Overdrive Kickdown Switch

[Jonathan]

I am in the process of putting in a Borg Warner R10 overdrive transmission on my 12 volt 1950 Plymouth. I have the wiring harness and 12 volt relay, but no overdrive switch.

 

I was wondering where to get a switch, or better yet, if I could wire in the overdrive kickdown switch not on the gas pedal or the carburetor, but on the dash board. Are there any hazards to doing this? I have never done anything like this before and need some guidance. Thanks! 

[Young Ed]

I have the OEM switch for my overdrive mounted next to the cable under the dash in my p15. Check out some of the early 50s Ford suppliers for a switch. They seem to have more overdrive support for reproduction parts. 

[Jonathan]

Thanks for this suggestion. I have no idea what I am looking for or where to start. Do you have a phone number or website?

 

[andyd]

Try Bob Drake, Dennis Carpenter or The Early Ford Store.........I think these places are still going......just did a quick search and all three came up so I'd try that.....andyd

Edited October 9 by andyd
more info.

[grea235]

Ford Borg Warner Overdrive Parts Prices (vanpeltsales.com) has them.  A9AZ-7A651A.  I believe the Ford and Studebaker used the same switch.

 

https://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/ has them too.  #05415KDS

[Loren]

Here’s a new idea 

Generally Mopar carburetors have a bracket and a pad on the throttle for the kick down. Rarely can you find one of those.

When you do you can use the small switch that was also used on Studebakers.

I found an almost identical switch that was used on bus doors and found a government surplus seller on eBay who had them for $6.50!

They are very similar to the through the floor switches Ford products use.

Many guys have put together attachments to the linkage. Some look good others look like crap.

Here’s the new idea: Nash and ultimately Rambler used a switch I had never seen before until I went looking for parts for my Model A drive shaft Overdrive.

It uses a cable operated switch that is small and simple and could mount under the coil/spark plug wire bracket. I bought two for $22 each nos on ebay.

They are really slick you might have look at them.

AMC / Nash / Rambler Overdrive kickdown switch eBay item #185671194447

p/n 3136724

$21.99 with free shipping

I am ditching my crappy switch for one of these.

[Jonathan]

Thanks, I just put the "185671194447" number in the ebay.com search bar and it said, "No exact matches found." I also tried to google the info and it came up with nothing. Could you email me a link? 

[Jonathan]

13 hours ago, grea235 said:

Ford Borg Warner Overdrive Parts Prices (vanpeltsales.com) has them.  A9AZ-7A651A.  I believe the Ford and Studebaker used the same switch.

 

https://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/ has them too.  #05415KDS

Thanks very much, I will look into these! 

[Loren]

Try AMC/Nash/Rambler Overdrive Kick Down Switch 

[p15-1948]

I got a complete setup from a 54 Plymouth.  The kickdown switch was bad.  I got a replacement from  Parts: Borg-Warner Overdrive Parts | Fifth Avenue Internet Garage (fifthaveinternetgarage.com)

 

Family owned with quick shipping.

 

Mike

[Jonathan]

Thanks very much for these options. I will make a decision and get on it! 

[greg g]

If you go to the downloads section of this site, there is a schematic for an alternate wiring option.  I have my switch mounted to the turn signal switch housing.  Much closer than a reach to the dash. It is powered from the acc terminal of the ign switch, through an inline fuse.  I am running 6v, so 20 amp fuse with 12 gauuge wire.  With 12 v you can do a 10 amp fuse.  I would still use 12 g wire.  Using a push pull switch with in= off, out = on.  Switching to off = kick down.  I have about 10k miles on this setup with 0 issues.

[martybose]

The only thing the factory kickdown switch does is briefly interrupt the ignition when you stomp on the gas pedal to briefly unload the OD gears so that it can easily disengage the gear and shift back to direct.  I never had the kickdown switch on my car, when I wanted to get out of OD I would turn the OD switch off, then briefly lift my foot off of the throttle, and it would downshift into direct.  It isn't that big a deal.

 

Marty

[Jonathan]

On 10/11/2024 at 2:56 PM, greg g said:

If you go to the downloads section of this site, there is a schematic for an alternate wiring option.  I have my switch mounted to the turn signal switch housing.  Much closer than a reach to the dash. It is powered from the acc terminal of the ign switch, through an inline fuse.  I am running 6v, so 20 amp fuse with 12 gauuge wire.  With 12 v you can do a 10 amp fuse.  I would still use 12 g wire.  Using a push pull switch with in= off, out = on.  Switching to off = kick down.  I have about 10k miles on this setup with 0 issues.

Thank you for this. I never knew there was a download section on the site. I will check it out!

[Jonathan]

14 hours ago, martybose said:

The only thing the factory kickdown switch does is briefly interrupt the ignition when you stomp on the gas pedal to briefly unload the OD gears so that it can easily disengage the gear and shift back to direct.  I never had the kickdown switch on my car, when I wanted to get out of OD I would turn the OD switch off, then briefly lift my foot off of the throttle, and it would downshift into direct.  It isn't that big a deal.

 

Marty

So, how would you "turn the overdrive switch off"? Are you talking about a dash switch or about pulling out the cable that engages the overdrive?

[martybose]

8 hours ago, Jonathan said:

So, how would you "turn the overdrive switch off"? Are you talking about a dash switch or about pulling out the cable that engages the overdrive?

I had a switch on the shifter lever that controlled power to the relay.

 

Marty

 

PS It is not a good idea to pull out the actuating cable while the car is moving, it can damage to OD unit.  You should only pull it out when the vehicle is stopped.

Edited October 13 by martybose
added PS