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By Jim Rowe - 17 Years Ago
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Guys,
I want to install a T-85 over drive unit in my 56. I have the bell housing clutch, pedals,column shift,linkage etc. The transmission is from a 63 FE 390 station wagon. I do not have the relay, wiring, or the floor switch. I do have the wiring diagram from the 56 Ford Parts manual.
I have several questions:
Are the relay, and floor switch still available? Source?
Also need the cable and dash mount. Source?
This trans does not look like the one in the Ford Manual. It does read T-85 and R-10 on it's casting marks. The input shaft looks like the manual trans from my 56 parts car.
The oddity is the trans has a Third " shift arm" behind the two shift fork control arms on the side plate of the transmission. This third arm seems to be loose and not control anything. WHAT IS IT FOR? It is an attaching point for the activation cable?
I also have no attaching information as to where to mount the Dash cable or how it attaches to the transmission.
Can anyone help me?
Thanks
Jim
Elkhorn, NE
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By pegleg - 17 Years Ago
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Jim. The third lever is where you attach the cable. This engages, or locks out the OD unit. The kickdown switch is, or was available from Concours or Dennis Carpenter, and probably MAC. I bought a used relay from Concours, but I imagine there's several other options on this relay. Strikes me that any 12 volt DC relay that will carry 25 or 30 amps would work just fine. I have an electrical schematic somewhere that I got off the net, I'll be happy to send you a copy or the IP address to download your own.
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By Jim Rowe - 17 Years Ago
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Frank,
Thanks for your quick reply. This trans has three levers on the side cover and the engagement lever on the tail shaft of the trans. I know the rear lever is where the cable attaches, But what is the " third" lever behind the two shift levers for???
I could use the diagram if you could send it.
Thanks for your help!
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By sundance241 - 17 Years Ago
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Jim, As frank said , the third lever is to engage the over drive , the cable you are talking about mounts under the dash to the right of the steering column...if you dont have a bracket you can make one using a piece of angle iron , about one inch to one1 1/4 wide drill one hole for the handle mount on the end of the cable , drill two holes to mount under the dash ......run cable to the third lever...cable should be out , and when engaged push in to push the lever back toward the rear of car.....thats the easy part....next is the electrical part , !!! I am in the process of doing the same thing on a 55 crown...havnt got the ecectrical worked out yet , but i know it can be hocked to a toggle switch ..........Luck....Sam.........................West Central Florida
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By pegleg - 17 Years Ago
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Jim, I'll dig up the schematic. You lost me on the three lever gearbox. Only ones I ever saw with three levers were t-10 four speeds and they sure didn't have OD's on them. All I'd know to do would be to pull the side cover and see what you have.
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By Ted - 17 Years Ago
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I’m also clueless on the three levers on the side cover. Should be two levers on the side cover and then the overdrive lever itself further downstream on the transmission. On my ’55, I bypassed the relay and the floor mounted switch under the accelerator when I installed the electronic ignition conversion. I did not like the idea of ‘shorting’ out the ignition circuit to get the momentary kill on the engine in which to drop down a gear when depressing the pedal to the floor. Previous experience on electronic ignition conversions was that they do not like voltage spikes and shorting out the ignition was definitely a spike so I didn’t go there. I simply installed a push pull switch located just above the parking brake lever in which to run voltage to the overdrive speed governor. I then let the governor control when voltage is applied to the overdrive solenoid on the tranny based on the speed of the car. Hope that makes sense.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 17 Years Ago
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I too am puzzled by the 3 lever side cover. Didn't the toploader 4 speeds use this arrangement? Also, I didn't think B-W ever put the light duty (R-10) overdrive behind the T-85. All the T-85s I've seen had the HD (R11) overdrive. Is this some kind of pieced together trans in a T-85 case with a toploader side cover and a R10 OD? John
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By Jim Rowe - 17 Years Ago
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Guys,
I will take some pic of this "odd trans".
Now comes the hard part .........figuring out how to post them.
I will try.
Thanks again for the information.
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By pegleg - 17 Years Ago
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If I remember correctly, the reverse lever was on the tailshaft, behind the main case on the T10's.
