Let’s get the transmission ready for action.
This is the old transmission with overdrive. Ugly huh?
This is a strange one. It certainly looks like a type D Laycook De Normaville overdrive but…it is branded Italian Bianch overdrive?? At first, I thought the brand was “Scarico” but that means “drain” in Italian. It looks like Bianchi is making bicycles these days!
Even stranger, it is mounted to an M40 body and the output shaft and drive line is different.
Ferrari 250 GTE used a Laycock de Normanville overdrive but why it is under this car is a mystery. I am going to guess, if the overdrive was rebuilt back in the day, maybe the rebuilder just used whatever they had on the shelf? Who knows…Maybe a Ferrari collector will pay me a million dollars for the overdrive??
I totally stole this idea from Charlie. Using an engine mount as a…you guessed it…transmission mount, a great way to service the unit. The 1963 P1800S car originally came with a D-type overdrive but I am using this J-type M41 from a 1971 1800E. They are stronger than the D-type as the E engine had more power.
This is kinda interesting. The E cars had a different lid with the shifter further forward and it has a different shift lever so I will have to swap it for my original lid. (closest in the pic) Because of this, 1971-up cars also have a different transmission tunnel than the older carburetted cars.
More interesting stuff…well, for nerd like me at least: The E shifter is the same style as the old 544/122 shifter lever, just shorter. This means it is rubber isolated. I think I will use this shifter lever on the six speed transmission on the Hooling project.
The original lid also had two switches in the lid, one for fourth gear overdrive engagement and one for back up lights.
However, the J-type transmission only have one switch in the lid for the overdrive so it only had one “fin” on the shift fork.
The back up lights on the J-type are instead triggered by this switch in the back of the transmission so I have to do some re-wiring. Also, the solenoid is on the left side, opposite of the D-type.
My early style lid was in good condition but I do want to clean and lube the shift mechanism. There is a plastic bushing in the bottom, good time to replace.
A lot of parts just for a shifter. Just think…One company probably made those brass bushings, a different company most likely made the spring, another made the gasket, etc. All to specification some engineer established and then it all came together to make a shifter.
The chrome was worn on the shifter lever but I found a nice one in my stash. Fact: Nice chrome on shifter allows for faster shifts.
Lid ready to go.
Yup, we have contact. The fourth gear switch closes the circuit when fourth gear in engaged. Only this switch will be used, the other one is just along for the ride and to keep the lid sealed.
This transmission mount have served a car well…but now…it’s over! Through heat, oil and vibrations it proudly held up and did it’s job. Until it didn’t. RIP.
The aftermarket transmission mounts are too soft so the transmission moves too much and the drive shaft may hit inside the tunnel. This is the 164 car engine mount, it works great.
This is the screen in the bottom of the overdrive, similar to an automatic transmission screen. The strip on the pan is magnetic so it will catch any metal in the fluid. Clean, rinse and repeat.
I was going to leave the overdrive alone but after some consultation with Dr. Phil, or “Transmission Phil” as we call him, I decided to go deeper. Now is the time.
The o-rings on these pistons that can get hard and brittle so they were replaced.
There is another filter lurking in this location.
There are two o-rings on the selenoid that are important. This is a good time to test the soleniod as well. The solenoid will click when supplied with power but you want to see the piston actually move. If it is frozen in “on” position, the overdrive will be engaged even if the switch is in “off” position. If you put the car in reverse under these condition, you will grenade the overdrive.
The output shaft and flange is larger on the J-type so I had to use a different flange to fit the drive shaft.
We got contact…in fourth gear only. All good.
M41 transmission to go!
Transmission in place.
Clutch slave cylinder, fork boot and hydraulic hose in place. A good milestone, now on to installing more engine components and wiring.