What do I have here?

G’day all from Oz; I am finally reunited with my 1971 GS as I am visiting my in-laws for Christmas. The transmission setup has me perplexed, the image shows some sort of electronic module bolted on the Left side. One of the wires goes into the transmission and the other goes to a two-position rocker switch that someone has bodged up in the centre console. This dodgy switch has been wired such to turn the reversing lights on in one of its positions and I am guessing the other switch position is meant to engage whatever this module does.

There is no neutral safety switch in the car and the engine can be cranked with the transmission selector (original selector with a cable running down to rubber boot visible in the photo) in any position. Obviously this isn’t ideal and anyway the car cannot be registered without a transmission safety cutout.

The transmission has a TCI Automotive pan, but I think it’s a TH400; it has an aluminium plate riveted to the RH side with “72-PX-23121” stamped on it.

The electronic module has a cable coming out (upper left in the photo) that is connected to the carburettor linkage, via a small cast alloy swivel attachment with the name LOKAR on it. I can see by googling that Lokar makes sensors that are used for transmission position indicators, but the car doesn’t have one of those installed, nor does it need one. At this stage I am of the opinion that the previous owner has half-assed part of one of these systems into the car in the hopes of achieving a safety lockout and reversing lights but has failed because a remote control module is also needed.

Over to you, thanks in advance.

Ben

 

Turbo 400s have electric ‘kickdowns’; they use a switch to drop a gear based upon throttle position. The factory location of the actuator is under the dash, pushed by the throttle pedal arm. The other end of the circuit is the left side of the trans. Sounds like someone used Lokar’s kit to activate kickdown from the carb linkage. Not sure about the Nuetral Safety aspect but sounds like the car wasn’t built with a T400 or floor shift and someone cobbled it. Either call Lokar to get the rest of it or seek out original parts?
Patrick

 

Thanks for the information, it’s very helpful. I hadn’t considered that the centre console and floor shifter might not be original, there’s no evidence of a shifter on the steering column - not the sort that I am accustomed to anyway. I just poked my head up under the dash and there appears to be a safety switch on the top of the column, three or four inches from the firewall. It has two violet wires connected to it. A two-place connector near it with a red and a green wire, has been repurposed to connect the bodgy console switch setup, so I am guessing that this is the connector for the reversing lights. Clearly I have a lot to learn (among other things, there’s a second stalk on the column forward of the indicator stalk, that moves fore-aft).

 

You have a 72 Grand Prix TH400, not a problem in itself. Unless your car came
with a TH300 or TH350, there ought to be an electric kick down switch somewhere.
Look just above the gas pedal for at least a bracket to hold one, maybe one big hole
and a small one for a 1/4 in bolt. I would suggest getting that set to supply 12V ignition
to that lug near full throttle as pbr400 says, and get rid of that other stuff. A 400 needs
no carb cable.

Figure out how the start safety switch can work for you. Some used an electrical switch
driven by the shifter, could be on the column even with a floor shifter (79 Cutlass). Or
near the floor shifter handle. Some used a mechanical interlock on the column, limiting
turning the key to start except in P or N (77 Delta). One should work for you. Bruce Roe

 

I can see a hole in the firewall above the attach point for the accelerator pedal arm and a small lug with what looks like a cable mounting hole on the arm itself.

This car is reinforcing the truth of the saying “things will always take longer than you think they will”.

 

Here are a couple typical 70s kickdown switch mounts. Bruce Roe

 

Thanks everyone for your information, it’s very helpful. The accelerator pedal setup in my car looks very different to the photos here. One more problem to solve.

EDIT: probably nobody will read this, but ‘problems solved’; what made my accelerator setup so different was that someone had previously welded a second lug to the pedal rod, slotted to allow attachment of another cable. I bought a new switch of the type in the above photos and a mounting bracket. When I first installed them, the slide of the switch was in line with the second lug on the rod, so at first glance it looked like it was supposed to push the slide, but the travel of the accelerator was significantly affected. Anyway, I took the pedal rod out of the car and ground the lug off, then put it all back together and adjusted the bracket and switch so that nothing was interfering with anything else. This has allowed me to remove the Lokar switch.

I also bought and installed the necessary back drive linkage between the transmission and steering column and fitted a new Neutral Safety switch on the column, then connected the reversing lights wires to it and got rid of the dodgy wiring from the centre console. The rigging is not quite right - if I shift from Reverse to Neutral the starter won’t do anything when I turn the key, but if I shift from Drive to Neutral it all works.