I installed an overdrive into my Series 2 a couple of years ago from a
Series 5. What a difference it makes! I changed the electrical system over
to neg. ground to match all the components that go with it that Steve talks
about. The rear end on overdrive Alpines was 4.22 except for the Series 3
which was 3.89 . All std. gearbox Alpines had 3.89 rear ends. I decided not
to change mine from 3.89 and boy am I glad. It makes cruising on the highway
a pleasure, as you knock 20% off your RPM. The downside is that your speedo
is out of whack and is more like KPH , which is fine in Canada and o/d 3rd.
is the same ratio as non o/d top. This is not a concern to me, o/d top is
the greatest.!! Stick with the 3.89 and go for it !!
Tony Leeming Nanaimo, Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada. (tleeming(at)city.nanaimo.bc.ca.)
----------
From: owner-alpines
To: levitin; alpines
Subject: Want to buy: Overdrive transmission
Date: Thursday, December 29, 1994 12:00AM
From hermes.intel.com!cogsci.uoregon.edu!levitin Thu Dec 29 02:37:34
1994
From: levitin(at)cogsci.uoregon.edu
Date: Tue, 27 Dec 94 14:29:36 -0800
>From: cogsci.uoregon.edu!levitin (Daniel Levitin)
Content-Length: 203
Content-Type: text
Message-Id: <9412272229.AA00648(at)cogsci.uoregon.edu>
To: alpines(at)autox.team.net
Subject: Want to buy: Overdrive transmission
I have a 1966 Alpine and I'd like to replace the stock transmission
with an overdrive. Does anyone have one for sale? Does anyone want
to buy my standard transmission after I put in the overdrive?
Good luck finding the overdrive transmission. I embarked on a
similar and ultimately successful hunt about a year ago. Here's
my experience. It is virtually impossible to find an overdrive
transmission with the all synchro-trans (i.e., one that came with
a late Series IV or Series V car) in the US. I was able to locate OD
transmissions from earlier Alpines at junk yards, but the price
was much too high, particularly given the non-synchro problem. I
finally found one at a shop called Tiger & Alpine
Spares in England. Let me know if you need the address. I
thought that the price was reasonable for either a used or
rebuilt OD trans. Of course shipping was murder, but the
improvement for highway driving was well worth the investment. I
opted for the rebuilt unit and found it to be good except for a
slight grind when downshifting from top to third at high or
moderate revs. Keep in mind that you will need a few additional
parts: the prop/drive shaft for the OD transmission is shorter
than the stock shaft. These are also hard to find, but Tiger &
Alpine spares had one. You should probably replace the U-joints
if you get a used one. You'll also need a relay. This proved to
be a confusing issue for me, but Sunbeam Specialties has
something and my mechanic was able to get something from Lucas
that worked. The originally used relay is difficult to find.
Again, T&S may have a NOS one. Finally, you'll need a switch for
the steering column. These came in two varieties: a
self-canceling switch and a simpler on/off lever. I could not
locate the self-canceling type in decent condition anywhere.
David Franchi had a few NOS on/off switches. It was a little
tricky to mount, but it looks great and works fine. Others have
used a variety of bodges for a switch. I recommend spending the
$35 bucks for an original if David has any left. Let me know if you need
any numbers or if you have any questions about how my remove and
replace went. Good Luck
Steve Semeraro
Series V Alpine
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