Tony_Urwin

OK, very similar to yours, but they have the visor front and rear.

Nice work! I just bought a pair on that ePay site you recommended. Need sandblasting, painting, and new wiring. Maybe a new socket, I suppose.

Rustyzman, I'm envious of those arrow lights. Sounds like a perfect solution to the fender light problem. I think I will look for a pair myself. Unfortunately, the previous owner solved the turn signal issue with a pair of those 4" lights from Harbor Freight or Tractor Supply. He cut huge holes around the original park light holes and screwed on his new lights. Steve at DCM had a smashed grille panel and cut the ends off for me. One of my upcoming chores will be fashioning patch panels and restoring the original parking lights with yellow bulbs for turn signal/park lights. I think those bulbs are available in LED. Just need a different flasher module. Another question is what to use in the rear. When I was still driving my truck, I installed the large late-model combination brake/back up lights back there. (Not much better than the PO, huh?) I felt better knowing that other motorists might see my signals! I have seen vintage-style brake lights on eBay with LED bulbs. I suppose they are Ford style, but they resemble our Pilothouse lights. Maybe they could be adapted to Dodge light brackets. I like the idea of having brighter lights back there.

I've been considering the fender mounted turn signal lights for my truck (my fenders already have the holes). As I get closer to painting the fenders, I been looking on eBay. They all seem to have yellow lenses facing forward and opaque backs. It seems to me that the visibility of yellow lenses on both sides would help in traffic. Has anyone seen signal lights like that? Or would it be a bad idea for some reason?

Using a 3.73 or 3.54 car differential is a nice way to keep your truck looking stock, if you can find one. You might want to consider swapping the entire rear axle. There can be issues with axle splines, I think.

I recommend an online gear ratio calculator to estimate your final drive ratio in first gear, as well as RPM in OD. With the wrong combination of transmission/rear gears, you could end up with a dog in 1st, or too low of RPMs in OD. I like http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html Those T5s came in a number of different gear sets, a lot of them had 3.50 or even 4.00 first gear ratios. No problem with 1st gear pep! Be careful, or you end up mostly starting in 2nd gear. I think your OD might like a 3.73 rear axle, about 2500 RPMs at 75mph. I'm only spitballing here, and it really depends on how and where you drive. Anyone have some real world experience to share?

I dont know that the R7 or R10 overdrives have ever been adapted to Pilothouse trucks. There are several threads on the forum regarding A833 or T5 overdrive projects.

Thanks, Ken (and Los Control) for the suggestions about the countersink bit. Something I could get done while I wait for my hip to get stronger. Did you post any pictures of your transmission/shifter mount? Everyone loves pictures. I probably covered this already, but I took my E-body Hurst shifter and linkage to Dan Brewer, since I wanted to change shifter location. He changed one of the plates in the shifter and swapped my linkage for the shorter ones I needed to use the B body mount. He also gave all new clips for the linkages. All for $56 if I remember correctly. BrewersPerformance.com Good resource if you need parts for your eventual tranny swap.

Sniper, you're right about the longer ball & trunnion types. Jamie Passon's book says there were 3 different tail housings in 1964-1965. The A-body had the 3.09/1.92/1.40/1.00 that I like, but I believe it only came with the shifter positioned farther back than B-body cars. B-body cars had better tail housing, but a 2.66 first gear. I'd love to see your A833 in a 51 swap. I saw a YouTube video where they put an OD unit in a '50 Plymouth.

