Overdrive trans question

[47heaven]

Getting ready to have the overdrive transmision rebuilt. There is a diode (I think it's called) and some other electronic device on it that I want to have replaced. Does anyone know what these two parts are and where I can get them? Not sure about what car the overdrive came off of (since it was found seperate from the engine), so I have no idea if it's from a Plymouth or Dodge, but it butts right up to the '49 Dodge engine...so it may have been originally with it....can't be sure though. There are a lot of numbers on it, so which ones would tell me what exactly what year and model the trans is...etc?

[BobT-47P15]

The most commonly used overdrive trans was the Borg Warner R10 (as far as I know). Somewhere in all those numbers, there should be the initials BW and the numbers R10 - or some similar numbers as there were different models on other cars, I think.

One possible source if info is Blueskies website with an article about his overdrive, and his rebuilding of it.

Of course, if you call George Asche.....you may get the most direct answer the quickest. It usually takes him a while to tell ya though.

Thats about all I can contribute......since I'm not much of an expert. My R10 is still sitting on the garage floor waiting to be put in.

[Young Ed]

I wouldn't worry about any of that until you try it out and see if it works. Those OD parts are kinda hard to find and can be spendy. Your money would be better spent checking out the reg 3spd portion. Seems like most of them have worn 2nd gear syncros.

[blueskies]

Getting ready to have the overdrive transmision rebuilt. There is a diode (I think it's called) and some other electronic device on it that I want to have replaced. Does anyone know what these two parts are and where I can get them? Not sure about what car the overdrive came off of (since it was found seperate from the engine)' date=' so I have no idea if it's from a Plymouth or Dodge, but it butts right up to the '49 Dodge engine...so it may have been originally with it....can't be sure though. There are a lot of numbers on it, so which ones would tell me what exactly what year and model the trans is...etc?[/quote']

On the edge of the front flange of the tranny case, is a date stamp. This date will tell you the year and make of the OD. It took me about an hour of searching to find this stamped date on my OD tranny... it was very faint, and with alot of scraping and cleaning I finally found it. Mine is a '55 Dodge unit.

The raised letters/numbers on the side of the case will tell you if you have the R-7 or R10 unit. It's my opinion that if you have the R-7 unit, you would be better off finding the R-10 to rebuild. The R-7 parts are harder to find, more expensive, and the unit itself is not as user friendly for day to day driving.

The electrics can be sourced from a number of places, I bought mine from Neil Riddle, seaplym@hotmail.com. Diode...do you mean solenoid? There should be a reverse lockout switch, a solenoid, and a governor on the R-10 unit. These items, along with the relay, kickdown switch, and lockout cable are all you should need to make the OD function as the factory intended.

I have a new factory type kickdown switch I'd like to sell, if you need one...

I decided to put my kickdown switch on my shifter handle instead, you can see the writeup I did for the switch on my site under the transmission page, along with the rest of the OD rebuild, wiring diagrams, etc.

Pete

[BobT-47P15]

Pete, I've got one of those kickdown switches just like that, from Neil. I called the manufacturer (Cole-Hersee Co.) who said you could buy them thru a Peterbilt dealership. Apparently they won't sell just one to an individual.

I'm going to try and use the n o s pushbutton shift knob purchased on epay.

Supposed to be a correct period item.

The style switch, like in your picture, has been mounted in various places by people---some put it on the floor next to the dimmer switch and operate it by foot. Some have put it at bottom edge of dash to operate by hand. It's supposed to mount on the base of the carbureator, with the plunger down, to be activated by the linkage.....but that bracket is not present on a car that never had O D.

[blueskies]

I'm going to try and use the n o s pushbutton shift knob purchased on epay.

Supposed to be a correct period item.

The style switch, like in your picture, has been mounted in various places by people...

Bob-

Since I have an aftermarket head, and dual carbs, I don't have any of the original type linkage under the hood. I'm using a Lokar cable to pull the throttle directly from the gas pedal to the carbs.

