Stumbled upon an old school idea
 

I stumbled across something and was wondering if there is something like this out there today, and also if it would be worth the extra mechanical complexity and weight on the car.

I own a 1958 Edsel Ranger, and was browsing through the original shop manual I have when i saw a section for "overdrive transmission". curious, I started reading it and it seems to me that this was a fairly strange setup. Right after the engine, there was a normal 3 speed manual transmission, as was common at the time, but the magic occurred after the 3-speed. Attached in the back of the transmission case was the "overdrive unit" this consisted of a electrically shifted 2 speed gearbox that could be either direct drive (1:1) or overdrive (0.7:1). It would automatically shift into overdrive at higher speeds to conserve fuel. There was also a "Overrunning Clutch" between the transmission and the overdrive unit that allowed the transmission to apply power to the overdrive, but not the overdrive to the transmission, essentially allowing the car to coast in neutral by simply letting off the gas rather than actually shifting. This of course could be locked out by a control knob in the drivers seat if you were needing to slow down using the transmission and engine like on a steep hill.

Unfortunately my example has an automatic transmission, so I cant test it out in the real world, and from what I have read this option was extremely rare, something like less that 2% of the cars built. Give that they only built 60,000 that comes out to about 1200 cars, most of which probably don't survive today.

...yep, I had one behind the 3-speed manual trany in my 1953 flathead Ford Victoria.

...check the "OLD" junkyards.

Nothing strange about it, sounds similiar in concept to the Columbia Two Speed rear axle that was offered during the pre war era.

Perhaps I'm just too young to have heard of these things, but it kinda blew my mind. sounds like a great idea, especially for the average driver that doesn't actively think of hypermiling

If you want to go on an adventure, start digging into automotive history from the 1900s-1950s; you'll find out that a lot of the things that we think are so "new" really are not. The only difference is electronics and metallurgy.

Take a look at the Wilson Pre-Selector gearbox for example.

Yeah, I have heard about the Hybrid that Porsche made in the late 1800's early 1900's, the Fuel Cell car that Desoto was trying to build before it was no more, and that electric cars outnumbered combustion engines on the road around 1900. The question I have is why, after 100+ years of automotive innovation, and all these amazing ideas, does my brother's Escort get the same gas mileage as the 53 Nash that frequents the car shows I go to?

One of the prime examples of nothing new in the auto industry, a 1909 Studebaker electric car, with a range of 85 miles. It also could also carry 12 passengers.

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photo...07505.jpg?dl=1

Saw this thing in person, it is truly an amazing vehicle.

WVengr -

Me too. What's old is new again, at least for me.

CarloSW2

Never had heard of that before either, looks like a handy piece of equipment for a car, though that would kill one of the main advantages of driving a manual, people don't ask to borrow it because no one can drive it. :thumbup:

They still make similar units, mostly for Pickups
gearvenders dot com

To answer that question will take us down a rabbit hole, and part of it involves the government mandating planned obsolescense (sic) in 1957.