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Restoring my 1972 Cutlass Supreme convertible, and while disassembling I noticed a bracket I don't see any reason for. Please see picture; the bracket is on the left mounted to the frame. The picture is of the left part of the frame some 2 ft behind the proportioning valve position. Anybody recognize it? Should I replace it after restoring my frame?
Restoring my 1972 Cutlass Supreme convertible, and while disassembling I noticed a bracket I don't see any reason for. Please see picture; the bracket is on the left mounted to the frame. The picture is of the left part of the frame some 2 ft behind the proportioning valve position. Anybody recognize it? Should I replace it after restoring my frame?
Thanks,
Louis
That is for the shift linkage. On column shift cars, the equalizer bar to the trans pivots there. On floor shift cars, the same equalizer bar is used as part of the backdrive linkage that locks the shifter with the key. This is all diagrammed in your Chassis Service Manual.
You only need it if you want your trans to work. It is for the linkage rod.
It has a plastic bushing and spring that slides over the link rod that goes to
the trans.
My car originally had a column shift, but was converted by the previous owner to a floor shift. The bracket must have stayed behind after the mod, but no equalizer was mounted. Still the car drove fine (I have it for over 10 years now ). Do you think when rebuilding the tranny (also by the previous owner) they made the system work differently? The bracket on the THM350 is still there - was not connected to anything, also.
The equalizer mount is easy, but where does the link to the steering column go to on a floor shifter? Is the linkage the same for floor shift cars? Any chance it ends in the bracket on the steering column that I also wondered what it was for? See picture; the empty connection hole is in the top right.
Do you think it is worth the money to add the linkage, or would installing it now cause any problems I didn't have in the set-up for the last ten years? I'd like to install it - just because it should be there....
My car originally had a column shift, but was converted by the previous owner to a floor shift. The bracket must have stayed behind after the mod, but no equalizer was mounted. Still the car drove fine (I have it for over 10 years now ). Do you think when rebuilding the tranny (also by the previous owner) they made the system work differently? The bracket on the THM350 is still there - was not connected to anything, also.
The equalizer mount is easy, but where does the link to the steering column go to on a floor shifter? Is the linkage the same for floor shift cars? Any chance it ends in the bracket on the steering column that I also wondered what it was for? See picture; the empty connection hole is in the top right.
Do you think it is worth the money to add the linkage, or would installing it now cause any problems I didn't have in the set-up for the last ten years? I'd like to install it - just because it should be there....
Thanks,
Louis
The missing backdrive linkage not only locks the shifter with the key, it also operates the neutral safety/backup light switch that is located at the base of the steering column. Whoever did this conversion neglected to install this linkage. That means that your car will start in any gear and your backup lights don't work right now. Was the conversion done with a factory shifter or an aftermarket shifter?
Floor shift installations used a special bracket on the selector shaft of the trans that provided for the equalizer rod to attach. Do you have a Chassis Service Manual? Again, this is all shown there.
When I bought the car, I could indeed start in any gear - pretty dangerous. I therefor attached a neutral and safety switch to the floor shifter, that ensures you can only start the car in neutral or park. See pictures. It also switches the back up lights on when in reverse. When I bought the car there were no electrical connections to the console at all, so I made a cable for all lights and switches.
So I guess what I did isn't stock? Tamraz's sells them for 1967-70 Cutlass, so it may be wrong for my '72 car.
I do have the Service Manual, just don't know always where to find the information
Yes, the 1970-earlier NSS is different from the 1971-up. Either way works and yours is perfectly fine now. It was just an expense you wouldn't have needed if the stock system was in place. GM finally figured that if they needed to install the backdrive linkage on floor shift cars anyway, there was no reason for keeping two NSS configurations - the switch and wiring for the column shift version works fine with a floor shift if the backdrive is in place. In your case, unless you care about locking the shifter, there is now no reason to reinstall the linkage. The only thing you need to worry about is that the collar on the steering column is no longer fixed in the LOCK position. The backdrive linkage controls that collar position also. This means that 1) you can now lock the steering column with the car in motion (normally, you cannot since the backdrive prevents this) and 2) if the collar ever vibrates out of place, you won't be able to turn the key to LOCK and remove it. We get that question about every six months here.
Also, for future reference, we can't know the current configuration of your car if it isn't 100% stock. That leads to these "twenty questions" threads where we have to tease the info out of the original poster. The more info one can provide with the original question, the faster you get a complete answer.
Thanks, Joe, I'm sorry that I didn't know my car wasn't stock on this aspect. I've learned a lot from this thread, even if you have to drag all information out of me. Again, sorry.
Still consider to buy the linkage and install - to avoid the risks you mentioned, and to go back to stock for my year. Thanks for all the advise!
). Do you think when rebuilding the tranny (also by the previous owner) they made the system work differently? The bracket on the THM350 is still there - was not connected to anything, also.