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone. As 9 foot box mentioned, I had a hip replacement done yesterday morning, came home in the afternoon. It went extremely well, the anesthesiologist did a great job. He did a nerve block in my hip using ultrasound, and as a result he could use less fentanyl and propofol. I woke clear-headed which has never been the case with previous surgeries. I even made a trip to the bathroom at 1:30am with no assistance, no crutches, nada. Pretty amazing. Back to trucks. I had a busy week beforehand, getting things in order at work, end of season yard work, etc, so I had little time for the truck. I have read over the comments and want to make some replies, especially to anyone interested in possibly doing the swap themselves. If you are considering an A833, do your research. There are a bewildering number of differences in the A833 models (1964-1987). For the purpose of this post, all my comments refer to A833 with 23-spline input shafts, used for the Aok Boys adapter plate. First: Tail housings and shifters, very important to consider. Sniper mentioned rear-mount shifters as E body cars (correct) Some tail housings have dual mounting points for the shifter, like mine which also has a forward mount (B body). There were also other tail housing in different lengths and different shifter mounts (A body, B body, E body, F body). Some have a single mounting point, some have two. Some even have one set undrilled. The 1964-65 A833s used a less desirable trunnion-style output (along with an A body shifter mount), later units used a slip yoke output. Look for a tail housing with the forward (B body) shift mount or your shift handle will want to come up through the middle of the bench seat. Most of these A833 models used a Hurst shifter. Those Hurst shifters have three plates which control the shift linkages. The plates and linkages are also different for different tail housings and vehicles. The shifter plates and linkages are interchangeable. Mopar also used a less desirable Inland shifter (‘66-mid ‘68)with a shift lever that can be pulled out of the shifter. Next: Gear sets, Input Bearing Retainers, and Throw out Bearings. Gear sets. 9 Foot Bed posted the list of gear sets (See Above). Most common for the AoK adapter would be the A833 Overdrive, which has 3.09 first gear and a 5.125” Input Bearing Retainer. My transmission has the 2.47 first gear, often are referred to as a close-ratio A833. I like the close ratio non-Overdrive gear splits and I have a 3.55 rear axle from a Jeep Cherokee, so I don’t really need the overdrive. Some here have suggested that my 2.47 first gear will be too high behind my 230 truck engine. (2.47 X 3.55 = 8.77.) The most common first gear in the non-Overdrive units is 2.66. Just know what you are getting, and how will work with your rear axle. I have found that most of the sellers don’t know the gear ratio of their transmissions. I had to wrap my input shaft with masking tape, and then mark it as I turned the slip yoke after I shifted the gears. I haven’t approached throw out bearing situation yet. A throw out bearing came with my A833, but I don’t know if there I a chance it will work with my clutch fork and clutch assembly. It will probably be Spring before I attempt to install the transmission, but I have other things to do on the truck (paint, interior, power windows, etc.) so after a few weeks of physical therapy I’ll be back at it. Most of my information here came from Jamie Passon's book, Chrysler A833 Transmissions, the factory Service manual, or discussions with Dan Brewer. I have found lots of questionable info on the internet. Hit me up with any questions, tips, disagreements, etc. I’d love to hear what you think. I may even decide to sell the A833 I bought, especially if I find a rare one-year-only 1975 non-Overdrive A833 with the 3.09 first gear😊

Deleted incomplete post.

nkeiser, If you have a 3.09 from an 80's pickup, I'm assuming that must be the overdrive A833: 3.09 1.67 1.00 .73 (overdrive) How do you like the shift points on the overdrive transmission? Do you find yourself winding it up in first and then dropping a lot of RPMs for 2nd gear?

Soup, I am surprised that you can even take off in second without stalling. That 1.94 second gear and a 3.55 rear axle give you a final gear ratio of 6.89! Sure, the 2.47:1 first gear on the A833 is better, but this close-ratio A833 was originally used behind big V8s. Are you suggesting that it might actually work behind my 230? I know that guys with the 4-speed will often start in 2nd. What's the 2nd gear ratio on the 4-speed?

I bolted shift tabs onto the gear selector shafts and wrapped masking tape on the input shaft so I could do proper calculations of the gear ratios. My rough measurements give me 2.41/1.80/1.38/1.0, so I definitely have a close ratio A833. I have seen some indications online that first gears can be swapped in some versions of the A833. I will talk to Dan Brewer next week. If I can't get a lower first gear I will sell this A833 and look for another. Shame, because this one is in such beautiful shape. Shifts like butter, zero slop when I turn the shafts.

Not really. There is a manufacturing date which gives an indication of the available ratios for that year. Different ratios were available for the 18 spline or 23 spline input shaft. The multiple possible tailhousings on the A833 are another indicator of the possible gear ratios. To make it even more confusing, the gear sets could have been swapped at some time in the past. The most likely gear sets for my 1974 cast iron model would have had either a 2.47 first gear (Challenger or Barracuda V8) or 3.09 first gear (slant 6 or 273, 318 V8). My transmission had a small block bell housing, so it could have been either. It also had the long tailhousing with two shifter mounts which was used in B-body and E-body cars. Mine had the Hurst shifter in the rear location. Pretty confusing.

I was afraid of this, John. I don't know the gear ratio for sure. I bought a slip yoke from Brewers Performance, inserted it in the output of the transmission, and turned it without having any of the shift linkage connected. I put masking tape on the input shaft and marked the tape with a sharpie. After several attempts, I consistently got 2.55:1, which is not even a real possibility. More likely is the 2.47 you suggested, with the final ratio of 8.77 in first gear. Another possibility would be the 2.66 first gear, which would give me a slightly better final ratio of 9.44. Best would be the 3.09 gear, like the first gear in the overdrive, which offers a final gear ratio of 10.97 in first gear. Over the weekend, I will manipulate the shift linkages to determine all the gears, so I know exactly what I've got. Changing the gear set isn't cheap, and it might e better to sell a Brewer built transmission, and start over with a different transmission if the gears won't work for a flattie. Dan Brewer will swap gears with me but it would still be hundreds of dollars if I want a gear set of comparable condition. I don't need to do burnouts, i just don't want to burn out clutches trying to get started. What are the actual ratios of the Pilothouse 3 speed transmission, anyway?

