I have done this with two different malibus, an 80 and 81. the steering column will work but doesn't have enough travel to put the trans in first gear. You can adjust the linkage to get the other positions to work, putting it in drive it shifts through the gears fine, I had to modify the frame bracket beside the trans to get the correct pivot alignment. In both instances I eventually replaced the column shift with a B&M Pro-Stick, column shifters just aren't much fun.