I know about the S10 trans mod or even the zephyr trans but its a column shift. Looking for a period correct way to do a floor shift w/overdrive. ?
Period correct would be a Ford/Merc transmission with the Borg Warner R-10 overdrive. Or a T-85/R-11 if you can find one and it fits. Fit a Hurst shifter to the side like we used to do if it’s a side shift. Various other modern transmission, including a T-5 can be done also. Ford built some 4 speeds with and o/d 4th gear, but someone who’s an expert will have to comment on those.
Put a car T-5 in it with the shifter right at the seat, modify the T-5 shift handle by using the handle off an aftermarket 3 speed floor shifter on it and put any old looking shift knob that doesn't have a 5 speed shift pattern on it. That will get you to 1963 in my 51 Merc with a Sparkomatic floor shift in it. The car had overdrive.
The top loader OD is a great trans. The r10/11 will require a ****on to engage the solenoid. The t5 is easy if the shifter isn’t under the seat. Either one can BSC a period shifter and shift knob added.
Depending on which era you are addressing (8BA or earlier), the '84-'87 (T170?) Ford 3 speed plus overdrive is a popular transmission swap. There are a lot of threads here and on "The Ford Barn" about this.
Years ago I fitted a side shifter to a Saginaw overdrive transmission. The overdrive solenoid is in the way of the shifter and linkage. I used a cheap, universal shifter with bolt-together brackets (maybe Foxcraft?) and sliced and diced until it fit. Once it fit and worked I welded all the bolted joints. It worked and took quite a bit of abuse. Gary
If a 49 and up Ford bell will bolt to the Merc uphttps://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1951-ford-3spd-od-trans.1231471/
Back in the dark ages, several guys in the same shop cl*** as me cut down their original column shifter linkage and mounted it to the floor boards as a floor shift linkage. Took a while for us to realize you needed to flop the arms on the trans or you had reverse pattern.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/3-spd-manual-floor-shift-conversion.530470/#post-7936428 Try this link to see how I added an old aftermarket shifter to my '49 Merc w/ OD
This ain't gonna work with out a lot of modifications. All currently available floor shift conversion kits are for non-OD transmissions ONLY. As alluded to earlier, the solenoid is in exactly the wrong place for the "regular" kit. I have an old Fenton shifter that was made for use with OD transmissions. If you are thinking of trying to convert a "regular" shifter for use with an OD transmission, I could send you a copy of the installation instructions and a few pictures. They will provide some guidance.
I'll check mine to see if it has a part or model number, but back in the day, they were clearly marked. They were hard to find then, and I'll bet they are even harder to find now. I wasn't seriously looking for one, but I was keeping my eyes open, and when a complete in NOS the box unit came up, I grabbed it. You can't find one on 1-800-build-a-rod.
DSC01058 by two couped up posted Dec 19, 2018 at 10:10 AM DSC01094 by two couped up posted Dec 19, 2018 at 10:10 AM This is how I did mine so the shifter was centered in the floor. I used a Hurst sincro/loc shifter and made the rest for my project. Also made a trans cover to fill the hole in the floor. DSC01160 by two couped up posted Dec 19, 2018 at 11:13 PM
That is a very nice installation. It also shows one thing I forgot to mention : No matter what you do, it probably won't fit under the trans tunnel which will require more special modifications.
A quick search on Ebay popped up Fenton 200, 300, and 500 models. I don't know the difference. Anyone?
I checked the instructions from the NOS unit I have, and they say it is a Model 125. I have no idea what a number 200,300, or 500 are, but from I can see, I'll bet hey are for later model cars. Here's a guess : Model 100 was for a standard transmission and 125 was te model for the OD version. Pure conjecture.
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