The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop id this '65 impala 3sp?

and, why does the front shift arm look like this. it looks factory
http://my.opera.com/rednate/albums/show.dml?id=870462

trans #3837552 A285
od/ unit R10P-1 A155
WG DIV

Chev used their own front section and added a Borg Warner overdrive unit. The internals of the front section are the same as a regular Chev 3 speed except for the main shaft. The back section is the same BW overdrive that they used in the T86 which was used a lot by Ford. The output shaft will have Chev splines. The shift lever from different body styles are radically different in order to make them work. I would guess your shift levers to be original, but they are meant for the car they came out of.

right - and now i see that you can't see it, but on that front arm, aside from the visible hole in it, there's another small hole on the 'out' leg of it. but it's no more than an 1/8", as if it'd be operated by a wire pull. might that be for a wire pull connection to the o/d shift rail control shaft lever?

No the OD cable hooks up to a lever located behind the solenoid. The front lever on the trans shown probably hooks up to a bellcrank on the frame.
Fred

If you can bear with me, I'm in the process of getting a vid or 2 made up showing how the overdrive works. I just have to get my parts trans back together.

If whatever you are going to put it into had a 3 speed column shift, you will want to use the shift levers off of your present transmission. Chances are very good that they will work. If by chance they are clocked wrong you can cut a circle around the D-hole and weld them where they need to be. Put the transmission and column in neutral and go from there. I think the throw on about all Chev transmissions are the same. This is a pretty good article about the BW overdrive. It has an excellent wiring diagram. Maybe you can familiarize yourself a little while the video is be being produced. http://www.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/BW_OD.pdf

rfs56trk - No the OD cable hooks up to a lever located behind the solenoid. The front lever on the trans shown probably hooks up to a bellcrank on the frame.

right, but that front arm, not well seen in the pic, has a standard hole for a bellcrank rod, but on the outer edge of the thin, 'out' end, there's an 1/8" hole that leads me to believe that a wire cable would go there. which made me wonder if the two would work in tandem for some reason, bec it would tandem 2nd & 3rd with o/d. it's suppossedly out of a '65 or'68 impala, but my '68 book doesn't show an arm like that

My guess is that the front lever (1st -Rev) does hook up to the lock-out lever as when you shift into REVERSE the lock-out lever puts you in lock-out which enables reverse to work.

cos - you must have missed it in my post, the front lever is 2nd-3rd

I know of no reason that it would have an additional or tandem cable regardless of what year or model it came out. As crenwelge stated it's unlikely that this side cover will work on your application. The hole is likely for a clip or cotter pin to hold it in place with whatever linkage that was on the oem application. GM went to the full syncro Saganaw 3 sp OD in 66.(7 bolt side cover)
Fred

I know of no reason - nor i, and that's why i went out on a limb with the thinking

it's a four bolt cover, which matches the 3sp muncie in my '68 book. but the input shaft/retainer matches the warner, in that, the splines extend into the retainer

mo better pics, with 'visible' small hole

http://my.opera.com/rednate/albums/show.dml?id=870462

Cosmo, the reverse lockout is controlled by the governor on the very back of the overdrive unit. The governor does allow the unit to shift into overdrive at speeds under 28 MPH. The front box is totally independent from the overdrive unit. I think the extra hole is just there unless possibly it had something to do with a backup light. I think the link I provided earlier is password protected. This one might work. http://www.webhubcentral.com/packard/downloadable/BorgWarner_Overdrive.pdf It's 20 pages so it takes a little to download.

The reverse lockout is actually a rod that's connected to the main lockout lever for the overdrive, but a said, it's independent of the main trans. I'm still working on getting set up to do a vid on the workings of the overdrive unit. The one I'm working with has a bad balk ring (actually out of the trans in my truck), so it isn't being very co-operative. I'm going to try to have it ready tomorrow, if not, I might do a different plan.

vid of the overdrive unit?

well, c'mon already. i don't have all minute! <@;-o

password protected?

naw, cren. it downloaded the last time. but this time i went straight to save. it's quicker

and so far, i still can't find pics/explanation for the anomalies of the 4 bolt/spline length/holed little arm. i did find a site that listed just about EVERYTHING else, and even for other makes/models

I'm still workignone it. That darn balk ring is being a real pain. I think I've got it fixed so it'll work.

btw - what the heck is a balk ring? i don't see it listed in the blow-up
and while yer at it, would you hurry-up and id that loopy trans of mine?

The balk ring is also called a blocker ring in some manuals. Basically, it prevents the overdrive solenoid pawl from locking the sun gear control plate until everything is syncronized up properly.
I have managed to ID the trans, it's an SM318. I was loking in a Chilton manual at the linkages, and see why yours look like it does. There's a lever that's frame mounted for 2nd and 3rd that uses a cross shaft to connect to the lever onthe trans. It fits over the pin on the trans shaft, and a cotter pin locks it on through the hole on the pin. The hole on the other end of the trans lever is for an alighnment tab on the cross shaft.
BTW, I've got parts 1 and 2 shot, not downloaded yet. Part 3 is being a bit of a hassle due to the poor condition of the trans I'm using. it's an SM318 out of a '57 Bel Air convertible, and was used behind a 283 Power Pak dual 4 bbl. Needless to say, it had a very rough life.

that's frame mounted for 2nd and 3rd?

sheesh! i found reference to 318s, but no notes on that arm. and i've seen quite a few older trannies in my limited exp, but that sounds like a goofy setup

i can be patient. thanks

The best way to describe it would be a bellcrank, similar to what the '55 2nd series trucks have. Only this one is frame mounted rather than on the bellhousing. The from that crank, there's a shaft (that's what the manual calls it) that connects to the lever on the trans. As far as truck useage, you'll need to swap the levers from your existing transmission to make the linkage work, so the ones that are on it won't really matter.
Here's the manual pic. It's he one on the bottom.
BTW, the SM318 is the non-syncro 1st gear 3 speed, used from '55-'66 in most GM 3 speed applications.

man, why would they do that?! if a simple bellcrank off the bell has been working up until '55ish, what would be the reason for doing that? did it continue?

There are many differences between cars & trucks, models & years. It justifies keeping engineers on the payroll. Many auto transmissions are set up in a similar manner. Instead of a rod from the sift arm on the column directly to the trans it has a rod to a bellcrank on the frame or bellhousing and another rod to the trans.
Fred

It would have been around that time that they were switching to engine side mounts with single rear trans mount. The older bellhousing side mounts and front engine mounts were more rigid. A linkage bellcrank would allow the engine more movement without transferring that movement to the drivers hand.

yeah, i get the bellcrank idea regarding the 'communication' between semi-longitudinal movement coming from a semi-vertical force. but why would there be a diff in transferring movement between 1st and rev, vs 2nd & 3rd?
and now that i'm comparing my '50's arms, with 2nd & 3rd being up vs down, i'm wondering if it's even possible, even if turned down, to do it without a crank bec of the shift rods hitting one another

Oooops, I should know better!!