Ive got a 72 350-4 Lark, with a TH350, console car with the horseshoe shifter, my problem is that the tranny doesnt actually lock into any of the gears, I pull up on the lever, and slide it into lets say-Drive, but at any time, I can just throw the car in any gear I want to, with out engaging the lever (without the car running lol). Im afraid that a pasenger sometime will accidentaly bump my shifter and throw my car into another gear while im driving. How do I fix this?
Your ratchet "comb" is missing. You will need to disassemble the shifter...remove console to verify it is missing. Not hard to make.
Could also be the trigger is stuck in the up position. The trigger actually pulls up on two slides that operate in the metal uprights of the shifter handle (on each side), to unlock the shifter. There are 2 springs in the plastic part of the handle that should push the trigger back when you squeeze it to release the shifter. There is a plastic U clip that pries off the plastic shifter handle. That exposes the springs. Then on each side, you will see 2 screws. one screw goes into the trigger, the other secures the handle to the metal shifter handle uprights. It could also be what George said, but you will need to disassemble the shifter to confirm that. Hope that helps.
I ordered a new set of spring the last time I placed an order with Year One just because I knew there was something not right with that trigger. As Ive learned a litle more about how that shifter works, Ive realized that there wasnt any springs in it!!! The chrome trim on the top of the handle was missing, so even though I have springs- I have nothing to hold them in place. Im ordering a new aluminum piece for the top of that, does that piece just snap in place or does it screw in? It looks like theres places for 4 screws on those sleeves that slide up and down to scontrol the shifting. I jerry rigged the top of the shifter and placed those springs in the appropriate place to see if it did anything, and it seemed like it would lock into park- and I had to pull the trigger up to release it from that but all the other gears I could just slide the shifter back and forth w/o the trigger
The top trim clips in. Re read my post. The screws in the side attach the handle to the uprights and the trigger to the slides.
You will need the U clip to hold it all together. I am sure someone here can post a breakdown diagram to show the order of parts. I sell bothe the U clip and the pull up bar with the screws and springs if you need any of it let me know. mike@mrbuick.com
Perfect guys, thats exactly what it looked like in my head- but its nice to see a real pic of it. Parts will be in the middle of this week. After a year and a half of being out of the car tomorrow is "start nite". Im so excited I havent been able to sleep in a week, lol.
Still cant get this *$%! to work right. I dont know if the flat head screws im using to put everything together-arent flat enough or what. But those sliding pieces keep binding up real bad (i think the screw head is catching when the dowels slide up and down) and its not allowing the springs to push that trigger down. The guy I bought the car off of had it jerry rigged (no offense to any jerrys out there lol) pretty bad so I hope I can get it fixed. I know exactly how everything goes together- it just isnt working properly. very frustrating. Is there something special about the screws, do I need to get OEM pieces for that?
Just a tip: Do NOT overtighten the screws....you will end up pinching the pull-up bar between the metal uprights causing our problem.
Thank you very much. Let me know how much I owe you, or if youd be interested I could just trade you some custom vinyl decals. Im a graphic designer, and work at sign shop- so I could come up with some pretty neat designs, or even just the standard tri shield logo, let me know. thanks again.
Are the springs used in this shifter the same as the springs in the 69 shifter? I was thinking of replacing my springs. The 69 shifter doesn't look nearly as complex as the 70-72 does.
