I was reading a book today about the restoration of an old English car and it had 1 chapter in it on the overdrive unit that was in the car,....

Because I'm still in the proces of finding ways to drive at lower RPM's on the highway while keeping the close ratio (cheap!), I started thinking,...

I typen in "overdrive unit" in Ebay and I saw some comming up, one being the gear vendors unit ofcourse but the others were cheap.

I'm sure it must be able to fit these after a manual box, yank the tailpiece and make some sort of an adapterplate?? Fix the driveshaft and go!

It just sounds too good to be true,.. am I dreaming?

Oh please, don't wake me

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1965 Barreiros Dodge Dart. 225 / 4 speed.

Sounds like you found info on e.g. the Laycock de Normanville overdrive unit that was fitted to various English cars and some others as well -- they were used from the 1960s through the 1980s on Volvos, and I have one as factory installation in my '71 Volvo 164 3.3. It's a very nice unit, but it's not an add-on type of deal -- the transmission must be specifically designed and manufactured to accept it; in effect it is a part of the transmission. So, you'd be looking at adapting a non-Chrysler transmission if you wanted to use this.

The Australians have had great success putting a reportedly very strong Toyota 5-speed gearbox (from one or another type of Celica) behind the 225. There was a report on it with pictures in one of the Slant-6 News issues from the late 1980s or early '90s.

So you reckon this can't be bolted after any other gearbox? To me these look like stand-alone units with a solenoid actuated gear in it, so if you make an adapter to put it behind, say, an A833 and get someone to change the driveshaft a bit, you'd be on your way, no?

You'd just have to flick a switch when you drive in 4th. (or 3rd.)

I mean, it kinda works like the Gearvendors unit doesn't it, the principle seems the same. I'm sure the Gearvendors unit can take more HP, but if a unit like this can take 200 HP, I would go for it

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1965 Barreiros Dodge Dart. 225 / 4 speed.

The versions of this overdrive I'm familiar with (Yes, the solenoid-activated type) are all built onto the transmission in place of a regular tailshaft and housing -- not as stand-alone units. They may have made some of them as stand-alones, but I don't know of them.

Back again, with an older subject,...

found this on ebay (still look for clues every know and then ), this is what the text says:
any new views on this?

Here is the eBay link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2481265357

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1965 Barreiros Dodge Dart. 225 / 4 speed.

Looks like you are both right. The front of the unit is probably a direct swap for the regular V***o extension housing, therefore not designed to be a stand alone unit. However, with patience and good machining skills, you might be able to adapt it to another trans. But it wouldn't be easy, considering you have to join the shafts as well as the cases, deal with trans mounting, clearance the floorpan, etc, etc. The money you save on initial purchase would be quickly eaten up.
I think it'd be lots easier to adapt a 5 speed manual trans, there are plenty that are easy swaps and still have nice ratios.
Sorry to wake you...

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O==\=/==O

"A mechanic is Somebody."
- Jim Preston

Reportedly the Gear Vendors unit is actually based on the Volvo design. If you can pull an overdrive unit off the transmission it came on, with the right machine work it could be attached to a Mopar transmission. Besides Gear Vendors, I haven't heard of anyone who has actually done this. But gears are gears and there's no reason it can't be done.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

That's what I was (and still am) thinking!
Finally found someone who did it!:

http://www.odspares.com/phdi/p1.nsf/sup ... ent&part=4

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1965 Barreiros Dodge Dart. 225 / 4 speed.