I started with the factory wiring complete with the stock kickdown switch, but I mounted the switch to the underside of the dash.

I found that my HEI ignition didn't like the momentary "interuption" produced by the kickdown switch (blew the fuse), and my finger didn't like the button, which is designed to be pushed by the strength of your foot.

So, I removed the factory switch, eliminated the ignition ciruit from the kickdown wiring, and installed a small momentary switch in the shift lever. Works better than the factory setup, I think, because I can "split-shift" up through the gears, five forward speeds.

Pete

[Young Ed]

I think you can just barely see the switch on my 51. Its in the middle of the head and there is an extra ear piece that pushes is when floored. This is the 52 and I think 53 style. Somewhere they switched to a carb mounted one that is also activated by a little tab on a different part of the linkage.

[Normspeed]

On the 53, the kickdown switch is mounted on a bracket on the carb. You would need not only the bracket but the different, OD type carb activating linkage.

Darin, the two "can" shaped bolt ons are the governor and the solenoid. These are pretty durable and I would not spend the time and money replacing them unless you get the OD in the car and find they do not work. The 46-54 shop manual has a very good section on troubleshooting, wiring, and repairing the OD systems including the governor. The other electronic part is the lockout switch, which comes up on ebay sometimes. I hear tell it is the same as some early Mopar neutral start safety switches. Again, if it isn't visibly broken (like mine was) I would not replace it.

[Young Ed]

I wonder if that makes my linkage type 52 only?

[Normspeed]

Ed, might be that, or maybe someone added the OD and made up the kickdown setup because they didn't have the correct carb bracket and linkage?

I have got to dig into my OD, it's been out of the car for months, waiting for me to replace the 1st-reverse gear.

[Young Ed]

The guy who gave me this car owned it from 61 when it was 10 years old until about 3 summers ago when he gave it to me. I know he swapped the OD in from a 52 back in the 60s. Him and his wife went to some community college and painted it. Its studebaker white and rambler harvest gold on the bottom. He also used an extra horn and an extra relay to create his own burglar alarm. There was a key hole in the 1/4 next to the trunk which turned it off.

Anyway the kickdown is a factory piece. There is no way someone fabricated the linkage with the little extra arm on it.

[BobT-47P15]

Just for fun, Ed, can you get a good photo of that little critter.

I see the OD relay on the firewall.....where they usually seemed to be.

[Normspeed]

Ed, I sure wish my radiator tank were as good as yours. I have a nice cool-running recored radiator but the tank has a big dent on top. Hate to mess with it but it sure looks bad.

[Young Ed]

Not bad for a free car huh Only 202K miles on this puppy. Bob I just got back from where this car is stored. I will try to get a pic next time I am over that way.

[hkestes41]

Just purchased a 218 and overdrive from a 53 Suburban for a grand total of $275. Had to go to Denver to pick it up but was able to schedule it around a business trip so only had to really drive one way.

Anyway, I talked to the mechanic who is doing the work on the Suburban for the guy I bought the engine and trans from and he said both were working fine (rear main leaking on engine) when they were pulled. He is doing a front subframe and installing a 5.7L Hemi and automatic in the Suburban. He also said that they had put a new clutch in the car about 6 months before he pulled them. I saw the Suburban and it was in pretty decent shape looked like it had been well cared for so hopefully the running gear was as well.

My question is what do I need to look for when inspecting the OD before installing it and the 218 in my 48? I have zero experience with these transmissions and don't want to pulling my running engine / 3 speed and install the "new" ones without a fairly warm and fuzzy that they are in good shape. Don't have the funds right now to rebuild them both so hoping to install them and run it as is for a while.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[oldmopar]

Here is a link to a 53 overdrive booklet on the imperials club site .

There are many other great mopar books online

Ed

http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Lit/Master/053/Cover.htm