I've got a 64 biscayne with a three speed with overdrive. I know nothing about these trannys, even less about overdrive. It has some wiring running to it, that was cut when I got the car. I rewired everything but this. Where do these wires go? Once it is wired up how does it work?, just pull the lever to engage it? Sorry for the dumb questions. thanks -Brian
Probably the best thing you could do is get ahold of a factory shop manual as far as rewiring the overdrive goes. There should be a button under the accelerator that disengages the overdrive when you floor it. If it's a factory O/D car, it should have either 3.70 or 4.11 gears in the rear.
I only know one thing about those trannies, and I could be wrong on that-but I believe (as my dad discovered and told me) that the wire going into the trans you have completes a ground, not a powered circuit.
that is Saginaw overdrive, if it is original. here's a link to some info: http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/overdrive.htm
MotToRs manuals of the era cover the wiring and trouble shooting of overdrives (the planetary gearset hung on the back of a three speed is a Borg-Warner design). In normal use, you don't do anything with the lockout lever--when it's in, the O.D. shifts up by lifting the throttle after you reach a predetermined speed(usually 26 m.p.h.). To downshift out of O.D. you press the throttle to the floor and hit the kickdown switch. When the lockout lever is pulled out, the O.D. is inoperative.
The Jalopy Journal
