'54 Vicky?

Thx
Does the '54 have a pull out lever to disengage the OD like my '50? A relay on the firewall with a fuse?
 
Jeff, that is a good deal - I had a '50 w/OD - the green bible states that in '51 there was no longer a lock out switch, so I wonder how the car I am thinking of buying is going to respond when it's not in OD, since it's not working at the moment. My '50 acted like it was over reving or running a 4sp in 3rd gear. This car has a 239 Y block that I know nothing about, nor does the present owner -so search for info. Thx
 
I had a '54 Sedan a million years (back in High School) with overdrive. It definitely had a lockout switch so thinking maybe someone removed it along the way. Very low geared in 3rd w/o overdrive.
 
The lockout switch was deleted late in the '50 model year. It was replaced by a feature on the OD shift rail inside the trans that automatically disengages OD when when you shift to reverse.

If the OD isn't working your ARE driving in 3rd gear (unless the solenoid is stuck on, usually a problem with the kickdown circuit); it should freewheel when you let off the gas (RPMS drop to idle).

Most problems with the OD are in the electrical control circuit. The Old Car Manual Project has a free copy of the official Borg-Warner manual in PDF format.
 
Dobie, yes I've been through a lot of OD issues with my old shoebox - all lead to electrical problems. A real ***** at night when it doesn't kick in when you're on the freeway wanting to go 65-70 huh? You answered my question about the lock out switch - thx
Oh, yes I have a copy of the BW manual.
 
It's the Loadamatic distributor unless somebody swapped it for a '57 or later unit, or aftermarket. If so it has no centrifugal advance, only vacuum, not the optimal situation. It was one of those ideas that looks good on paper, but didn't work all that well in practice.
 
Oh, they work but due to the lack of centrifugal advance they're lazy compared to a distributor that has both components. Also, the distributor and carb are a "matched pair"; you can't run a different model carb without changing the dizzy out for one that has centrifugal and vacuum advance. It either won't advance or will go to full advance and stay there if using manifold vacuum. It was an early effort at using ported vacuum to control spark advance.
 
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