Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I have a 1937 Touring Limo and it could sure do with an overdrive. I have searched and the topics are ususally for the post war cars.

Is there an overdrive solution for my car? How complicated?

There is more than one solution:
There is a man in Ohio who installs overdrives. They are not authentic, but then, neither is installing an overdrive to a 1937 Packard. That is probably the simplest solution, and the cost is probably less than if you tried to install a Packard R-9 or R-11 unit. I think the cost is around $2,000... maybe as high as $3,000.
If you were trying to "hide" the overdrive, the Packard (Borg) units would be the way to go.

I have had a 1954 R11 OD installed into my 1937 1090 138CD Limo. I used the original floor shifter with modifications and also had to have the frame altered a little for the mission to work. I have about $500.00 in the conversion and that included the transmission. When I say I, I must say that it is mechanic that is working on my car in Kansas. I am debating on wether to do the same for my Sport Coupe but I am leaning on keeping it stock. Sorry for the misspellings as the spell checker came up blank.

You did well. $500 is an anomaly because usually the transmission itself costs that much.

Good video of a '41 on the road, and on a lift.

1941 Packard

3 speed with Gear Vendors Overdrive

gearvendors.com/videoclips/packard.html

I installed one of their units in a '32. Had custom yokes made that interfaced to the differential and transmission yoke, and accepted a 1350 style universal joint.

Used two short custom made drive shafts and supported the GV unit on an aluminum plate mounted to the frame "X" member.

This way the unit could be removed and the original drive shaft replaced, if one wanted to bring the car back to it's original state.

My opinion on an overdrive is the car is fine at 50 mph. Using overdrive to go faster is not a good option as my brakes are still 50 mph brakes!

Dear Tom:

I never installed one myself only worked on ones that had already been installed.

There is an outfit in California (whose name escapes me) that could help you more. I worked on one that was done back in the 50's at a Chrysler dealer and was impressed with all the brackets and stuff they made up for it. But then I found that whoever made all those fantastic brackets didn't understand a few fundamental things and so the car had a history of the overdrive throwing oil onto the clutch. (This was on a Model 30).

I worked on another one on a 10th series car that was very well done. They had drilled holes in the frame for the brackets which requires some planning.

As far as benefits, the car didn't really need it when new because it would rev to the limit without fuss. But as those motors age they don't run as smooth as they used to so the overdrive is a worthwhile investment if you want to drive the car a lot. It cuts back on motor noise, but doesn't increase the top speed because that requires horsepower.