Apparently, Chevy didn't think a reverse lockout was necessary. The first PG trans to arrive in Nashville, Tennessee came to Jim Reed Chevrolet in 1951, in the new 2-door hardtop, with a 235 engine. All three of these options were brand new for 1951. The night before the official roll-out, which had been highly publicized in the local newspapers, a bunch of salesmen from the dealership were "road testing" the new car. In those days, a salesman's road test consisted of getting tanked up on beer or whiskey, and running wide open down the nearest highway. About 10 miles south of town, at wide-open throttle, somebody asked, "What will it do if we put it in reverse?" "Well, it won't hurt a Studebaker!" "A Chevy is better than any damned old Studebaker!" At 90 MPH, into reverse it goes! The transmission case split wide open, the car had to be towed back to the dealership, all the salesmen on that ride got fired, and the car went on display in the showroom the next morning with a pile of newspapers stacked up under the transmission to catch the fluid dripping out of it! It was two weeks before a replacement transmission arrived from the factory!
Jerry
