John Nickell Posted May 29, 2009 Report Posted May 29, 2009 Just to let you know, I feel I have done a good amount of searching the forum before posting this question, so please bear with me. I also didn’t want to highjack another recent thread. I recently purchased an overdrive transmission from a 1955 Plymouth. I think according to the year that this should have a pin type syncro, is this right? PF is stamped into the housing; does this indicate a pin type syncro? I would remove the plate and look for myself but it is currently at my dad’s house and I can’t. This transmission will be going into a ’48 dodge with fluid drive, so I will need to change the short input shaft currently on the overdrive to a long input shaft for the fluid drive. Does anyone happen to have a parts number for a fluid drive input shaft with pin type syncro? The pin type syncro is the newer type, I believe, so will I need an input shaft from a “newer” fluid drive car? I think Young Ed said this is what he did in his dads car so hopefully he can help me out. Also where would be the best place to locate such a part? I have looked at some of the NOS suppliers from the main site and I think they might be able to help after I get a part number. I think James Douglas will be able to help with this part, but what are the essential things that need to be examined in the overdrive unit before installation? It will be apart to install the new input shaft so this should be a good time to do a visual inspection. Does anyone sell kits with commonly worn out parts? I know a lot of people on here favor the try it out before tearing down approach. Is there anything to do before putting it in the car to ensure it will work, at least for a little while? Thanks, John Quote
Young Ed Posted May 29, 2009 Report Posted May 29, 2009 John Dad and I did this swap into a third persons 51 dodge. We replaced the gyromatic with an OD. The owner of the car supplied the input shaft which I believe was a used one taken out of a donor 3spd tranny. Quote
blueskies Posted May 29, 2009 Report Posted May 29, 2009 My '55 Dodge overdrive has the pin type synchro... Below are a couple of pictures of what it looks like. I did a swap on my OD trans because mine had an extra long (about 9 inches too long) input shaft. At first I thought I could use the standard shaft from my '50 three speed, but it had the strut type synchro so they would not interchange. In order to swap the shafts on your transmission, you will have to disassemble the transmission as the shaft must come out from the inside. When I pulled my OD trans apart to swap the shaft, I found that there were broken and missing teeth on the first and reverse gears, and the "C" clip that holds the free wheeling clutch to the end of the shaft inside the clutch drum was off and ground up inside the clutch. This visual inspection made it clear that it needed a complete rebuild... The place that I bought my parts from, Idaho Transmission Warehouse, apparently no longer deals with these older transmissions, so I don't have a source for you to get the parts you need. The rebuild kit that I bought had all the roller bearings, needle bearings, gaskets, o-rings, etc that were necessary to rebuild the transmission. ITW found a used freewheeling clutch, and I was able to rob the gears from my three speed to put it all back together. You might give Neil Riddle in the the Seattle area an e-mail to see if he knows of a source for the parts you need... seaplym@hotmail.com Pete Quote
Young Ed Posted May 29, 2009 Report Posted May 29, 2009 Pete the old shaft off your OD might be just what he needs Quote
John Nickell Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Posted May 29, 2009 That had crossed my mind as well, but I believe Pete's longer input shaft was from a v8 application not a fluid drive. Quote
blueskies Posted May 29, 2009 Report Posted May 29, 2009 (edited) Young Ed said: Pete the old shaft off your OD might be just what he needs John Nickell said: That had crossed my mind as well, but I believe Pete's longer input shaft was from a v8 application not a fluid drive. I never did find out what exactly the long shaft I had was from... It was about 9" longer than the stock shaft, and had a big sleeve that held the throwout bearing. Below is a pic... The transmission came from Freeman's junk yard in Montana, and they told me it was from a fluid drive car, and that my stock shaft would swap out from the front of the case. They were quite mistaken... I"ve been told that it is different from the fluid drive shaft, and that it might be a V8 application, but I don't know for sure. At any rate, I no longer have it, and I can't remember now who got it... Pete Edited May 29, 2009 by blueskies Quote
Jim Yergin Posted May 29, 2009 Report Posted May 29, 2009 I got the parts I needed for my O/D from Northwest Transmissions http://www.nwtparts.com/ That included all the bearings, gaskets, seals and spring clips. They put a whole package together for me. I also got a replacement clutch cam with roller cage from them. I recently ordered a replacement input shaft from Len Dawson at Deception Pass Motors http://www.dpmotorparts.com/ . It was not for a fluid drive but if you can get a part number you should check his catalogue. He had the best price I could find for my part. He also had the best price for the "fast second" gear and gear cluster that I installed in my O/D. Jim Yergin Quote
John Nickell Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Posted May 29, 2009 (edited) Okay been looking hard at finding a part number. Easily found the pinion shaft for a fluid drive but with strut syncro (of course). I also found a part number that is listed in the attached picture as pin type pinion shaft for a 1955 transmission. The picture lists these parts as "main drive gear" I believe this is the same as the pinion shaft that I am looking for. I don’t know what the letters in the parentheses stand for though. At collectors auto supply inc.(here) they have this part number listed as a standard transmission front pinion shaft for a 1953 v8, 19 teeth and 15 7/8 inches long. This seems plenty long as the strut type pinion shaft for the fluid drive is only 13 11/16 inches long. Len Dawson doesn’t have this part number listed. Just wondering if anyone sees anything I don’t to determine if this is the part I need. It looks as if the strut and pin types over lapped from 1953 to 1955 so the part I am looking for should be out there. I think if I knew what the letters next to the year meant in the picture it would help a lot. Thanks, John Link to bigger picture: http://www.collectorsautosupply.com/DODGE%2049-56%20FLUID%20DRIVE%20TRANSMISSION.jpg Edited May 29, 2009 by John Nickell Bigger picture Quote
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