Re: OD for 39 Six

Posted by HH56 On 2016/3/19 10:48:31

Hi and welcome.

JMO, but if you do not find the R6 to be year correct then the R11 would be the next choice. There is a poster on the forum who has installed one in his 39 and can give the details on making it fit. Since the OD unit becomes effectively part of the trans case, to avoid many issues you do need to find the complete trans and OD unit to replace the original trans.

While the R9 would be more appropriate year wise, hard parts for those are starting to be hard to come by and the units are somewhat temperamental compared to the R11. The R9 electrical components -- specifically the dual relay box and solenoid -- need to be present and in good order to make those units function. Because they are specific to the unit and other items cannot substitute, they are also starting to be hard to come by and expensive.

Aside from mechanical aspect, another advantage to the R11 is the electrical components are being repro'd. Additionally, If you did not want to spend the money on a repro part for an authentic look, except for the solenoid the rest be worked around with modern components or even eliminated and the unit controlled manually as the other poster on the forum is doing with the R11 in his 39..

There should not be too big a problem finding the R11 unit. IIRC, there was one on ebay not too long ago which would have been appropriate. You do need the 48-50 units for the easiest conversion. 51 on is slightly different.