I have read that the steering column should match the interior color inside the car but should be black once it gets to the engine side of the firewall. How about the shifter shaft that parallels the steering column on manual shift cars?

As a follow-up: The correct pinion/gear arrived and has been installed. Success. The pinion/gear that came in the car was plastic, too short and the gear was too small to engage the worm gear in the trans. Thanks for all the good advice.

Thanks guys. I will try the shake repair before purchasing a new switch.

My trunk light turns off when the trunk lid is about half way closed. If I reopen the lid the light does not come back on unless I wiggle the bulb in the socket. There is obviously something wrong with the socket but is the light supposed to shut off as the lid closes? There is no switch to do this like in the door jambs. What is the proper operation of the trunk light? Thanks.

What is the correct color for the windshield washer fluid in a 50's Packard?

Thank you. My switch does have the moveable center button. I will have to trace some wiring.

I am working through some inoperative gauges and accessories on the new purchase. The windshield washer jar is not wired. The wiring diagram in the Service Manual does not show this accessory. What is the proper wiring scenario? Thanks.

Howard,
All good information. I will do some more research. From pictures I have found the adapter seems correct. With the cable installed at the speedometer head there is enough inner cable to engage the pinion and with the pinion in place there is enough cable to engage the head on the speedometer. I am inclined to believe the pinion I have is too short to mesh with the worm gear in the transmission or if it is long enough that the gear has too few teeth (diameter) to engage the worm gear.

Mark

Let me add that my trans also has overdrive.

Howard and Owen,
Thank you for the quick responses. Did all '54 cars use the same manual trans such that there was only one adapter? Will the adapter on the cable from an automatic fit into a manual trans? My cable, which looks new, has a large adapter with an o-ring for a seal which fits perfectly into the trans and is held in by a keeper and one bolt. I checked and there is enough inner cable to engage the speedometer head. It does not feel like the plastic pinion gear engages anything when I slide the adapter/pinion into the trans. If the cable/adapter from an auto will not fit into a manual box then by process of elimination it may just be the pinion and the 16 tooth #433777 that I need. Again, thank you very much.

Mark