Transmission/overdrive splicing . . .
James,
Your first post mentioned your interest in a "good used fifth over trans". Mine is available "to a good home". This trans has been completely rebuilt and is about half way through its useful life. The synchros a all in good shape. I had it installed in my 1965 Mercury towing vehicle and made over a dozen cross-country hauls with it. All the running gear was working fine when I had a roll-over accident caused by a high-speed fishtail accident. I came out OK, but the car did not, nor did the 20/24 G&E shaper I was hauling at the time.
The reason for the long mid-section adaptor is that I did this "splice" with a 100% bolt-up approach and all stock parts carrying torque. (The housing/adaptor is a steel weldment and is extremely robust.) The first 4-speed trans I put an overdrive onto was a T-10 and I used a weld to splice the shafts. This worked well -- I did the modification in 1969 and the trans is still in a 1956 Ford in Leavenworth, KS. With the extra torque that "grannie" can provide in a truck transmission, I did not want to test the limits of welded shafting. (I did once do an emergency repair of an intermediate shaft in a high-end tractor pull transmission. It broke its shaft and needed a quick fix for the final event the next day. We welded the shaft and it took its class! If anyone ever needs to do this, I can relate the details.)
Anyway, I am putting with the Roadranger in my F-350 and I do not think I can ever break it with a 390 in a one-ton, so I do not think I will ever need the 4-speed/OD. It is free to a good home and, James, you are first in line. Regarding transportation, I can get it as far as OH -- after that, the other members in the haulers' group should be able to get it to your end eventually.
P.S. If the pull-cable you are mention is for the overdrive, the answer is yes. The pull-cable locks the overdrive out and there is a solenoid that I actuated with a toggle switch for a totally manual operation. With this trans/OD combo the close-ratio overdrive splits all the gears very well. Ratios are:
6.40
4.70
3.09
2.27
1.69
1.24
1.00
0.73
I was very happy with this trans -- the only thing I did not like was the extra work of splitting gears, a problem the Roadranger single-stick system handles very well.