Very interesting trans, never seen  one thanks for posting. Looks like it's electrically operated and it indeed looks like the Ford 3.03 3 speed transmission which is a very sturdy reliable fully synchronized trans. Nice find............

64F100 57FAIRLANE500

There was some recent discussions over on the HAMB about those. It is the electric Laycock de Normanville, just like the so many British cars used. Volvo used them too. Pretty slick little unit, Gear Vendors bought them (or the rights). I think they were licensed to Doug Nash for that 4+1 they used in the early 80’s vetted. Pretty well spoken of by the guys using them. Syncro first IIRC.should be great in your A .

What I never saw was the torque rating on the overdrive parts. I know in my Volvo it would only engage in 4th, and was told that was due to the torque limits. But I don’t know if that’s true. A good y has a lot more torque than that 1.8 4 banger had, don’t know about how AMC set them up.


miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Thanks for that tip, Paul.  I was wondering about that.  If that's the case, I wonder if the one I am currently using would bold right on.  

You only need overdrive in high gear while driving on the highway. 

Thanks for getting them up to speed, Miker....

Yeah- one of the guys on the HAMB sung the praises of the unit behind his early Hemi, which is probably WAY torquier than my 292. I guess there's a solenoid and a pump that pressurizes fluid that engages a planetary gear...some kind of magic like that, anyway....

If my research is correct, the gear ratios are the same as what I am currently running.  If that's the case, I won't know the difference until I flip the switch.  I plan to run it off a toggle. 

The guru that's been rebuilding it has cautioned me against two things...reversing while the OD unit is on, and using it under too much torque.  He was hoping to be able to wire up a Reverse lockout feature, and also something that would only allow engagement in third, but I don't think he was....For THOSE reasons I plan to ONLY use it on the highway- I feel like I'm way less apt to shift into reverse on the highway.  I think my HEMI friend said he uses it to have a "6 speed," or maybe it was a different guy on the HAMB...but I really don't want to chance it.  

As is, without OD, I'm cruising at 65 spinning around 3160 rpms.  With the .68 OD- 65 will be about 2150... and 100 would be about 3300.  That should keep this engine happy.  If, for whatever reason, I grenade it, maybe GearVendors will service or make a direct replacement that's more stout.  

If my eyes are still good that’s a top loader with the side shift. Rig a limit sw on the shift linkage so the relay (you are using a relay?) only engages in 3rd. Then put the sw in the middle of that circuit. Better safe than sorry. You’ll still have to remember to drop it out of o/d before you downshift to second. Or set the limit sw on the first/reverse arm. Bunch of ways to do it.

On the other hand, nosed into the wall and left in o/d makes a hell of an anti theft device. Expensive though.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

One of the things that this guru did was make it a top shift- like my current 3.03 so there are no more side levers.  He was very worried that there wouldn't be a way to lock it out of reverse.  I thought maybe a relay that was hooked up to the reverse light switch (car doesn't have reverse lights, anyway) that would cut power to the OD solenoid.  But, ultimately, I've driven quirky stuff all my life so I'll get used to it.  

Picked it up today!  I'm pretty psyched.  The guru gave me some tips on how to use it and a box with a couple pounds of broken parts.  

What he DID say was not to worry at all about the torque that this Yblock is making- this J-Type Laycock de Normanville OD can handle that...once it's engaged.  He said that going in and out of OD is more of a trick that I'll get used to...basically you want to flip the switch on or off while trying to get close to the RPMs that you'd have when going back into third without OD...so, "blipping" the throttle or "rev matching" as they say now.  
I asked if I'd be able to floor it once it's in OD and he said that once it's engaged it can handle a lot more than the 300 lb/ft that this 292 may or may not have.  

Probably just going to be compiling parts until the winter, at this point.  

I had a Gear Vendors overdrive unit behind a granny four speed in a ’86 Ford F250 with a 460.  With the overdrive switch mounted on the shifter, I simply treated the overdrive like another gear and simply disengaged the clutch whenever engaging or disengaging the overdrive.  If engaging the overdrive without using the clutch, it was a very harsh shift.

As a FYI, the Gear Vendors unit I had was rated for 30,000 lbs. vehicle weight.  I had many trouble-free miles with that unit with that truck primarily being used for trailer towing.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

That seems like a great trans, I have never seen one. Just out of curiosity I can't tell from the picture but it looks like it has a wide mounting pattern holes? Some trans had dual pattern for wide and narrow mounting.