Hey guys so I have a 1953 merc with three on the tree. I would love to add OD to this, anyone know what I would need to so so? New trans? Thanks! Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Flatheads with overdrives were pretty common back then. Still a lot of them out there, check with guys doing rebuilds on '50's fords and mercs. Maybe the V8 club in your area. I still find OD transmissions for $100-200 that are very useable.
A Ford or Mercury O/D trans from a '52-'54 should swap in. The linkage should just bolt up to the trans but the O/D is longer and either the driveshaft you have needs to be shortened or you will need the driveshaft out of the donor car too just don't try S/W for sedan and visa versa. Did this many times years ago with those years and everything worked out well. Even the O/D wiring harness is easy to adapt.
Nice, It would be great to get my hands on one. I appreciate it. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
being you live in cali will probably be pretty easy to find a ******. try craigslist and the swap meets I have od in my 51 merc and it does make a world of difference. if yours came with a 3 spd no od you might be a little high in gearing for a stock motor. mine is 411 with od I don't know what they had for non od probably low 3s.
just my 2 cents--your driveshaft may need shortening, but in the 49-50 ford the only difference is location of the trans mount. all you do is rotate the mount 180* in the crossmember and you're good to go!
Don't forget the solenoid, NOS hard to come by. I combined parts from 2 to get one that worked. You need a kick down switch easy to come by, and an engagement lever. Good luck
I got a kick-down switch and a wiring harness off eBay a couple of years ago pretty reasonable. The only part that was kind of hard to find was the lockout cable (like the hood latch cable).
I'm sure that'll work fine, but I wanted a real one. I should clarify; it took about two weeks of casual looking and cost $10.00. Not an onerous situation at all.
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