For my car, (1970 B body) the gear indicator pointer is held onto the part of the column that rotates with the gear selection by 1 phillips head screw. However, to access the screw the lower trim piece needs to be removed, which is held on my 6 or 7 phillips head screws. Yours may be similar, but if the pointer wasn't screwed on, it would likely have fallen out. ----interesting.