1956 Fordomatic stuck in park

[mbuff]

HI All,

I just picked up a 1956 barn find that has been sitting since the early 70's. The transmission will not shift out of park. Any ideas how to get it into neutral? There is no battery in the car and I doubt its needs power to release the pin, or am I wrong?

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[HKelly]

Disconnect linkage from transmission and see if it will move

 

[knuckle47]

My UN-EDUCATED guess is it does not need power to unlock. Likely the push button at the top is not releasing the detent . My problem is that the shift lever moves from reverse to L1 in one movement, no detents

 

[mbuff]

I'll give that a shot this weekend. If not the case, what else could cause it other than it granaded?

 

[Ward 57]

Make sure the knob is screwed down all the way. Some unscrew the knob up against the button to lock it in park as a theft deterrent.

 

[doug7740]

Here is an article that explains what Ward is referring to.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[4VE]

HI All,

I just picked up a 1956 barn find that has been sitting since the early 70's. The transmission will not shift out of park. Any ideas how to get it into neutral? There is no battery in the car and I doubt its needs power to release the pin, or am I wrong?

I have a 1955 and I believe it is the same setup. Try inspecting the shifter pawl. It is a metal device, that when the button is depressed on the ball, it lifts and allows the trans. to shift out of park. If this is jammed or otherwise obstructed/broke, this may be your fix. Remove the chrome cover and it is visible. Other than that, disconnect the drive shaft or buy a couple of wheel dollies to roll it around.

 

[mbuff]

****UPDATE****

So I was able to get the indent from the shifter in a spot where it was not locked in the park position. Transmission was still stuck in park, but was able to get under the car with a piece of all thread and a BFH and gently tap (motivate) the Pawl to release and is now able to shift into all gears. Just needed a little love tap 😉 😉 all good now