Technical Borg Warner OD cable location?

Hey fellas, close to getting my 41 driveable, and looking for suggestions on where to mount the overdrive in/out cable.

I've never owned/driven one yet, so i only know what I've read.

Would you place it on the left or right of the steering column?

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On most stick vehicles, it was mounted under the dash to the left of the column

 

Every Ford with OD I ever owned had it on the right.... LOL.

 

59 Chev was on right.

 

Couple '50s Plymouths I had were RH ... people used to driving OD equipped cars correctly would want the shift lever & cable on the same side. I mounted the KD switch next to the cable on most all of mine ...

 

56 Chevy is on the right

 

I mounted it on the left side of the steering column in my 40 Ford One Ton Express. I installed a 49 Merc O/D behind the flathead and when feeding the cable into the cab the location of the cable pull was driven by the best point that caused the least amount of binding in the cable and interference with the emergency brake hardware - about 6” left of the column.

 

Did you find it better to manually hit the kick down rather than under the gas pedal?

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^^^
That's the only way to do it. The factory carb mounted or under the pedal switch requires flooring the pedal to shift (pull cable) out of OD. With switch close at hand, all that's required is a slight load on drivetrain.
The Plymouths I had came with long enough wiring harness to feed thru the firewall & mount the switch alongside the cable above the inner lip. The plunger was the only thing showing, & required leaning forward about 6'' to reach.
Most important thing you'll ever learn about OD - when you park, pull the cable. Every time ...

 

All I’ve seen and installed were on the right of the column. I’ve used factory setups and bare bones toggle switch/cable ones (own both right now), I like the fact I can pull it out of o/d anytime with the homemade setup.

 

I also use a toggle switch (mounted on the bracket that holds the cable pull) to activate the solenoid which engages/disengages the O/D function after the cable is pushed in. Operated this way you lose the benefit of compression for braking (trans is freewheeling when the solenoid is off) but retain the ability to bump up the RPM’s for passing, hill climbing, etc. The only time I operate the truck with the O/D locked out is when traffic or road conditions require the extra braking assist that engine compression provides OR as 302GMC suggests ALWAYS when parking. Also on the 49 Merc trans the O/D must be locked out to engage reverse.

 

Thanks for the help. I'll be mocking up brackets and switch locations in the next day or so. Right now my heater switch was mounted where i think the od cable will should go, so I'll have to make some room.

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