Last week I had a 1977 Camaro I was working on start and crash into the neighbors swing set. I had reached through the drivers door to start the engine so I could set the carburetor. The car started while in reverse (automatic). I tried to reach the floor shifter as it drug me out the garage door. I finally got free of the car and it went across the alley hitting the neighbors swing set. I didn't know the nutrial switch was bypassed years ago when the headers were installed. What if the start circuit routed through the hydraulic brake ( stoplight) switch so the brake pedal would have to be depressed to complete the circuit?
Modern cars are built built with the brake needing to be stepped on to start or taken out of “park”. My OT 5 Speed car needs the clutch pedal to be pressed to start. It can be in any gear.
Why did you not have the car in park? fortunately you or no one else wasn't seriously injured or killed. Just consider this a learning experience and it won't ever happen again, had the car been in park it wouldn't have moved regardless of a safety switch or not. HRP
Just be glad that no one was on the swing set at the time. Neutral switches are usually bypassed because the switch failed and rather than replace it they just bypassed it. The rod that runs to the column on 69 and later GM cars to move the column (4 speeds have them too) so column will lock when you take the key out must have been removed. One of my students had a add on horn button (one of those plastic ones you usually clamp around the column on a truck) under the dash as a neutral switch on his Chevy in the late 70's. Turn the key with your right hand reach under the dash and hold the button with your left. Like this one. Two screws, two wires and 4 ends and done.
It seems the best way would be repair the neutral switch and then interlock it with the brake pedal if desired. If you do so; you should probably use a relay as the contacts in those GM brake light switches don't like much additional current. If you are running a carb; more than likely will have to get used to using your left foot on the brake too.
Neutral switch probably still works but the column is locked in the park position because the rod to the shift arm on the trans has been removed. I have taken more than one frozen up GM floor shift cable loose at the trans and shifted the car by gripping what would be the shift collar on the column and moving it into gear to drive the car to the shop and get it on the hoist. Especially those long nose Pontiac Grand Prix from the early 70's that guys would always leave the valve cover to firewall ground straps off when they changed gaskets.
More than a few aftermarket neutral switches available that mount on the trans; better to do it the right way.
another thing is that the hydraulic brake light switches available these days are kind of flaky, and if you use one as a neutral start switch, it will probably have even more current though it than normal, causing it to fail even sooner...so you'll end up bypassing it, and be back to square one.
I think replacing and adjusting the factory neutral safety switch is well worth the time and effort. I took the time to install one on my T Bucket. I’ve heard way to many horror stories of what can go wrong without one.
the 1977 camaro uses a steering column mounted neutral start switch . For the floor shift, they ran a rod from the transmission shift lever on the transmission to forward to a bell crank, then a rod from the bellcrank to the coulmn mounted switch. when the headers were installed 30 tears ago, the then owner had to remove the rod at the transmission to clear the headers. I did not know that, so taking that chance caused a lot of headaches. never too old to learn. (74)
Early Chevy powerglide used a switch that looked much like the brake switch as a safety switch. I've used several of the brake switches for safety switch. No issues.
Here's an aftermarket neutral safety switch for Chevrolet https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Loka...Switch-or-Back-Up-Light-Switch-Kit,43362.html Phil
You should be able to modify the crosshaft to clear the headers and then make use of the factory column mounted switch. The linkage you are missing is called "Backdrive linkage"
Oh boy! What a mess! Camaro is my daughter father in law. I was restoring it. No insurance on the car. My car nor my homeowner's insurance won't cover it. Just broke the left spoiler and tail light. So I can fix that pretty easy. Jungle Jim is totalled. Neighbor lady wants a new jungle Jim. Fun never ends!
It appears your very lucky. Think if there hadn't been room for you to pass through the opening as the car went out the door. Ten years ago I made a similar dumb mistake of reaching into a stick truck (OT crew cab dually) and turning the key on, thinking it was in neutral I walked around the front to hit a start button under the hood. It fired up right away and I was pinned between the truck and the wall, it was enough force that the wall studs were pushed off the bottom plate. I was lucky my son and son-in-law were there and got the truck backed away from me. I spent 19 days in the hospital with my pelvis fractured top and bottom on both sides. I was also lucky the fractures were stable and no surgery or pins were needed. Thankfully I recovered without any after effects.
It's really interesting how quick a car starts when it is in gear and you are not in it. Be glad you only have to buy a new Jungle Gym.
Stock brake light switch on the pedal to the coil side of a 5 terminal relay would work fine and barely increase the load on the circuit.
Modern scooters with automatic CVT transmission (and therefore no neutral) has the electric starter connected so you need to hold one of the brakes and the brake light turns on before the electric starter works. Simple and effective. If you worry about the current through the brake switch, just use it to control a relay. If the brake lights run straight through the switch you may as well feed them from the relay too, so you take most of the load off the switch. I like backups, so I'd at least think about how I'd start the car IF this fails. May be as easy as using a piece of wire straight on the starter/solenoid, as long as you have access there - don't need something fancy, just need to know what to do if you ever need to.
The neutral safety switch is on the column. So is the switch for backup lights. The rod from trans to column controls both switches on stock Camaro. Phil
Had the same happen to a friend but he could not let go, tore the door off the car and tore him real good. The good thing about park/neutral switch is you don't have to go to park to restart in the street.
And don't start the car by reaching through the window, unless you're sure it's staying put. So, it seems it should be seriously chocked when using a wired remote starting setup while working on it.
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