Hot Rods Small Over Drives

I am looking for a small over drive that I can adapt for use in a Crosley..Plan is to shorten the drive shaft/torque tube and mount the OD between it and the rear axle..Not wanting it for OD in third gear but as splitter between 1-2 and 2-3..OD ratio should be in the .7 range and probably some thing from a small foreign car, maybe UK...Any ideas? Thanks, little off beat but the car is a 47'..

 

MG, Volvo, Austin Healy all used Lay**** DeNormanville overdrives that electrically engage with the flip of a switch. No letting up on the accelerator, waiting for a shift......it engages/disengages immediately. Should be a fairly compact unit. On the other hand, how about adapting a Studebaker Champion or Rambler transmission with OD (Borg Warner units) in it's entirety. Early Jeeps, '46 thru mid '50s at least (CJ2, CJ3, CJ4, CJ5 4 bangers used Borg Warner T-90 IIRC, top shifter). That trans is smallish and I think the same base unit as mentioned 're Stude/Rambler above.

Ray

 

Had an old guy that was building an H sports racer say it was fairly easy to adapt an Austin Healy 4sp trans and as mentioned they had electric OD. Might have change to an open drive line.

 

lots of Volvo Lay**** overdrives on ebay.

Interesting that it's the same overdrive that Gear Vendors sells for close to $3k. And they handle an impressive amount of torque. I recently put one in my 57 suburban.

 

I had first thought of the healy with Lay**** but in my mind figured there had to be something smaller...I would even opt for aux trans with 1:1/1.3 [4th & 3rd} which would still split as needed and in a small package..I know the Dagenham 4spd had a 1.31 third gear so pretty close but overall size still little large. maybe have to get into some gears from a motor cycle...

 

Gear Vendors purchased Lay****. They are in California I believe. Not very big. I have one behind a C 4. Works Great.

 

Don't you think we need a tech article on that?

 

We probably need a tech article on it, but I didn't take pictures. And it has a computer in the controller, so I hesitate....but if someone can figure out how the OD is controlled in an older European car, maybe it would be more on topic?

(I'm one of those folks who thinks modern overdrive ruins the traditional feel of a hot rod. The Gear Vendors I put in my Suburban was free (!!!) I won it in a drawing on Drag Week)

 

Take a look also at the Lay****-de Normanville OD conversions the Model T guys are doing, which retain the torque tube. IIRC there is a guy selling a kit to do it.

 

There are are nimble little boxes, 4 speed full syncro and OD with Hydro-electro actuator.
Detachable bell housing, easy to adapt to something else.
Last long and is fairly cheap.

Do a open rear convesion or swap
the full Volvo rear in.
Volvo 544 and 122 is ford 5x4.5 pcd. Good rear but no super stout. 3.75 and 4.11. Drum brakes. Comes with a trailing arm set up.
Volvo 240 has 1030 and 1031 is a Dana 30 build in Sweden. 1030 is good, 1031 is beefed up and comes with a LSD. 3.16, 3.65, 3.78 and 4.11. Disc brakes. 5x108 metric and 5x4.25 imperial. Basic 4 link.

PM for more info. [emoji2][emoji41][emoji111]️

 

What do you need pics of? What do you wanna know about euro
OD?
Modern drivetrains is for street rods. [emoji12][emoji106]

 

What did the Volvo use to tell it when to engage the solenoid?

and...will that one you pictured, fit into a 544 tunnel?

 

Switch on the dash, 12v via relay.




Almost. Half an hours work and big hammer. [emoji2]
Gearbox is almost the same, but OD is 2-4 inch to wide for the tunnel.

 

Thanks! Looks like there's also a lockout switch, maybe it only lets you engage OD in high gear? or forward gears?

 

Yes, only 3 and 4. They had a tendency to fail when engaged in first and reverse, and doing a clutch dump.

 

ill second that

 

Thanks for input guys..A Crosley is pretty small compared to a Volvo or Healy so is the reason I tried to emphasize small..Only 26hp and just trying to split gears..Maybe I should just rebuild the Judson blower and put it on and depend on more low end torque for when going to next gear...Then there is the Homelite swap with double the hp and double the chance of driveline breakage if over zealious...

