I have a 1969 F -100 with a 240 and a C-4 automatic transmission. I've recently replaced the '69 fixed steering column for a 1978 F-150 tilt column for an automatic transmission.

My former neutral safety switch was mounted inside the cab on top of and at the base of the old fixed steering column. The '78 tilt column has no provision to mount and actuate the old NSS.

My '69 C-4 has the two threaded bosses to mount a NSS to the side of the transmission.



My question is, does anybody know if a NSS can be installed on this C-4 transmission, with the gear selector arm that's currently in place? or, will it require a different arm to install the transmission-mounted NSS?

 

FYI, I don't use one with my C6 upgrade in my 66, even though there is one inside of the steering column as there should be in yours. I am comfortable with my truck starting out of park, it is not an issue.


John

 

Thank you for your reply. However, I prefer to have this safety feature in place and operational as it's also the trigger to turn the backup lights on as well.

So, it goes back to my original question about the gear selector arm on the side of my C-4 and will a NSS bolt up with what is there or, is the arm with a transmission-mounted NSS different?

 

I jumped right to the Dent Ultra for obvious reasons. 73/77 Dents still took the Bump's NSS part C7TZ7A247A. 78/79 did not since they were now on the tranny. With this I moved to the manual shift levers. 73/77 C4 Dents took a Dent lever number D3TZ7A256A. 78/79 C4 Dents took lever number D8TZ7A256A. Stamped D8TP-CA. ALL C4 Dents took the same kick down lever. The answer to your question is YES. But maybe you can just have that current lever machined down to make room for the NSS. I'm curious to see.

 

Thanks for your time in researching this and for your reply, D.J. Jazzy Jeff.

I am aware that the trucks with an automatic prior to '78 still had the NSS on the column and that beginning in '78, they were moved to the side of the transmission. What I was not sure of is whether the lever on the side of the C-4 transmission, of a pre-'78 model, was compatible with the '78-up NSS or not. You have answered what I was wanting to know so, again, thank you for your help on this.

Prior to my ownership of the truck, it took and excursion in reverse across the yard and into a tree, which demolished the dealer step bumper that came on the truck and put a dent on the left side of the tailgate.

Now, this wasn't a result of the neutral safety switch being at fault. It was a result of the broken pawl on the tip of the POS gear selector lever that let the truck fall out of park and into reverse, while the engine was running and no one in the driver's seat.

I may not be the only one in my family (or friends) that ever drives the truck so, I don't want any surprises to them of the systems being bypassed that could cause a run away of the truck, where it could end up worse than the episode of when it took off in reverse.

If anyone has viewed my thread, where I've been swapping the front drums for discs and various other things, then you can probably tell from the photos of the time and detail I've put into all this so far, that I'm all about the details in doing stuff the right way and not cutting corners by half-@$$ing things. --I mean, I'm already working on this installation so, why not see it through, completely?

Sorting the NSS switch thing out will require a little more effort and will add a little more time in the completion of the various changes I'm making before the truck is back on the road but, that's ok. Once everything is complete, I'll sleep better at night knowing I did everything I could, to my ability, to make this as professional an installation as possible.

...now, I'll have to hunt the wrecking yards to find the correct C-4 transmission shift lever. --I'll probably begin that search on Friday.

Steve

 

Steve, I apologize for not getting the answer that you wanted, but hang tight with ol jazzy, he can do it.



John

 

I appreciate you taking of your time to make a reply to my question. I also respect the fact that your truck is yours to do with however you see fit.

The tilt column isn't a direct swap over, per say, but, I want a functioning NSS and as I mentioned before, the NSS also turns the backup lights on. I want both of these features to function as intended.

 

Steve, Your truck did not come with a tranny reverse light switch. (I don't think)

Also there is no wiring to go to the tranny to operate a nss on the tranny.

I believe you can rig that from the nss inside the column.

NSS has to make electrical contact to start and to light backup lights.

The shift lever will do just that shift the tranny.


John

 

My '69 column had the provision to actuate the old column mounted NSS. The '78 tilt column I installed does not have this provision since the NSS was removed from the columns in '78, when it was relocated to the side of the transmission, from that year model onward.

There are two sets of contacts inside the switch housing and there are 4 wires coming off the old '69 column mounted NSS. With the NSS just dangling down from under the dash, I can manually push the pin over (by hand) to the second set of contacts (from the left), on the NSS, and it will turn the backup lights on. --I have already checked this out a couple of days ago so, I know this to be true.

The '69 NSS wiring harness pigtail from the old switch goes back a 4-prong female plug located under the dash. All I would have to do is fabricate a wiring harness with (4) .157 bullet terminal male ends to plug into the 4 prong female main wiring harness plug and then run the 4 wires out to the 4 wire plug of the '78 NSS (to be mounted on the side of the transmission).

This will give me the NSS feature and also the trigger for the backup lights.

 

Steve it is 5:20 AM Eastern, so I should in the lead time zone, happy yarding today


John

 

I ordered the NSS, for a '78 pickup with a C-4, on Wednesday. I went to the parts store to pick it up this morning.

On my way there, I made a loop by one of the local wrecking yards --they were closed this morning. :-(

I'm going to drink another cup of coffee (give the temperature a few more minutes to warm up just a little more) then, I'm heading for the other wrecking yard to see if they are open today. I hope they are and I hope they will have what I'm looking for.

Steve

 

Ha Ha Ha. You must have seen me yesterday cracking up my Mom and Brothers!

 

Thanks John. I think you're a "good egg" also.

 

Hope I didn't come back here too late Steve. My phones this morning were just busty enough to keep away. If you havn't been to the JY yet ya might grab the shift rod off a 78/79 F100/350 also just in case. Since Bumps and Dents take different shift levers on their C4's they may have different leverages,angles,lengths,etc. The 78/79 F100/350 with all three trannys took a specific shift rod. Why,I dunno. Throw of shift lever compared to shift indicator maybe? Need a different than Bump shift rod? Both my slides are messed up right where the part number for this rod is. I think it says D8TZ7326A. "Aprox 19.16" LONG. Note, the bushing/retainer that the shift rod uses to connect it to the steering column lever is E0SZ7341B. Still available from Ford.

 

This is my old '69 F-100 column mounted NSS. You can see the (4) wires going to it. The two dark wires go to the NSS circuit. The two red wires are for the back up light circuit.



This is taking a gander (yes, I said "gander"), over into the '69 NSS. You'll notice a copper/brass looking set of contacts to the far left. This completes the starting circuit when the gear selector lever of the column is in park.

To the right of that, you'll notice another set of contacts. This circuit is completed when the gear selector lever is moved into reverse, at which point, it turns on the backup lights.



The donor C-4 as I found it, stashed along with other transmissions, in an old school bus.



The new 4-wire C-4 transmission mounted NSS and the NSS compatible gear selector arm, for the side of the transmission. This arm or, manual control lever as Ford calls it, is p/n D5DP-BA.



I couldn't locate a flare case C-4, which would have been indicative of a C-4 truck transmission but, I found this on a step case C-4 that tells me it was from a passenger car C-4 (or, possibly from a case-fill Bronco) By the way the arm was oriented, I believe the vehicle had a column shifter instead of a floor shifter. --column shift and floor shift transmission arms are clocked differently.

The arm is shorter in length than the current arm on my transmission --where the rod from the column attaches to the arm of the transmission but, it may work as-is or, I may have to weld a short extension onto the tip of it. ....time will tell.