I have a 350 transmission with a floor shifter and I am having problems getting it in and out of gear. It is currently at a transmission shop and they have replaced the shifter cable, but it is still doing it. They are now focusing on the steering column and the connections there. I know that the steering column is out of a 68.

Anyone have this problem before?

One odd thing that takes place is the column turns when you shift - is that normal?

Thanks in advance for any help.

That is probably the root of your issue right there if it is true.

In '67 and '68 the ignition key slot was in the dash. In 1969, many car companies adopted a theft deterent system where the key was in the steering column. Locking the ignition also locked the steering column and the transmission selector.

The way they did this with floor shifters was to leave the rotating sleave for the column shifter still there, but they locked the floor shift through a series of linkages from the column to the floor shifter.

So if you truely have a '68 column transplanted into your '69, you have issues. But I doubt it because you noted that you have the rotating sleave.

So is your ignition key in the steering column?

Chris -

If the column turns as you shift, then it's not a 68 column - that's a '69 feature as Mark (Salmon38) pointed out.

It sounds like the ignition switch is your problem. It's not disengaging the column lock from the sound of it.

Q

I found out the hard way how this all works when I was a teenager way back with my '70 Mustang.

I tried to install a column mounted Sun tach and put the band around the turning sleave. The car would not shift at all and the tach started rotating

The igition switch pushes on a locking pin that slides into the rotating sleave to keep it from turning.

Well, let me rephrase this. My car has been pieced together from a 68 & 69 (68 engine, door panels, some other minor things; everything else is 69). The ignition lock originally had a C key. So I was ASSUMING that it is a 68 column. But I guess there's always the possibility that someone just switched out the ignition lock (I do have another one that looks beat up but original in a box).

Ignition lock has been changed since to a 69 (thought that might be the problem originally), but it was still doing it.

The car will start and is drivable. But I have to rotate the column and mess with the floor shifter a little to get it in and out of gear. And the floor shifter felt loose (not sure how it feels now since the cable was replaced and put on correctly - mechanic said it was on wrong).

So it seems like it's something between the ignition lock and the shifter cable...

If I recall - and I hope if someone KNOWS they chime in here - there's a bracket attached to the selector shaft on the tranny that drives the column through what's called the back-drive linkage. That bracket is probably what the cable attaches to as well, and it sounds as though it may be loose on the selector shaft (or broken). It may simply be loose and needs to be re-tightened, or the attachment may be worn out.

or bent.

Vehicle is fixed for now. Not sure what they done, but it slides in and out of gear the best it ever has.

Thanks for the input everybody.

Better check to see that they did not just disconnect the linkage.

Is the gear selector locked in park with the ignition off, or can you move it through the gears?

It is NOT locked in park, it can move through the gears... Now what???

Is that a problem? I know I would prefer it to stay locked, and I know that means someone can put it in gear without the key.

Steering column is rotating properly with the floor shifter. I know that the neutral safety switch was removed previously and they didn't put it back in as I requested. Could that allow me to take it in and out of gear without the ignition key on?

The column & ignition lock is designed to lock the steering wheel and the shifter when you turn the ignition switch to the "lock" position.

If you turn and remove the key, can you still turn the steering wheel and shift out of park? If so, they have disabled the column lock but left the linkage in place.

Do your reverse lights work right?

The steering wheel locks when the key is turned to the lock position. But you can still move the shifter in and out of gear. The reverse lights are working.

They "fixed" your problem by disconnecting the linkages between the steering column and the transmission. The easy way out.

What do you mean by that? If it is rotating properly, then it must also lock the tranny in Park when you lock the ignition.

If the collar rotates when you put it in reverse then it must still be hooked up. If the key is then turned to the off position and pulled out of the ign, it should lock everything up including the shifter. You shouldn't be able to pull it out of reverse. If you can then something is broken inside the columne.

What I meant was that it is rotating when I shift, like it is supposed to. But yes, NOT CORRECTLY if it won't lock into place when the key is off.