I'll see how close to flush I can get those bolts. Maybe fender washers under the ears would relieve the stress. The bolts they send are anodized, right? Should I use anti-seize on them? By the way, I miked the input shafts last night. They are both 3/4".

That's a good point. I also read that another member had to file the center hole as well. I was able to file the center easily enough, but I wondered about making it slightly off center. That's probably not a problem, but reaming out the recessed bolt holes will be more difficult. Maybe clean them up with a dremel?

The top two holes to attach the transmission are threaded, the bottom two are not threaded and will need nuts and lock washers. I plan to cut some threaded rod to use as a guide when I install this monster.

I checked the fit on the AoK adapter yesterday. The center hole is a few thousandths too small to fit over the input bearing retainer. 20 minutes with a file and some emery paper and I was able to pass my new bearing retainer through the adapter. The picture shows the adapter bolted to the transmission with the old, smaller bearing retainer. Next I bolted the adapter to the truck bell housing. The bolts aren't quite flush with the adapter plate, but close enough, I guess.

The AoK adapter is really designed for the 1976-87 A833 transmissions I guess. Those overdrive transmission had the aluminum housing and a input bearing retainer with the 5.125" base. That part is not really a problem for me, since the different bearing retainers all swap. I guess I'll find out if the extra length of the input shaft is a concern by test-fitting it. I would hate to have to cut any off of the shaft, but we'll see. And, no, I did not even measure the length of the original input shaft, I just trusted that the AoK adapter swap was possible. I don't think the A833 shaft come in different lengths. Since a lot of the discussion posts about the A833 were deleted here, I feel like I am starting from scratch to some degree.

I hate the 3 speed crashbox behind the flathead in my 1948 B1C. So I bought a A833 on eBay and the adapter plate from George Asche. I dropped the old transmission from my truck and now I have questions for the more experienced mechanics on the forum. I guess I should request that we please keep our posts on topic. Previous discussions of the A833 swap were derailed by forum members with opinions on T5 swaps or members who think it's blasphemy to alter an original truck. As a result of the bickering, those threads about A833 swaps were either closed by the moderators, or else the posts were deleted by PO'd truck owners. Not much help there. So please, honest opinions of the process, honest answers to questions, or else ignore the topic. The transmission arrived, 23 spline input shaft, long tailpiece version with dual shifter mounts. Hurst shifter on the rear mounting location. The seller told me that the transmission had been rebuilt by Brewer Performance here in Ohio, so I took a trip to Laura, Ohio to visit Dan Brewer. He told me that the plates in the Hurst shifter mechanism were not correct for the forward location and rebuilt it while I waited. The Input Bearing Retainer was smaller than the hole in the AoK adapter plate, but Dan had the correct size (5.125") retainer, as well as a slip yoke I needed and all new bolts, clips, and shift linkage that fit the forward shift location. Dan gave me $250 for the bell housing/long shift linkage from the eBay auction and I walked away with the parts I needed for $12. Now that I had the slip yoke, I could turn the output shaft and count the revolutions on the input shaft. It looks like I have the close-ratio version of the A833 transmission. 2.47, 1.77, 1.34, 1.00 I'm happy with the non-overdrive version final ratio, since I have a 3.55 Jeep Cherokee rear axle. But is the first gear too high for my flathead? I read that the stock transmission had a 2.57 first gear. Is that correct? Next I measured the input shaft on the stock transmission. The splines extend to 5.5" from the transmission face and the shaft is 7.5" long. The splines on the input shaft of the A833 extend 6" from the transmission face and the shaft is about 8.25" long. The adapter plate is about .375" thick, so we can subtract that. Will the slightly longer splines and input shaft be an issue? Help me out here, guys. I'm having a hip replacement on November 12th, and I'd like to get this done. I'm off to Harbor Freight to buy a cheap transmission jack. That transmission weighs 125 lbs!

Not mine, but seen on Cincinnati, OH Craigslist.

I've been trying to reach them for several weeks. I get no answer to phone calls and he hasn't replied to my emails.

Hats off to you, Bingster. I spent the first 16 years of my life in Iowa and the winters are no joke. I have driven several classic cars as daily drivers, but always had a late model car as a backup. The weather here in Cincinnati is less threatening, and for me, the bigger problem is keeping up with traffic and impatient drivers. If you are committed to keeping your DeSoto stock, then I would recommend driving it in good weather only. I don't know if this has been suggested, but one option might be a classic DeSoto with a modern drive train, brakes, defroster, etc. At the very least, consider updated brakes and a rear axle with a gear ratio that makes highway driving more pleasant for you and other drivers.