 

Maybe, pics or it never happend. [emoji12][emoji41]
Post pics of box and tunnel. I go an measure a Volvo box after dinner. I might only have a 4 speed at my house, but it wouldn't hurt to compare measurements.
It's fairly small.

 

I just measured a Volvo M40 gearbox, as pictured above...the transmission case (not the overdrive or adapter) is 8" tall, 8" long, 6" wide.

 

So does the Volvo 240 have the same sized unit gear vendors now sells, or is it the smaller one. I have a 240 here (1980 or 1981, I can't remember right now) It's a 242t, what ever that means). My wife blew it up, and I was planning to pull the overdrive ( as a spare for the Gear Vendors in my dually) and sell the rest for s****, but a young guy stopped by the shop a while back and left his number, so maybe I'll just sell him the whole car.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

This is complicated and forces torque tube work no matter what, and using even an electrically controlled OD as part of your shift pattern is getting you into a pretty complex dance at each shift...(insert cl***ic joke about Mack truck driver with 3 arms...).
Why not start researching what small imports, maybe MG, Simca, Austin and Sprite, might have had a compact 4 speed and then see what that might look like...I would think any trans that has all gears inside its case could have its tail housing replaced with a plate drilled to take Crosley tube...this would be a whole lot more driveable and quite possibly easier than splicing in an OD.

 

Here is a Crosley trans...Visualize a Crosley rear end would be like 1/3rd the size of a 1960 Falcon rear with a torque tube..So took pic too..

 

If you don't mind a little cutting, a Volvo should fit just fine, but can't say how hard they are to find.

 

Bruce, I understand what your saying..Many H mods used a Sprite trans or derivative of and I do have adaptor plate dimensions but haveing to convert rear to open drive or trans to torque tube changes the whole structure of the car...""insert cl***ic joke about Mack truck driver with 3 arms.."" Fits a Crosley driver anyways especially when hand signaling, down shifting, turning into side street and looking around the dog and missing the all swallowing pot holes...Certain ambiance I guess, just a fun little car..

 

Look at articles on here about converting LaSalle trans for use on Ford ch***is with tube...if you are using a trans with all gears in the case (like, not a T-10 sort of arrangement) the process is roughly similar to adapter at front...case gets redrilled to match rear U-joint cup from original trans OR an adapter plate sandwiched in as adapter...output shaft gets sent off to a race car axle place or good local machinest to get Crosley splines...shortening likely needed as well, since I doubt many transmissions are as short as a Crosley!
Then there's the problem of stalling out because you grabbed and shifted the dog's head instead of the transmission knob...

 

Very interesting info on the Lay**** OD units. I've been hoarding one with a Volvo M40 box for years, since my 122S build days. Glad to hear it holds up to moderate torque.

Squirrel: Are you using the Volvo trans or just the OD unit and what motor's in front of it in your `burb?

 

I'm using the Gear Vendors unit in my Suburban. It is a Lay**** overdrive, I don't really know if it's the same as the Volvo unit, but it is rather small, 6" diameter. The engine is a stock 350, the trans is a TH400. Guys run these units in 1000+ horsepower street/strip cars and they survive.

 

Another possible is the current Mitchell overdrive, made for early Fords. They fabricate new torque tubes for '28-48 Fords with their OD spliced in, available with lever or electric shift. Maybe if you mailed them a Crosley torque tube neatly wrapped and padded with $100 bills, they could splice one in there. I'd personally prefer a trans or an OD on the trans, as part of weight of TT is unsprung weight added to a tiny car. I think keeping the tube is a good goal here, as Crosley QE setup, just like early Ford, is best served by torque tube location.

 

If the speedo drive is moved to the torque tube there is a bit of room between the back of case and the TT socket housing; enough so that adding two more Crosley size gears would not be too bad..I can do all the machining and a local guy can cut the gears and another can wire edm the splines in the gears..Its the total time involved, a Mitchell style would be the simpilest and least obtrusive (?) ..Easiest to change in or out..

 

i'd suggest the mitchell od, too. seems to me those import-car units would be quite pricey.