press down on the ****.

 

Here's a better shot of the curved shift gate, though it is flipped in this photo (PARK is on the left). This is from Shiftworks, as they sell a kit to convert a Jetaway two speed shifter (that they incorrectly call "Powerglide") to a three speed shifter. You might be able to buy just the gate from them.

 

Looks like it's not the right one for that car ! What year and model are you working on?

 

Actually, it doesn't matter. All 67-72 AT shifters use the same gate for the three speed AT.

 

Thanks, I didn't know that. why would it be modified so it would not lock into park? sounds crazy to me ! but ,people do crazy things to cars , all the time.

 

Not a clue, but if you closely compare the OP's shift gate and the photos you posted, they aren't even close to being the same. Clearly this has been swapped. No idea why. The only thing I can possibly guess at is that this was a Jetaway shifter that someone tried to use on a three speed trans.

 

Hey at least it's fixable easier than a manual floor shift, I think. I've driven a couple "when you get into top gear, flip that bungee loop around the shifter to hold it in gear" vehicles.

 

I have another issue with my console shifter. My 69 used to be a column shifter and was converted to console. the neutral safety switch is still on the column which is not doing anything. I would like to put one on the console shifter but an having a hard time finding one. Does anybody know what one will work and any advice on this topic?

 

What transmission has neutral next to park? The next detent should be reverse then neutral.

 

Most vehicles with the key on the column and the ignition lock feature have the neutral safety switch mounted on the column and use the transmission backdrive linkage to move the steering column collar to the Lock position and also activate the NSS, the same as column shifted cars. You may just need to connect the linkage properly.

 

Actually, the 1969 cars used the console-mounted NSS, even with the backdrive linkage.

 

 

I wasn't sure about the 1969 setup. Thanks for the clarification.

 

My '64 Dynamic 88 (3-speed 'slim jim' transmission) has reverse as the last (far right) position on the column shift, which I think would leave park and neutral next to each other.

 

Prior to the release of the ST300 and ST400 (aka TH400) in 1964, the normal GM automatic shifter pattern was P-N-D-S-L-R.