Neutral Safety Switch on my old Caddy

[ruffy]

My '72 Eldorado has a Neutral Safety Switch inside, at the base of the steering column.
Mine went on me, so I hot-wire the car to start.

The few switches I came across the internet cost an arm and a leg.
I wonder if you out there know where I can find one for under $75.

(This switch is the same for Caddies between '69 and '72, I think, and attaches to
6 wires, with vacuum tubes on its back.)

Can someone help me out? Can I use another car's switch for this purpose?

[TJ Hopland]

What happened to it?   All I have seen happen to them is the little tabs in the cast part break off and let the switch part separate.  I have had great success with using zip ties to hold them together.  Some cases you have to drill a couple holes in the cast part for the ties to go through but others have some nice nubs that stick out almost like they were made for zip ties.  My memory is getting fuzzy and I know I have done half a dozen of them over the years but I believe I first did that on my 73 15 years ago and its still holding and working fine. 

Another thought that just popped into my head when I was typing about how great my repair worked on my 73 (which was a slightly different and even harder to find switch) I suddenly remembered that a couple years ago I thought it was having issues again but it turned out to be that the shift linkage had worn so bad that the switch was not making contact in the correct positions.  I found I could start the car in reverse or low gears.   For some reason the bushings in the crank arm that changes the direction of the shift linkage seem to wear pretty bad on these cars.  The must have known there was an issues because there were a few different styles but none of them seem to hold out much better than any others.  Its definitely worse if you often park on an incline even if it is only slight.  I got creative one day and made a bushing from a door hinge repair kit fit and its been great ever since.   

[ruffy]

TJ - you're quite inventive. Took your cue and rebuilt the device.
Oh - and thank you!