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By Jim Rowe - 17 Years Ago
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Guys,
I have attached the picture of the T-85. I was wrong Frank it is an R-11.
The third arm I'm talking about is the long one in the picture. The first two shift arms are missing. I hope the ones from my 56 STD trans will work.
Again, what is that long third arm? it just swings from the top pivot and doesn't act like it's connected inside the trans.
Help if you can.
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 17 Years Ago
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Jim: That third lever looks to me like some kind of cobbled linkage, but I couldn't guess what it's for. I'll bet there was a rod between it and one of the front two levers, and the hole in the lower end was hooked to the column shift linkage. You shouldn't need it in your car. It has the correct shift cover for a T85. John
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By pegleg - 17 Years Ago
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Jim, I'd have to agree with John. Almost looks like it might have been used to support an exhaust pipe or something. Take it of and use it for a doorstop or a Boomerang. Looking for the schematic.
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By Moz - 17 Years Ago
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hey frank that wont work as a boomerang its the wrong shape
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By pegleg - 17 Years Ago
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Jim, I found a diagram of the wiring, pm an email addy and Ill send it to you. Moz, all the boomerangs we get here come from China. They don't work. Frank
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By Nick Brann - 17 Years Ago
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Hi Jim, Here is a source for the overdrive and other Ford relays. A T-Bird expert in Oregon rebuilds old ones with new upgraded parts and sells them. His name is John Sailors, email address is jsailors@verizon.net. I checked the catalog from Casco and they sell the bracket for the O.D. cable under the dash, their p/n is 7A215 and it is $9.95. They also list an O.D. wiring harness for $23.54, p/n 7A200. Their number is 800-374-0914. I put a T-85 O.D. in my red and white '56 back in the 60's along with a Hurst shifter. I used a kickdown switch from a full-size 1960 Ford, it went on the engine side of the firewall and the throttle linkage would engage it as you mashed the throttle. Worked great. Good luck, Nick Brann
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By Doug T - 17 Years Ago
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Jim Can you tell if that trany came from a truck? If it was from a truck the rear mount will not have been used because the truck trannies hang from the bell housing. It looks like the lever might be something to do with the E brake.
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By Y block Billy - 17 Years Ago
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If not for an E brake then maybe a bracket for a floor shifter. In any case I dont think you need it.
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By ejstith - 17 Years Ago
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I have no idea what that bracket looking thing is right in front of the solenoid. The OD lever is on the tailshaft. I had a T85 in a 57 Ford and I hooked the electric switch that was under the gas pedal to a switch on the shift lever. I essentially had a 6 speed transmission. ie: first/low, first/high ..Second/low, second/high etc .. worked great .. That transmission is a T85 though .. I'm looking for one .. will be checking Moultrie and Turkey Rod Run in Daytona.
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By Jim Rowe - 17 Years Ago
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Frank,
I can't get this to pm you.
Please send me the wiring diagram.
mjrowe@cox.net
Thanks Pegleg!
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By Jim Rowe - 17 Years Ago
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Ted,
I like your idea. Could you draw me a quick picture of how you connected this together. Did you use the Relay switch or bypass it?
Thanks for your help!
Jim mjrowe@cox.net
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By Ted - 17 Years Ago
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Jim Rowe (9/17/2008)
Ted,
I like your idea. Could you draw me a quick picture of how you connected this together. Did you use the Relay switch or bypass it?Here’s the diagram. I bypassed both the firewall mounted relay switch and the floor mounted ‘drop out’ switch. 
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By Unibodyguy - 17 Years Ago
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Has anybody on the site here ever tried to bolt up an overdrive on a different type of stick trans, say like a T98 truck 4 speed?? I always wondered if that could be done or possibly work. Michael
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By Hoosier Hurricane - 17 Years Ago
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Michael: Nothing is impossible, but sometimes not worth the effort and expenditure. Gary Burnette (Speedpro 56 on this site) put an OD behind a toploader 4 speed. I converted an OD to a stand-alone unit and installed it in the driveline of my '53 Ford F350 converted to a car hauler. It has the T98 trans. John in Selma, IN
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