Dumb question of the day. 1969 Cutlass auto trans, floor shift.

I took out the spring clip from the auto shifter to remove the T Handle and swap the console top plate. Now I cannot get the clip back into the hole. The inner and outer holes are now out of alignment and this far brute force is not doing the trick.

Any tips? Never had an issue before, but something inside the shifter handle seems to have shifted.

 

Sometimes with shifters they need to be in a particular gear setting to get them back together. Try what you’re doing with the shifter in each gear (car off, uh yeah).

My best success with my floor shifter is usually in neutral or Drive where the shifter is in the middle of it’s travel.

Chris

 

When you say "clip" are you really referring to the split pin that holds the finger grip to the shifter? Have you tried aligning the two with a smaller diameter drill as a test? Do you have the finger grip right side up?