Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Has anyone ever attempted to convert a "lever shift" transmission on a '56 Packard to the push button system? Is it straight forward or a monumental headache?

You don't need to change the trans as the motor and actuator just slides over the manual shaft and is held by a setscrew to the shat and a single bolt to one of the holes already on the trans case. The trans does need to be disconnected from drive shaft and mounts loosened so it can shift over to the side when mounting the actuator though so will require some time and physical labor. That part is well detailed in the SM in the TU supplement section on how to work on the PBs.

I did it but you need some extra parts besides the actual PB setup. The steering column will need to be modified and the old linkage setup removed so there is a path for the wiring to PBs. The rotating collar at the top below the steering wheel where the lever fastens now is removed and a fixed housing pod the PBS fit into bolts in its place. The range indicator and mechanism in the dash is removed and the red BRAKE plastic piece goes in place of the PNHDLR plastic. The bulb gets rewired if you want the emergency brake indictor but if you don't want or can't find the switch setup a blank plastic piece could probably be figured out. I would not think that finding those pieces would be too hard because as Don said, most go the other way around and want a lever setup instead of the buttons. It might be advisable to get one of Mr Pushbuttons gone thru and rebuilt units though rather than just picking up any old unit off ebay and taking a chance -- unless you are a a glutton for adventure and can do whatever might need repairing yourself.

Relay mounting is not a big deal but you will need that complete setup plus a couple of extra items which might need to come from a PB parts car. Some of the wires needed are not part of the existing main loom or are going to the wrong place so that part will need to be made up either as a separate loom or included as apart of a repro loom.

The case was the same for all 56. The actuator will bolt right on. You will also need a pressure switch and tee. The steering column (not steering wheel or gearbox, just the column assembly itself) will need swapped with a complete push button type and painted to match. There are a couple of minor wiring harness differences that can be installed with not much effort. You can use OEM relays, or a 5 pack of generic SPDT ones.

Last I checked the transmission stuff would be about $950. The column is cheap as no one needs them. Paint who knows, check locally. Plan a weekend to install if DIY.

If you want something that will give you as much pleasure as having pushbutton shift in your car, might I suggest self sterilization with a dull butter knife.

As a mechanic I can not count how many hours have been subtracted out of my life by that device. Myself and others have had transmissions spoiled by it landing between gears. I've been on tours where a pushbutton car backs out of its parking space aaaaaand then has to be towed to a garage as nothing else will engage. My friend's sister had one brand new in '56; went shopping and then could not get out of the parking space--traded it in the next day. The stories go on and on.

Quote:

Lol! Mine is not adjusted right, but part of me doesn't want to mess with it for fear of making it worse.

I will verify that Ross told me the same thing several years ago. If you have a push button, CONVERT to standard lever!!

Pete, you might wanna re-think this activity.

The big issue I was wondering about was the main wiring harness, lever car vs push button car, are they different harnesses? In the past, I have added accessories to early 70's Cadillac convertibles such as auto dimmers, twilight sentinels, cruise controls and even a R/H 6-way power seat. The Cadillac harnesses had all the necessary wiring already in them, so they were "plug and play" so to speak. I would have thought Packard would have done the same thing, less expensive to have one main harness that takes into account all variations instead of a harness for a lever car and a different one for a push button car, etc.

That’s where the parts book is your friend and it’s available here both as a scanned PDF and also in database format.