2ndgen
Member
I dodged a bullet!
My total restoration originally had an FMX transmission which I changed out to a AOD with a 3200 stall speed converter. I bought one of the linkage conversion kits and hooked it up to the stock shifter. The FMX shifter is different than the other automatic shifters because the FMX does not have a neutral safety switch - instead it is located in the shifter itself.
When I hooked up the shift linkage I verified the range and put it in park. When I went to fire up the engine for the first time it would not crank and I traced the problem back to a mal-adjusted neutral safety switch. I fixed that and ran the shifter through the gears several times and put it back into park...
What I didn't realize was that the shift linkage was just a bit too long, and after adjusting the neutral safety switch and running the shifter back and forth, the tranny did not go into park; it was in reverse!
I happily started the engine, set the initial timing, worked on the idle mixture, blipped the throttle a few times (yikes! glad I had a loose converter!) all with the front end on jack stands and the rear tires on the ground. To make matters worse the brakes were not plumbed and the parking brake was not connected. (Heck there is no steering wheel and the interior is stripped too!).
I bled the brakes this weekend and lifted the rear wheels to break in the new differential gears. Imagine my surprise when I started the car and saw the wheels spinning backwards! Hmm.. lets see...
no brakes - check
no steering - check
car parked in the driveway behind the Mustang - check
potential drop off jack stands onto detailed front suspension - check
I could just picture myself under the hood blipping the throttle and having the car launch into reverse!!! Note to others - if you use a FMX shifter, double check that your tranny really goes into park!!!
-Rory
My total restoration originally had an FMX transmission which I changed out to a AOD with a 3200 stall speed converter. I bought one of the linkage conversion kits and hooked it up to the stock shifter. The FMX shifter is different than the other automatic shifters because the FMX does not have a neutral safety switch - instead it is located in the shifter itself.
When I hooked up the shift linkage I verified the range and put it in park. When I went to fire up the engine for the first time it would not crank and I traced the problem back to a mal-adjusted neutral safety switch. I fixed that and ran the shifter through the gears several times and put it back into park...
What I didn't realize was that the shift linkage was just a bit too long, and after adjusting the neutral safety switch and running the shifter back and forth, the tranny did not go into park; it was in reverse!
I happily started the engine, set the initial timing, worked on the idle mixture, blipped the throttle a few times (yikes! glad I had a loose converter!) all with the front end on jack stands and the rear tires on the ground. To make matters worse the brakes were not plumbed and the parking brake was not connected. (Heck there is no steering wheel and the interior is stripped too!).
I bled the brakes this weekend and lifted the rear wheels to break in the new differential gears. Imagine my surprise when I started the car and saw the wheels spinning backwards! Hmm.. lets see...
no brakes - check
no steering - check
car parked in the driveway behind the Mustang - check
potential drop off jack stands onto detailed front suspension - check
I could just picture myself under the hood blipping the throttle and having the car launch into reverse!!! Note to others - if you use a FMX shifter, double check that your tranny really goes into park!!!
-Rory
