Overdrive Trans for 50 Ford

[green50]

My 50 Ford doesn't have overdrive. I recently obtained an overdrive tansmission and was wondering if it would work in my car. The trans numbers are as follows if I read them correctly- Housing-T96-1B W.G. DIV Tail- R10B-1L This car has a 52-53 Mercury V8 wih EAC heads. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Gene

[charles in east texas]

49-50 transmission will work for sure. 51 transmission will not work for sure. 52-53 might work. You will like the o/d. Charlie

[Flathead]

O.D. was originally used with a 4.11 rear end gear.

[George49Ford]

I put an overdrive in my non-O/d '49 20 years ago (right after get the car). It has always worked well and the engine pulls the car smooth and easy and freeway speeds. Run power through a toggle switch to the solenoid and you can kick it in and out as you please (i.e. 6 forward gears). Although, you'll find that 2nd-OD is almost the same as 3rd-non OD.

[deucemac]

You will also have to use an O/D drive shaft since that unit is longer than the standard trans. The side cover is different from '49 to '52. The '49-'51 trans side cover has a boss on it for your clutch linkage, plus the O/D cover hits a pin from the O/D unit when you shift into reverse to positively lock out the O/D when backing up. Major problems can occur it the car is backed up with the overdrive engaged. You may be able to swap shift shafts between the covers. You may want to check with Mac Van Pelt to be sure.

[Mac VP]

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The T96 is a Borg Warner unit, which Ford used on 1956 to 65 cars with a Six or small V8. It has a top loading cover, but still has the shifter shafts coming out the side of the gearbox. His problem is the fact that this unit has no provision for mounting the clutch to the side of the box. A '51 Ford (std or OD) had a 9 bolt side cover with a special boss for the clutch linkage assy. Unless he can fab something up for that, he can't use this with his stock '51 Ford linkage.

Rear housing lengths varied over the years, and to some extent, the rear support location too. Unless these dimensions matched up to a 51 Ford, he'd probably have to have a driveshaft made up for it.

Many assumptions here....mainly that his T96 trans came out of another Ford. These trannies were also used by other car mfrs, so input and output shaft splines could be different than the usual Ford spec.

[Flatkid8]

Originally Posted by deucemac

You will also have to use an O/D drive shaft since that unit is longer than the standard trans. The side cover is different from '49 to '52. The '49-'51 trans side cover has a boss on it for your clutch linkage, plus the O/D cover hits a pin from the O/D unit when you shift into reverse to positively lock out the O/D when backing up. Major problems can occur it the car is backed up with the overdrive engaged. You may be able to swap shift shafts between the covers. You may want to check with Mac Van Pelt to be sure.

All 49-51 manual trans both O/D and NON O/D are the same length from bell mounting flange to the end of the tailshaft. Therefore as long as you use a 49-51 O/D you can reuse your original driveshaft without cutting. The 49-50 O/D's functionally and dimisionally are the same. The 51 O/D is a little different...the cross member mounts in a different position, the shifting arms are different, the solenoid was positioned a little higher (tight fit clearing a 49-50 floor pan but it will work), and the external lockout switch was removed in 51. The 51 O/D can be used in a 49-50 and visa versa but there is a little modification required to do so. If your using a 51 trans, also use a 51 cross member and shifting rods. I have a friend running a 51 O/D in a 50 sedan and it works flawless.

However as Mac VP was said, it sounds as though you have yet a different animal so none of this would apply anyhow.


Dennis

[green50]

Thanks for all of the for all of the responses and suggestions. It looks like I'll have to take a closer look at what I really have and take some measurements. It looks like I may not be able to use the T96 in my 50 Ford. Thanks again guys, I knew I came to the right place. Gene

[Barlea]

All '49 '51 Ford car transmissions are 24.5" from the front mounting face to the end of the tailshaft housing, and '52 and up are a few inches longer. The trans mount pad on the '51 and up is at 12.5" inches from the front face and is wider than the previous mount. The '51 mount moved down and forward on all cars to match the mount position of the Fordomatic. ..B.

[green50]

Originally Posted by Barlea

All '49 '51 Ford car transmissions are 24.5" from the front mounting face to the end of the tailshaft housing, and '52 and up are a few inches longer. The trans mount pad on the '51 and up is at 12.5" inches from the front face and is wider than the previous mount. The '51 mount moved down and forward on all cars to match the mount position of the Fordomatic. ..B.

I measursd the O/D trans and it's 17-1/2" (Flange to Tail) also here are some pics. Looks lke some kind of oddball trans.

[Cecil/WV]

By looking at the rear flange, I would say it came out of a Mopar or maybe Stude.

[green50]

Originally Posted by Cecil/WV

By looking at the rear flange, I would say it came out of a Mopar or maybe Stude.

Do you think it's possibly from a 4WD with the rear flange?

[Kahuna]

Probably not, as all 4wd vehicles use a transfer case

[Flatkid8]

Originally Posted by Kahuna

Probably not, as all 4wd vehicles use a transfer case

True...but alot of older 4x4 Fords had a divorced transfer case. Rather or not you could ever get a factory BW O/D with a 4x4 i dont know.