Well, it looks like I am running out of options on this non-working overdrtive.  I decided to test the governor on a test drive with a test lamp inside the car.  I hooked one lead of the test lamp to a hot wire inside of the car and I ran another lead under the car and connected it to the governor wire. With the governor that was in the transmission the test lamp burned "on" all of the time which clearly was not right as the lamp should have come only after 27 MPH when the points in the governor completed the circuit by making a ground.  I removed that governor and replaced it with another used one that I had which had tested O.K. on my Ohmmeter.  Test drove the car again and the test lamp came on only if the car was moving at 27 MPH or more which is correct.  I was convinced that the O.D. would now work so I reconnected the governor to the wiring harness but still no working O.D.  In summary, my relay tests good, I got my solenoid working properly and the governor tested good on my test drive.  The wiring harness is brand new as is the kickdown switch.  When I depress the kickdown switch, the engine momentarily cuts out which I think it is supposed to do, right?  I also loosened the cable and pushed the lever as far back as it would go before tightening the anchor but this made no difference.  Unless you guys can think of anything else I am wondering if the only possibility left is some mechanical problem inside of the overdrive.  Just wondering.....is there some way that I can run a wire from the inside of the car to the solenoid to bypass all of the other electrical stuff and the wiring harness?  This would allow me to directly activate the solenoid plunger from inside the car while driving so I can see if the overdrive will activate under any circumstance.  If this is possible, can someone tell me which wire or wires of the two on the solenoid to connect and how to run the wires to a hot wire inside the car.  I don't want to burn up the coils in the solenoid for this experiment.  

The 2 terminals on the solenoid should be marked "4" and "6". The #4 terminal  normally is connected to the solenoid terminal on the relay. You can run a wire directly from your battery to the solenoid through a toggle switch mounted under the dash for your experiment, bypassing the OD wiring harness. To confirm that you have it wired correctly flip the toggle switch on and listen for the click. When doing your test turn the switch off and drive normally until you reach about 30 mph, then flip the switch on and lift off the gas as you normally would. Be sure to turn the solenoid off before shifting into reverse. A lot of guys wired the OD up this way and just drove it like that all the time.

My solenoid doesn't have terminals, instead it has two wires exiting the cover, a blue one and an orange one.  I assume that the blue one is the #4 as the blue wire goes to the relay.  So I only need to run one wire from the battery to the blue wire of the solenoid with a switch on that wire?   The ground will be supplied by the metal solenoid housing being attached to the transmission?  I think that if I can get the O.D. to engage in this fashion then my problem is electrical.  If still no engagement then the problem must be mechanical within the O.D. (assuming that the solenoid is working correctly which seems to be the case).  Is that a correct assumption?  Thanks

Thanks Dobie.  I will try the "experiment" and post the result.

Alan, I'm assuming you are running a 6 volt system. Are you sure your solenoid isn't a 12 volt solenoid?  That could explain a couple issues. Just a thought............

64F100 57FAIRLANE500

Yes, it is a 6 volt solenoid.

Still no overdrive.  I connected a hot wire directly from the battery to a switch inside the car and then down to the blue wire on the solenoid.  I Took the car on a test drive up to 60 MPH, backed off of the gas and turned on the switch and still no overdrive.  I know that the solenoid is working as I could hear an audible click when I threw the switch.  Also, I know that the pawl is being engaged as I accidentally left the switch in the on position when I put the car in reverse to park it after the test drive and the car move only about two feet and came to a dead stop which means that the reverse lockout feature is working which means that the solenoid is indeed engaging the pawl.....correct?  I am at the end of what I can do so there must be something wrong inside the overdrive itself.  Any suggestions?  

The only easy thing I can think of is to check the adjustment of the OD control cable at the transmission. If the OD shift lever is not against the rear stop when the control handle is pushed IN tne shift rail may block the pawl from moving into engagement when the solenoid is actuated. If the shift lever is not against the stop loosen the wire at the clamp. move the lever firmly against the stop, then tighten the clamp. The shift handle must be pushed all the way IN during this procedure. I doubt this is your problem since the car would not move in reverse until you turned the solenoid off. I would contact Mac Van Pelt at Van Pelt Sales and pick his brain. He's the Ford transmission guru and an all around good guy. He also rebuilds transmissions if it comes to that.

I didn’t see where there was confirmation that the car is freewheeling. If there is engine braking below 25-ish mph then overdrive is locked out mechanically.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive