I have a '59 F-100 that I believe has had installed a '57 f-100 3-speed Borg-Warner trannny/overdrive. (Unless I am mistaken!)
It has as shown in the pic: what seems to be a cast plate near the output shaft with two holes. I assume this to be for a cross member frame mount?
Or...?
I do not see this on pictures of other overdrives, should I build a support/mount system for this so to be attached to the frame?

 

Hello Yes that is an overdrive transmission.

The flattened flange you show in the picture is for bolting down the transmission to a cross member.

The round item to the upper left of the flange is the overdrive governor. Looks like this in real life:



Here's a pic of one from the other side. The barrel shaped object coming off the center is the Overdrive Solenoid



There are two other componenets as well: The overdrive kickdown switch which is either under your gas pedal or on the firewall behind the throttle linkage, and the Overdrive Relay, which liiks like a big horn relay, but has a fuse on the outside. It should be on the firewall.

 

And continuing:

This is the Overdrive kickdown switch:



And how they are all wired together (wire colors are correct):

 

If your truck has the usual 57 - 60 engine mount setup (a mount at the front of the engine and two mounts at the bellhousing) you should not need to support the tail of the transmission.

 

If as above, installing a crossmember would cause binding under some conditions.

 

Wow, thank you folks so much!
Really cool info, and I will stop making the crossmember I started, and check to be sure it has the motor mounts you mentioned.
It just seemed to be hanging out pretty far from the bell housing, the overdrive and driveshaft weighing it all down, it just seems to need more support to my eyes.
Glad I asked this here!

 

gotta ask ...can this kind of overdrive be setup be set behind a flathead ?in particular a 54 4X4..my truck howls on the highway..I would prefer to stay true to the year of the truck but..parts are hard to find so should I look at a late model overdrive rather then something like this??or are the old overdrive units solid and easy to find??

 

if it's a 4x4 you'd need the OD that bolts to the front cover plate on yer transfercase ,,isn't room for a std OD between the trans and and the trasnfercase .

 

used to see transfercase mounted overdrives on old jeep CJ3A and CJ3Bs .. so i'd think the same setup would have been offered for other transfercases. i'm sure somebody here will know for sure

 

what did that setup come on??or is it after market?

 

i'd have to dig up my old jeep books to be sure ,,, was a factory option on old jeeps.

 

the orig units were made by Warn ... but this page will show you a new unit built by saturn 1951 ****** CJ-3A Overdrive - Four Wheeler Magazine.. goes in the PTO plate on the back of the T case

 

I might be tempted to continue with the crossmember for a couple of reasons.

First, this transmission is a bit longer than the standard three speed. Also there will be quite a bit more torquing on your drive train with the lower rpm to provide the same speeds.

If you have the room and it won't require major surgery, a cross brace, or pipe type brace attached to the flange and the frame would probably add stability, strength and lessen vibration.

 

The weight if the overdrive transmission is not much different from the normal short tailshaft 3 speed used in the pickups. If you have the original 3 point engine mount (one front, two at bellhousing) adding a fourth mount can cause trouble. Especially if the fourth mount does not have enough compliance. I have seen things like that lead to transmission case cracks, and you do not want that on a relatively uncommon overdrive unit.

 

Kenjh, Those Warn OD's are a super unit, much better than the TC they are attached to. That assumes your Ford has the Dana TC which seems unlikely. Is the '54 a Marmon-Harrington 4x4 conversion or is it a home-made system? Is the TC divorced or integral to the tranny?