I have a 1968 Cutlass S Holiday Coupe with a Jetaway. When I bought it I noticed that the pedal kickdown switch was unplugged. I pulled the switch out and attempted to disassemble it to clean/lube it. The plastic was so brittle that the whole housing cracked on when I tried to pry it open. So now I need to order a new switch. Here's a picture of what I currently have:


I'm having trouble confirming the correct switch to order. The switch looks like it's the same as the one for a TH400. Here's the one I found at YearOne:
https://www.yearone.com/Product/1964...tlass-442/ra31
However, the description says "Reproduction kickdown switch for 1969 models with ST-300 and 1969-1972 models with TH-400". Mine car is a 1968. The switches I see on listed on Summit and Jegs only mention fitment for the TH400, but they say nothing about fitting a 1968 Jetaway/ST300.

I'm pretty sure that everything is original on my car, but I can't say so for sure. I suppose it's possible that that the trans was swapped out at some point. Could someone please confirm the above YearOne link is for the correct switch?

 

That switch from Year One will work fine on your '68. Mine had the same switch. There should also be a short length of rubber hose that goes over the round lever that the pedal presses against and acts as a spacer. These sometimes slip off and results in the switch not activating properly.

 

Thank you for the quick reply Johnny! Do you happen to have a pic of that hose/spacer? Any reason I can't just slide on any piece of hose that fits the diameter?

 

I think it was just a short piece of fuel line, get one w/ the ID just a tad smaller than the round lever of the switch, the OD isn't critical. I'll see if I can find my old one when I get home.

 

I finally got around to installing my new kickdown switch today. However I ran into a problem. The switch will not activate when the pedal is pressed all the way to the floor. I checked it with a multimeter and the siwtch needs to slide almost 3/4" before it closes the circuit. I know that I don't have the rubber hose on there yet, but that's not going to make up the 3/4" gap. I see no way to make any adjustments to the switch, bracket, or pedal. Do I just hack some sort of block/spacer together? I'm questioning if the switch is the correct version for my car. Even though they physically look the same, maybe the original switch had a different "close" point. Has anyone else had this issue?

 

Here's another picture with the pedal at rest. This is installed correctly, right?

 

There should be three holes in the bracket. Move the switch closer to the rod.

 

Yes there are 3 holes in the bracket, but only the center one is threaded. The other two holes are intended to accept the tabs on the switch to keep it from rotating:


I could mount the switch on the other side of the bracket and then use a single bolt & nut to secure it. :


Yellowstatue, is this the method you are suggesting? I think it would get me close enough to make it work once I add the rubber hose. I'm not sure if the single bolt/nut would keep it from rotating over time though This is still a hack and I'd prefer to make it "right". Did I buy the wrong switch?
https://www.yearone.com/Product/1964...tlass-442/ra31

 

The ST300 and turbo 400 use the same switch. I looked at the assembly manual and saw the three holes thinking they were threaded. Is it possible that the bracket is bent more than necessary? Put the rear tab into the threaded hole to keep it from rotating and a nut and bolt in the front hole for now.

 

You might try "resetting" the switch. Carefully!! push the tube contact part towards the firewall, push at the base of the tube so you don't snap it off, you'll hear it click & it will stay forward,then the first time you put it to the wood it will set itself.

 

Success! "Resetting" the switch solved the problem. I didn't realize that the push tube could be moved all the way forward by (gentle) force, but it slid forward just as you said. Thanks rob1960!!