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Projects Thoughts on overdrive please

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by manitouguy, Jul 26, 2020.

  1. manitouguy
    Joined: Jul 28, 2019
    Posts: 59

    manitouguy

    Thanks Anthony - I’ve got a couple of the tardel books and have collected most of the parts - but it is still slow going and I’m learning a lot as I go - I have met a few really nice hot rodders here and one buddy in particular has been helping me along for a bit in preparation - I have my build details pretty much mapped out – the biggest decision is around the engine and transmission of course hence some of the recent posts related to that - Torn between the look of my early flat head and the logistics around the later model but all of this is helping me and will ultimately allow me to make “the right decision” torn between the look of my early flat head and the logistics around the later model but all of this is helping me and will ultimately allow me to make “the right decision“ for me
     
  2. manitouguy
    Joined: Jul 28, 2019
    Posts: 59

    manitouguy

    All good oldsman And yes the Vern tardel books have been very very helpful so far
     
  3. manitouguy
    Joined: Jul 28, 2019
    Posts: 59

    manitouguy

    Fantastic - more reading - appreciate it

    I’m going fenderless, no channel, no chop and no z frame ... i’ve already had someone say that it’s going to look stupid but that’s the way I want to do it for now and I will like the look

    currently gathering parts, learning and dismantling a lot of work that although might have been fine for the previous owner, is stuff I want to improve on for my satisfaction

    plenty of pictures here
    https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/modern-greenhorn’s-‘28-coupe-build.1160818/
     
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  4. fiftyv8
    Joined: Mar 11, 2007
    Posts: 5,394

    fiftyv8
    Member
    from CO & WA

    Good idea to have a O/D.
    *Should save gas mileage.
    *Reduce engine wear.
    *Quieter cab at speed.
    *Do it while you build it, as it will be much easier.
    *If you don't like it, then don't engage it...
    *Do some research on rearend ratio's to match it up right.
    *Choose your unit carefully.
     
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  5. Nothing wrong with that look.
    Sounds fun
     
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  6. 57JoeFoMoPar
    Joined: Sep 14, 2004
    Posts: 6,138

    57JoeFoMoPar
    Member

    This board has become very hardcore traditional but one of the main places where I break with that is in the transmission selection. You don't see it, so it's not an overtly non-traditional, and it will give you much more driving pleasure with the improved gearing on an obsolete engine.

    Anecdotally, there is (maybe was) a guy around me here in NJ with a glass '32 and a flathead with a T5. The car had a god-awful paint scheme that was based on a desert scene, complete with howling coyote. So you couldn't possibly miss the car or mistake it for another deuce. It seemed like no matter where I went, I would see this guy around. I'd be in Delaware... there it was. Heading towards upstate NY? Spotted. Out in PA somewhere... There he is. Bottom line was that transmission gave that guy a world of drivability to use the hell out of that Flatty.

    Don't forget, the transmission is just half of the gearing equation for the car as a whole. Also remember that gears are able to multiply power through mechanical advantage, much like a lever arm. If you've got a lower first gear in the trans, it's going to make the car faster off the line, and if you have an OD, it would allow you to run a lower rear gear, or allow you to run faster on the highway at lower rpms.

    Don't listen to people crapping on your flatty either. Enjoy your build.
     
  7. fiftyv8
    Joined: Mar 11, 2007
    Posts: 5,394

    fiftyv8
    Member
    from CO & WA

    We are hot rodders and don't really care what other folks think anyway.
    If we did we would not be playing in this sand pit...
     
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  8. koolbeans
    Joined: Apr 12, 2015
    Posts: 633

    koolbeans
    Member

    That's an option too. Obviously newer trans.
    Divorced if you want old trans.

    Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  9. Automotive Stud
    Joined: Sep 26, 2004
    Posts: 4,304

    Automotive Stud
    Member

    The 8ba is a great engine, and arguably the most refined of the flathead designs. The only drawback is the water pumps being longer makes the front a little tighter than the early engines for fan clearance.

    As for overdrives, fantastic idea. I have a Borg Warner R10 in my roadster and my '40, and I have a Mitchell in my '47. It really does add to the drivability. Of course, a modern T5 overdrive would probably be a little easier to live with.
     
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  10. TrailerTrashToo
    Joined: Jun 20, 2018
    Posts: 1,289

    TrailerTrashToo
    Member

    I've owned and driven Volvos on and off since 1965. A divorced overdrive on a production Volvo is news to me. Google has failed me on my search. Please provide me with a transmission model number, I could use it in my PV544.
     
  11. rusty valley
    Joined: Oct 25, 2014
    Posts: 3,883

    rusty valley
    Member

    people make them. take the unit off the gear box, and machine what you want whether open drive or torque tube. for your 544 i believe you could use the whole box and put your short shift top on, and make a new drive shaft
     
  12. TrailerTrashToo
    Joined: Jun 20, 2018
    Posts: 1,289

    TrailerTrashToo
    Member

    Rusty,

    Thanks. The Volvo M41 overdrive transmission will bolt up to my drive train (M40 non-OD transmission presently). The transmission tunnel will need modification to clear the overdrive section. This is a unibody car and my 75 year old body (and lack of metal fabrication skills) are not up to the task.

    The issue is the existence of a stock Volvo divorced overdrive unit.

    Russ
     
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  13. rusty valley
    Joined: Oct 25, 2014
    Posts: 3,883

    rusty valley
    Member

    and, if i had a nice 544 i wouldnt cut up the floor either
     
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  14. TrailerTrashToo
    Joined: Jun 20, 2018
    Posts: 1,289

    TrailerTrashToo
    Member

    Cutting up the drive shaft tunnel interferes with the front seats - and requires structural changes. A divorced OD unit would stick into the rear foot well, without major structural changes. - I can live with that.

    75 MPH on the cruise control is do-able, buzzy, but a lot below the "window-the-block" RPM region. If I can ever get clear of the virus situation, I intend to drive this to Lead Ain'T Dead in Dewey, OK.
     
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  15. 210superair
    Joined: Jun 23, 2020
    Posts: 1,952

    210superair
    Member
    from Michigan

    I've got the 8ba and c4 in mine...
     
  16. koolbeans
    Joined: Apr 12, 2015
    Posts: 633

    koolbeans
    Member

    Never suggested a Volvo with divorced od.
    This is something you have to make and has been done many times in other cars and trucks. Example. http://www.odspares.com/phdi/p1.nsf/supppages/odspares?opendocument&part=4


    Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  17. TrailerTrashToo
    Joined: Jun 20, 2018
    Posts: 1,289

    TrailerTrashToo
    Member

    koolbeans,

    Thanks for the link. I was not aware of a Laycock De-Normanville OD unit with flanges on both ends. It looks a lot more compact than a Watson or Brownie box. No prices listed, I am afraid to ask...
     

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