Inliners International Forums General Discussion Drive Train converting electric OD to manual

At the NO Billet Car show in Gainesville, I talked to a fellow who had converted his '50 Ford from an electric solenoid-operated OD, to manual-operated.

To up, or down-shift it, he had to use a cable operated device that he fixed up. He said he's had the car with that transmission in it for 35 years, without any problems.

It was beginning to rain hard and we didn't get to chat any more. Has anyone else done this.

I want to build as simple a vehicle as I can, getting rid of any solenoids, relays, wires, etc, etc, that I do not have to use.

Thanx

You can send me all that complicated stuff you take off. Really once you mess with the Borg ODs a bit they are pretty simple and dependable. The toughest part to find is the solenoid for the later Saganaw three speed.
It would be pretty easy to modify a solenoid to work on another cable. There is already one. But you would ALWAYS have to remember to disengage it before you back up. They don't like to turn backwards. Since the signal from the governor to activate the solenoid is a ground it is easy to add a button to switch to OD or from OD any time in any gear except reverse of course. This makes a 3 speed a 6 speed and a 4 speed an 8 speed. I'd like to see what that guy did. I've got a '50 Merc OD trans that I would like to put behind a Ford Flathead V8 someday, Don;t tell anyone here OK? Beater

Thanks, Beater.

It's been about 50 years since I've done anything with an OD. This one's going behind a mildly-modified Henry J/Jeep flat-head 4-banger, in a light street rod...that'll be different, won't it?

I haven't decided to eliminate all of the electornics, yet, but the vehicle will be 12v and the solenoids on the OD is 6v.

12v solenoids are reputed to cost something like $200! Some have told me they will work on 12v, just fine, while other say they won't. I'd think the hold-in windings would overheat.

If I do decide to switch from electronic to manual, you can have the old stuff, though.

Dennis

Put a reducer [12volt to 6 volt] between 12 volt power and 6 volt solinoid. Should protect the solinoid and your all electric. 1 OL REDNECK

You should be able to find a new industrial 6 volt solenoid with enough pull (load in Ohms same as original). The brackets won't match, and the pull length might be off but a simple bell-crank fixes that.
It also need not be mounted where the original was, or even at the same angle, as long as a good rod links them. I'd fuse it separately since it's exposed to rock damage, etc.
I prefer a cable-operated rod for simplicity (all straight lines use rod, any curves need cable), but a solenoid has the advantage of having a "kill" attached to your reverse lamp switch, etc. A 10" vacuum (Hobbs) switch will prevent engagement unless the throttle is relaxed.
A resistor from 12 to 6 will work, but it's just burning generator output as heat when engaged since it has to be NC or it will drain the battery when parked.
What's actually needed is a small transformer - the loss through inductance (like an ignition coil) is lower than the 50% current loss as heat.

Someone clever could probably rewind a 6V solenoid to work on 12V. They have a duel function. A heavy current moves a paul and locks up the planetary gear. A lesser current keeps it there until the ground is broken by the kick-down circuit or the governor. There are still lots of 12V units out there it's just a matter of finding them. They were in 12V Chevys, Studes, Fords cars and trucks. Lots in Broncos. Don't shy away from or throw away one that doesn't work. All that I have seen simply had melted the soft solder link inside the case. A bit of solder and they are good as new. Beater