jiminyfixit

That 37 DeSoto had a fully functioning OD I assume. I know 39 on had electric solenoids. I do like the simplicity of the non-electric ODs.

I drive a 2018 Volt & thoroughly enjoy the regenerative feature which doesn't have a freewheeling aspect, so I would say it is always in gear, (even though it is based on electrical resistance), since there is no neutral. I'll check into any bans on freewheeling which may have come from particular auto manufacturers, for liability reasons, rather being outlawed.

I'm thinking that I need to find a junk OD with bad gears in the front case & hope the OD unit is OK. Any leads??? I would still like to find out how Chrysler identified this transmission & what is was intended for.

I thought of that, however, machining the holes in the case for the levers & shafts would require more equipment than I have. Better to find a complete OD trans that has bad gears & use the rear case & innards.

Here is a photo of the 100 grit stickey-back sandpaper I put inside the drums. It is used in body work on rectangular rubber blocks. Fresh paper for each drum. I adjust the brake for that drum with a little extra clearance before putting the drum on, (sandpaper clearance). Mark the shoes with chalk. Install the drum & oscillate back & forth, slightly adjusting the upper adjusters when the sandpaper quits making a sound. Pull the drum to see where the sanding has removed the chalk. Might have to adjust the lower anchor bolts to even out the sanding. I leave the lower bolts a little loose, but not tight, and adjust from the back of the backing plate. Note; on the rear wheels, turn the engine on & put it in low gear. It will take less time than the front. You may have to adjust the drum you are not sanding a little on the tight side so the drum you are working on will turn. Hope this helps.

Certainly a mystery. I can hardly wait to find out what it was for. I love a mystery!

I reviewed all the outstanding & very informative posts on freewheeling standard & overdrive transmissions, (so I won't bore everybody with the good, bad & ugly about freewheeling). I recently acquired a perceived overdrive trans that doesn't have any OD components. What is it & why does it exist is the purpose of this post. It has all the markings indicating it is a 1936-37 Chrysler Windsor or Imperial OD. T-86 - 1P, R-6-1 Apparently it came out of a batch of 4 identical units from Pennsylvania, one of the states that outlawed freewheeling transmissions back in the day. While the early OD transmissions were not designated as freewheeling units, they did have a freewheeling component. It has no linkage to activate the OD unit, or holes in the case for same. This trans is painted black & is NOS. Cosmoline, along with no signs of wear on any rotating component attests to it being unused. I inserted a long ice pick 3" into one of the two bracket holes in the rear case before I hit a shaft. It would have been only 1/2" if there was an OD drum inside, (I've rebuilt several old Mopar OD transmissions), so I have a good idea where everything is. Were there enough lawsuits from Mopar owners, Studebaker, Graham, etc, to force Borg Warner to come up with an alternative to satisfy the ban, just because it has a freewheeling component? "Freewheeling" was probably the determining factor in any legal cases. This OD appears to have standard gearing without overdrive & is the exact same length as the full OD unit. This could be a replacement unit that uses the same driveshaft & hand brake activating rod, saving somebody the costs of going back to a shorter unit, along with fitting nicely around legal verbiage. There must be some information out there that can explain why this transmission exists.

After suffering a season of having horrible brakes, even after a full brake job, I finally solved the problem. First of all, do not purchase ANY old mopar brake shoes that were made in China. The metal shoes themselves are fine, but the lining material must have been made out of ground up rocks. It is way too hard. They gave me nicely polished drums accompanied by horrible brake fade. I found a company in NY that has been in business since 1920, so they successfully compensated for the elimination of the old asbestos lining material. Rochester Clutch & Brake is a reliable source. 40+ years ago, when I had my shop, The Chrysler Emporium, we never had any issues with brakes on the old mopar cars because the shoe material was asbestos. Back then, we always used the Ammco 1750 brake adjusting tool, (since I had 2 of them), in order to insure optimal braking. For those of you who have ever used one, you know what I'm talking about. Fortunately, I was able to borrow one from Les Cordes, after I adjusted the brakes on his gorgeous 34 Dodge sedan & his 41 Dodge truck. He found a good source of shoes & arcing from an outfit in Sacramento, which made my job of adjusting his brakes routine. I also decided to replace 3 drums on my car that had been turned over sized by an unknowing operator on the drum turning lathe. In order to "lap" the shoes to the drum diameter, I applied 220 grit, sticky-back sandpaper to the inside of each of the drums to satisfy the need to "arc" the shoes to the drums. No one around here has an arcing machine since most of them were scrapped when the ban on asbestos went into effect many years ago. The "lapping" & the use of the 1750 tool produced some awesome braking in my 34 Aero Brougham sedan. I no longer have to plan my stops 1/4 mile in advance.

Having dealt with pot metal re chroming many years ago, I found a source back then that solved the pitting problems with many dips through the copper solution, along with sanding in between coatings of the copper, which eventually fills the pits. I've also heard of using "Muggy Weld", but I'm not personally familiar with it. BOY those horns are gorgeous!!!!!!. Regarding the hub cap removal; I find that a carpenters pry bar, which is fairly wide, helps to distribute the impact, and put a piece of solid cardboard on the painted surface underneath the bar, (not corrugated cardboard). VERY glad to hear life is normalizing!!! Jim

I recently acquired a LR brake drum that I haven't been able to identify & would love some help. I was told Ford part numbers did have 5 digits, but I'm not sure if the number on this drum will ID it. It was thought to be for a 34 Dodge, but aside from resembling one, it would never work. It is a 10" with a 4 1/2 bolt circle & would accommodate 2" shoes. Thank you in advance for any help!!

I would like to sell or trade brake drum # 37108 -2 for a 34 Dodge RR drum. It is very different than a 34 Dodge drum. My 34 drum was machined waaaaay oversized, (.140+), by someone totally unfamiliar with how to machine drums, (probably good at rotors). 37108 is currently .060 over. I'm sure I could utilize front or rear drums by pressing out the studs & swapping hubs. I'm trying to finish up a year-long issue with the brakes. Thanks in advance for ideas!!

I used my Dremel with a thin cutoff wheel. Worked great!!

I decide to stop by & see the fellow that pressed off old bearings & pressed on new ones for my OD transmission rebuild. He showed me this big jar of springs & he just happened to have 2 that were the same OD with a slightly larger ID & 3" long, needing shortening. The springs came out of an accumulator from a 350 turbo hydro. I made up some bushings to compensate for the larger ID. This fellow has a small machine shop in Weed, is a Syskiyou Co. native & rebuilds engines & transmissions & knows everybody that races cars & motorcycles. I should have gone to him a week ago. Thank you all for your selfless input. Now it's my turn to share the solution.

I'll check them out. Thanks!!!

My drag link measures 10 1/2" without the tie rod attached. Does it look like it has 2 springs inside?