Re: Morse Control functions 1963-1964 Vintage
I have one very similar to that one but without the front button. If I were to guess, I would say the front button is a lock-out to prevent accidental movement of the control lever and accidental engine and gear engagement. Pushing it in would lock the control lever until it was either pulled out or movement of the lever, or perhaps movement of the rear button released it.
The function of the throttle/ gear shift lever is this: The single lever is used through a set of sector gears to both advance throttle and shift gears through the use of two control cables. USUALLY there is a spring loaded coupler at the engine end of the throttle cable, which allows shifting before the throttle starts to advance. There is a comparatively large control cable attachment plate bolted to the back of the control box you see. This must be removed before you can remove the control box.
Pulling out the button behind the lever disengages the shift function. This allows movement of the throttle lever without shifting for starting and warm-up. After starting and with the engine warmed-up, you return the throttle lever to upright and push the button back in. NOW, when the throttle lever is advanced forward, the sector gears will immediately shift into forward and the throttle will start to open the carbs when the spring loaded coupler is retracted. Some systems do not have the coupler and the engine will start to gain some RPM as the gears are engaged. However the amount of movement needed to engage gears is so small compared to full throttle range that the RPM gain is negligible.
Because of the design of the actuating levers, pushing the control lever forward or pulling it rearward will advance throttle although pushing it rearward will engage reverse.
Old Chrysler engines used this type of control and the same guts were used in the full Surface mount control box too. Force used a similar arrangement but only used a full surface mount control box with electrical installed.
