1955 Ford Thunderbird overdrive relay

37 Coupe

37 Coupe

Well-known member
I hope someone can tell me what the correct Ford part number is for the relay I need for the overdrive on a '55 6 volt Thunderbird. I see ones that are listed as 8M-6915,another is IM-6915 and yet another shows FAA-6915. This is for the relay that is on the firewall. Thank you.
 
37 Coupe said:
I hope someone can tell me what the correct Ford part number is for the relay I need for the overdrive on a '55 6 volt Thunderbird.

I see ones that are listed as 8M-6915,another is IM-6915 and yet another shows FAA-6915. This is for the relay that is on the firewall. Thank you.
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Original PN 1M-6915. The replacement PN is B1AZ 7A651-A (1952-55 FORD-BIRD 6V)

Look Here - https://www.ebay.com/itm/311966357176

And Here - https://www.ebay.com/itm/3037214894...icWeb&brand=Ford&_trksid=p2047675.c101224.m-1
 

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Thanks all for Ford part number help. Ebay prices are high but what is even worse is opened boxes that list the part as NOS but actually contain the used part taken off and placed in the box and then sold as NOS. I got a car buddy that went to an auction and bought a whole box of parts that he thought was NOS Genuine only to find out all were the defective part removed years ago and placed in the new part box by a Ford mechanic who lived through the depression and could not toss anything away. My buddy was upset about it but I told him at least you have some nice parts boxes to display. Couple of the "NOS" relays I have seen on Ebay show the marks of cap screw tightening.
 
miker98038 said:
Call Mac at van pelt sales. He’s on a couple boards and he’ll be honest with what he’s got. They’re the go to guys for early Ford transmission parts.
http://www.vanpeltsales.com/VPPSweb/VPPS-homepg.htm
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Ditto. He rounded up and sold me a good sized collection of hard to find parts to fix the blown overdrive section of a '57 transmission. The local transmission shop owner had no luck thru all his regular parts suppliers. I was very pleased with the transaction.
 
Ebay prices are fantasy land. Difference in asking and paid sale price. You can always do the make offer choice. I quit looking at ebay a few years back, same sellers sitting on same parts for years on end. If I were desperate and the last choice on the planet I may look. At some price point I would try my hand at repairing original, it's just a set of points and an electromagnet. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
 
I don't know how long the family will continue running Randy Rundle's 5th Avenue Internet Garage since he died. He had all this stuff reproduced and it is expensive but at least it's new. I don't know about warranty though but they would likely stand behind their product within reason.
https://www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com/overdrive_parts.php

If a person gets a used or NOS one then it will need to be tested. It's always a crap shoot with old parts. Be prepared to pull the lid off and clean things.
 
If not concerned with originality one could just substitute a modern Bosch relay and have done with it. Bosch relays are available at your local auto parts emporium.
 
FoMoCo was constantly updating things. Generally the newest part number obsoleted the earlier part numbers. 8M for 1949, 1M for 1951, and FAA for 1952/53. After that the "B & Number" prefix system took over for the remainder of the 1950s.

The main thing is fit and function. If it fits the firewall screw pattern and has the same function the it's usable. Most of them were pretty much the same. The governors and lock out switches are the only parts not reproduced in any quantity. They can be repaired if needed.
 
Generally, when a SERVICE PART NUMBER was/is changed (up-graded), it was due to a re-design of the earlier part in someway. If the part was upgraded in a later model and it was also still used in an earlier year, the then current production year date code (PREFIX) was changed to realize that.

In this particular case, in addition to the PREFIX and SUFFIX change, the GROUP NUMBER was also changed. It's GROUP NUMBER was moved from ENGINE GROUP to STD TRANS GROUP.
 
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