Yep, seen that before. Once it fires, probably in first, it will hit some stuff before you realize what is going on and then how to get it stopped. If you are lucky, you are in a wide open parking lot and there are no cars or people around. If in your garage, you might push your water heater into the kitchen. Gary
In 78, a company pickup with no neutral switch cost me and the company $185,000 after the lawsuit. All for want of a two dollar switch that was too expensive.
Yep you never think that you will start one in gear right! I had a 52 chevy that the person I got it from did not add one on a rewire. One day I was under the dash tracing wires and turn the key to start the engine not knowing that I had bumped into drive. It started on a half a crank and away I went laying on the floor headed toward the back wall of the garage. Well I was fast enough to put it in neutral but not before just bumping the tool box. It got a neutral saftey switch real fast after that. Be safe not sorry all it will take is one slip up!
"Is a neutral safety switch required?" No Should you have one? YES! They're for more than not starting in gear in the driveway too. Picture this, engine dies unexpectedly in slow moving, bumper to bumper traffic. No problem, shove it up in neutral and restart, right? Only you have no safety switch and you over shoot neutral just a hair, hit the starter and now you are suddenly traveling the wrong direction in said traffic. There is a way to do it right. Get creative or just pony up the $25 for the Lokar kit mentioned earlier.
I had my old car with no neutral safety switch for 2.5 years and only started it in gear 2 or 3 times. lucky for me it always took a couple turns to start so it just moved forward a bit and never actually started the motor. hit my sandblast cabinet once I say leave the switch out and put in some rusty points so it is hard to start. you should be OK then. just don't park too close to anything.
Just this week, I had a friend's dragster at the shop doing some work on it. I had to crank it up to set the timing and luckily it was on stands, cause, yep... you guessed it, there wasn't even a neutral-safety switch in the car! As soon as I hit the button, the tires started spinning. And this guy is a 2-time World Champion! Needless to say, I bought one from Summitt and installed it without even asking him about it. No sense in taking chances with safety!
I saw a guy get both legs broken and pinned against a wall when the car he was standing in front of started in gear-not a pretty sight. If you can't figure out how to do it right find somebody that can.
I took out a 25 foot HPS light pole with my 35 in reverse at Ridge Service in Lyndhurst NJ when I was at a gargae run back in ,,mmmm 75 ,76 or 77 maybe ... what a asshole! lucky it crashed into the lot with out doing much damage,,,, still have the dent in the rear bumper
I seem to remember our Hamb member, Don Dillard,, DRD57, got injured by his own model A being cranked in gear while being a participant in the Rod & Custom ego rama. I think it's just good common sence to use one. HRP
I've run with 'em and run without 'em. I have a habit of shoving my shifter toward park whenever I get in to start one up doesn't matter who's car it is. But I'm not you, and viceversa. Its not that big a deal to wire one up and it may save your teeth in the event that you light yours off in gear and I happen to be parked in the line of fire. I think if I recall correctly a few years back when R&C was still doing that egotrip thing one of the fellas stood outside his coupe and light it off and ran himself over. End of the egotrip for him I guess.
I bought a 66 F100 with a 500/400 Cad for power,, I leaned in the window and tried to start it,, nothing happened,, I climbed in and shifted it through all the gears trying it in all positions, still nothing. I just happened to put my foot on the brake pedal and it fired up,, I called the guy I got it from to comment on the nuetral safety switch not working. He said if it fired up it was in park and you had to have the brakes applied. He had wired it that way after his grandson had run it into the wall of his shop. I have all my rigs wired that way now.
I'm pretty sure I read a thread on here about injuries when a car started in gear not too long ago, I'd find a way to get it hooked up!
I have always put them in, and while tired troubleshooting a car I have realized i tried to crank it in gear, and it didn't crank. I always think, I am really glad it had a safety switch.
I kind of like that plan, Wiring so the brakes have to be applied before the starter will crank would be a good idea for both auto and manual boxes as a safety. I have to admit that I find those switches mounted to the box which inhibit starter function in drive and reverse unreliable, and I don't think I have ever yet owned an auto where I have not had to bypass that switch due to problems. While it's tempting to suggest that we should not have to consider making our vehicles idiot proof, unfortunately we tend to find ourselfs out numbered by idiots who need protecting.
Yes it will. Had a schoolmate killed years ago when he jumped the solenoid on his '63 Chevy while reaching up from under the car. He was only nineteen!
Yes it is required in the state of Maryland and I'm pretty sure it is federally mandated. There is a box that needs to be checked off on every Md. state inspection sheet. Guys get around this by registering it as an antique to avoid the inspection process. I am usually the first one to roll my eyes about the safety police on the HAMB. People that fret over cast steel axles when there is no evidence of any problem but as you can see by these responses, that there is plenty of documentation of the NEED for a neutral safety switch.
Had my 454 4speed Nova start on me, while I was standing in front of it using a bump switch. It had a 4.56 gear though, so I was able to catch it. You feel pretty stupid after that. and lucky.
I have to agree, I wouldn't run a car/vehicle without one. It would be hard to deal with yourself if someone got hurt, especially if it was you! I'm pretty certain you can't run at any track either without one.
This is probably overkill, as you really should be able to crank a car in neutral that just died in traffic. But you do point out a good alternative for cars that have shifters without any mount points. A brake switch would be a huge improvement over no switch at all.
I don't want to be around a car that doesn't have one. I don't want him running into my car. I've seen it happen.
Nope YOU don't need one, but the poor son of a bitch ahead or behind you when you don't put that pig in "Park" to fire it up will. This is the single most ignorant thing I've read on this board, and believe me, there's some stupid stuff posted. I edited my orignal reply, in order to make more clear what should happen when you build your POS without any regard for your own, and those around you, safety. For fucks sake, spend 20 bucks and an hour of your precious time and put a nuetral safety switch in that car before you drive it anywhere. The first two replys to this moronic tech question validate your stupidity, and they should be the first guys whos cars yours lurches into when, or rather, IF it starts, while you crank it in gear with out a nuetral safety switch.
My previous DD Suburban the linkage was all screwed up, it even fell out on me at one point, it was way off for no real obvious reason other than plastic bushings worn out in it. It startled me a couple of times when I went to crank it and took my foot off the brake to find it already in gear. At least once enough to almost hit something with it. Had I not replaced the truck I was going to go to the junkyard and find another linkage that worked and see if I could straighten it out, it got to be a real pain in the ass. That's enough for me to question why you'd ever run without one, except as an emergency "I need to get the hell home" repair.
I appreciate all the responses! "I KNOW i should (or shouldnt) but..." I wish I could fab up one (for a 54 chevy with original ps, originally had a powerglide, new firewall p/b, 305/350) to work right, but I'm at the point of 'maybe later'. its a brick wall for me right now, and something's gotta get done. I think the lokar/ summit trans mt version would be the best answer... all the original catalogs I've got have everything BUT what I need.
There are no brick walls in HambLand. I'm sure there is someone on here, maybe even close to you, that can help rectify your problem. Try telling a judge your excuse after some freak accident ends up damaging someone else's property, or worse...do it right or don't do it at all.
It is needed. Everybody can do a Lokar with a 350 turbo and a factory column. Now let's talk more about neat ways to set up a neutral safety switch for mis-matches. Provide details on innovative ways to solve the problem for a non-conventional set-up. What are your tricks? Tell us more details Low Kat.
The Jalopy Journal
