SmokeyC3

Off topic vehicle ,but I did this one. The bracket has to be beefy enough or it will flex and eventually break. Shift linkages took some fiddling and they weren't all correct on the first try. The reverse link has some pretty hard bends that flexed when shifting so it got a gusset plate added. With a little patience it's doable.

Reverse on column shift , pull the shifter towards you then up.

I don't visit here as often as I should and just happened to see your post. I have OD in my '56 C3 , not original and sourced from who knows what. Anyways cable in activates OD, cable out locks out OD to work like a normal 3 speed. Reverse will not work unless OD is locked out. If you have it properly wired there is a reverse OD lock out switch that is activated by an internal rod. So when the cable is in you can still pop it into reverse. Look in the downloads section of this forum there are some manuals available on the OD.

Took this picture a couple of years ago when I did a head swap. Top one came off my engine, block numbers indicate it was from a '47 Dodge One ton truck, at some point it was swapped into my '56. Bottom one I pulled from a '54 Plymouth That was at the local U-Pull-It, then had it shaved .060" . There are some differences in the chamber designs.

I think many do run their 6 volt starters on 12 volts without issues. But to answer your question 1956 was the only year which had a 12 volt starter with teeth to match the older style 146 tooth flywheel. 55's were the last year for 6 volts and 57's went to a different flywheel 172 ?? teeth.

My truck was all apart when I purchased it. The previous owner planning to do a rear end swap as part of the rebuild, so I took the advice of others and put a Ford 9 inch in it 3.50 ratio. That worked pretty well cruising at 50-55 mph comfortably. The overdrive I just happened to find on C-list a couple hours away so I went for it. The OD with 3.50 's was a bit of a dog dying out at the slightest hill. Also with the 3.50's I felt first and reverse were a bit to high geared requiring excessive clutch slippage. So I swapped out the 3.50's for a set of something around 4.20's . Now it cruises pretty effortlessly at 60-65. Drop it out of OD and hammer down it pulls most any hill at 50-55 mph. Can pretty much keep up with the flow of traffic although in the slow lane. Above 65 handling starts to become an issue. First and reverse are more to my liking. I'm thinking 3.90's might be about perfect. Actually for a future project I'm thinking I might like to put the original rear back in.

I put an overdrive in my 56C3 it was pretty much a bolt in. Then hook up a cable and make up the wiring. Only major issue I had was a difference in the rear yoke. The original truck yoke bolt pattern wouldn't fit the tranny and I couldn't use the original tranny one for some reason. If I remember right, I had to drill the parking brake hub to make it work. Also my input shaft lengths were different , had to swap those but the truck one bolted right in place. And of course the driveshaft needs to be shortened and balanced. I check in here once in awhile so if you need pictures or more info give me a shout. The bell housings were apparently changed with the change from B to C series adding to some confusion here.

I'm pretty sure you'll find there is a difference in depth between the two styles of bell housings and a corresponding difference in input shaft length on the transmissions. Not easily interchangeable. I have a '54 truck bell and 3 speed stick shift, and a '56 truck bell and 3 speed column shift out in the garage. I can take some pictures if it will help.

I'd measure the od on the bolts and compare it to the one hole. The one hole must be a press fit to aid in assembly and alignment. As I stated earlier, on the older four bolt flywheel, all four holes are the smaller size. I've had the six bolt flywheel out of my truck, also had a spare six bolt flywheel which is now bolted up to a 1953 241 ci engine. If my memory is correct... all six bolts on those were press fit. Hope that helps.

In defense of the OP. I have a spare 8 bolt flywheel out in the garage. I had to go take a look. 1 hole measures exactly 7/16" the other seven are .012" bigger. Interestingly on the 4 bolt flywheel I have all 4 are 7/16" the same as the small hole on the 8 bolt. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any flywheel bolts to help further.

I usually just lurk here because my truck a '56 C3 is off topic but I see a fellow in need of some help. If you are sure you have the wiring correct as stated in your first post, the blocker ring maybe out of position. The blocker ring has to be in the correct position when you reinstall the solenoid. If you don't have the BW overdrive manual I highly recommend you download it from this site. Lots of good information and it has instructions to remedy this. Go up top, click on resources then downloads and poke around 'til you locate it. If you cant find it I can email you a copy. I got it here while working on my own OD.