Brownie box

[Brian]

Recently I have scored a couple of Model AA 'brownie boxes'- these are a planetary transmission bolted onto the rear of an AA transmission, and used as an underdrive/ direct drive auxilliary transmission. I'm thinking of turning one of these things around and adapting it into the torque tube as an overdrive. Anyone heard of this being done; or better yet, actually done so. What say you all out there in Fordland? Thank you, Brian

[Ray in La Mesa]

A friend has one installed that way. It's been running for 40 years.

[Jim Brierley]

If Ray says it will work, it will. The term "Brownie" comes from Brownlipe Corporation which made auxiliary transmissions for trucks, among other things.

[rotorwrench]

Brown Lipe Chapin was a division of GM that made gears and gear boxes. They also made BLC headlamp assemblies for trucks.

Kerby

[Keith True]

I had a Brown&Lipe 3 speed box behind a 10 speed in a Diamond T.It was under,direct,and over.Nice setup. There was an A coupe around here with a compound installed in it backwards when I was a kid.It was a lousy job,it has horseshoes welded to it for mounts.It would fly,but it was a howler.I think it was the condition of the whole thing,not the fact it had a box installed.

[Brian]

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I use the term brownie box somewhat loosely; this is actually genuine Ford, even has the Ford script logo cast into it. Good to hear it's been done before, I used the search function to look up all data pertaining to overdrives, and read how some of the models that have been utilised for this same function need to be taken out of O/D before selecting reverse. I was a bit worried after reading that, because I will be running this unit in reverse [from how it was intended to be used] at all times! I cannot see any reason why it cannot run in this reverse orientation, certainly appears a robust unit. Brian

[JoeWay]

Originally Posted by Brian

...some of the models that have been utilised for this same function need to be taken out of O/D before selecting reverse...Brian

This would have to do with freewheeling clutches and solenoid mechanisms, I think, and would not affect your gearbox.

I would be concerned about noise as mentioned in an earlier post--likely to have straight-cut gears and be quite noisy in OD. I would be really concerned about bearings. In the truck application, things would be turning a lot slower than in the reversed car application. Does the box have bearings or bushings on the under-to-be-over parts of the mechanism?

Joe

[Brian]

It has roller bearings of the same design as rear hub roller bearings. Yes, the planetary gears are all straight cut. Brian