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Daves55Sedan · 04-12-2021, 07:07 PM

The dealer issued '57 Ford car owners manuals said "place gear select lever in neutral" to start cars equipped with Ford-O-Matic. They did it this way because they didn't want the owner to have to shift from park to reverse to neutral while the engine was running if they had designed it to start in park. There may have been a fear that shifting into reverse with engine running while auto-choke was engaged might cause premature wear or damage to reverse gear.

04-12-2021, 07:07 PM	#29
Daves55Sedan Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Granite City, Illinois Posts: 3,008	Re: neutral safety switch The dealer issued '57 Ford car owners manuals said "place gear select lever in neutral" to start cars equipped with Ford-O-Matic. They did it this way because they didn't want the owner to have to shift from park to reverse to neutral while the engine was running if they had designed it to start in park. There may have been a fear that shifting into reverse with engine running while auto-choke was engaged might cause premature wear or damage to reverse gear.