Re: 1948 Super Eight Resurrection

Posted by Joseph Earl On 2013/4/4 15:35:44

Well, I got the shifter working again, and I'm now going to tackle the intermittent overdrive issues I've been having.

I'm guessing it's an electrical problem, more specifically the wiring, or one of the old switches. I had bypassed the reverse cutout switch, and after looking at the schematic for the umpteenth time I'm guessing it's either the kickdown switch, the adjacent wiring, or the connectors in the path to the solenoid and governor. When it works, it shifts perfectly, and then all of a sudden, after touching something under the hood, I'll go for a drive and the OD is not there. No green light, no shift.

This time the thing I worked on prior to the OD malfunction (apologies to Ozstatman) was the installation of a mechanical stop light switch on the firewall next to where the brake pedal comes through. I used a NAPA Echlin SL132, and it works perfectly and was a very simple install. I feel much safer now that my brake lights come on much earlier in the pedal travel.

I'm now going to poke around underneath, on substantial jack stands of course, and see what I can discover. Then I'll probably pull the kickdown and the reverse switches, and rebuild them. Wish me luck.