56 Ford 3 Speed w/overdrive, help

This tranny was behind a 312 in a police car. I hear I need the original dash control, harness, overdrive relay and kickdown switch. Are these parts hard to find? Does anyone have a picture of what I need to be looking for? I can't find much info on the Internet.

Thanks.

 

You dont really need any harness and if you did you could build it. I have one wire going to the transmission solenoid with a toggle switch under the dash lip for easy driver access.-I have the original t handle cable that goes to the side arm on the transmission-The only thing to remember is when you go to a stop or signal light is flip the OD off at the toggle. When in OD you have no reverse and the trans will act as if its locked up. Mine has been this way for many years and you get use to it. The factory way has a solenoid--governor-relay mounted on firewall--and a kick down switch under the acellerator prdal and a T handle cable under dash--Most can be bought on ebag--hope this helps.

 

Try these...

http://webhubcentral.com/packard/maint_overdrive.htm

http://www.50plymouth.com/05-tra/tra.html

I have my trans set up the same way enabling me to split the gears to get 6 forward gears. The push-pull cable is available at your FLAPS as an HD throttle cable...needs to move the lockout ~2-3 inches back and forth. Those sites above are gold, keep them in your favorites and share with others. Oh yeah, mines a Chevy, there's Packard and Plymouth above, the overdrives are all Borg-Warner.

 

And remember to park the car OUT of overdrive, or it could roll away. FYI, the trans has one oil drain, and two fill plugs. Put a pint of ATF in the rear one at fill time. They get sticky after years of being unused, the ATF will keep the parts free. Use 80/90 for the rest of the lube.

 

ATF? Not what the manual says...check out the last page...http://webhubcentral.com/packard/downloadable/BorgWarner_Overdrive.pdf

I rebuilt my '62 transmission 11 years ago and I am a daily driver only vehicle. Rebuilding is a nice two or three day job, a few hours cleaning, a few hours to assemble, and finally an hour or two to install.

 

Log on to [ tee-bird.com ], known as Tee-Bird Products Inc. Click on Transmission. Overdrive relay #7a651b ,$130.00 , Solinoid, # 691br , $285.00 ,Pull cable, #7a650a, @50.00. I would watch on E-bay or Craigs List. I have picked up relays for $20.00 .

 

I've always like the Nash OD t-handle it says CRUISING GEAR

 

Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

 

Great info here. I am in the process of setting up a overdrive unit in my 59 ford this is great.

Eric

 

Or park it in reverse there is a locking pin that will keep it from doing the free wheel roll away.

 

My 56 came with the OD so I want to keep it the way Henry made it. The kick down switch is on Ebay all the time. I got the reproduction OD wiring from a guy in Va. It is made just like the factory with the color coded molded terminals and all. Not a lot to it. Easy to wire yourself if you want to. If you need the tel no. let me know. He makes all the original wiring for the 50s Fords.

I'm currently waiting for a solenoid to come that I bought on Ebay. A used one but less than 50 bucks delivered. NOS ones show up often but I'm cheap.

I really liked my 57 Ford 292/OD. The first time I drove it to work I stopped on the way home. I hopped out and had to grab the fender to keep it from rolling down the incline into the other parked cars. I got it whoa-ed down and set the parking brake before disaster. It operated just fine although I never tested the kick down switch operation. I'd be more inclined to grab second gear than floor it in high gear.

PS there is only one wire that goes into the car under the dash. Not a big deal. The rest is on the firewall and down to the trans.

 

I picked up a repro wiring harness (1956 Ford overdrive) pretty reasonable. It was easier than making one from scratch for the money, with nice old style wiring and ends. I used a bosch relay inside the old relay housing. Somebody here on the HAMB posted the relay swap years ago. It works great.





Another good check, is to clean and check the points and wiring inside the solenoid. A small amount of lube on the plunger piston and make sure the points make and break contact with a bench test.

 

overspray do you have a parts number for the Bosch relay, Please.

 

Bear with me, fellows, as I’m new to the Ford thing. I think from ‘49 until sometime in the 1960s, Ford transmissions (including the ‘56 overdrive mentioned above), used a “small” bellhousing-to-trans bolt pattern. Then in the ‘60s this changed to the modern pattern used on the Toploader, SROD, T-5, etc. Is that correct?

If so, is the “small” bellhousing pattern the same between a ‘50s OD 3-speed and the 2.77 3-speed in my ‘61 Falcon? That’s too easy, I’m sure, but I would love to swap in an overdrive and keep the column shifter.

Any help sorting myself out would be appreciated.

-Dave

 

those relays look like standard "power window acc" relays for under $15 at any local napa store.

 

NO. The relay must be rated for continous use, like a headlight relay, and also must be designed to be triggered from ground. A horn relay won't do it.