833 OD Shift Rod Length

[BB72Chally]

Have an 833 OD I'm mating up to a 360. After so much fun sorting out the differences in bearing retainer OD, and getting the correct bellhousing, I'm onto a shift rod length issue. Reverse and 3rd & 4th gear shift rods adjust out fine, and yes, the 3/4 rod mounting tab is inverted. The problem is with 1/2 rod length. With the transmission in neutral, and the shifter mounting tabs lined up with a 3/16 allen wrench, 1st & 2nd rod is about an inch short. I measured it (17 3/4") and called Brewers who confirmed that an E-body 1/2 rod is 17 3/4" long. The number on the reverse tab on the Hurst shifter assembly is 7180 which Brewers confirms is an E-body shifter, and the 3rd/4th mounting tab nr is 057 and 1st/2nd mounting tab is 058 which Brewers also confirms are the right tabs. Reverse tab is 368.

Has anyone ever run into this before? Am I missing something?

The guy at Brewers also said something that gave me concern, he said that with the 3rd&4th mounting tab inverted for an OD, that there will be rod interference problems with the crossmember, that an 833 OD can not be installed in an E-body because of this. Hmmmmm.

Beginning to think I should have stuck with the 440 and 727 at this point

Thanks
Jeff

[Chryco Psycho]

I have had to put a slight bend in the 3-4 rod to correct the interference problem in the past , I also use 1 of the OD shift levers to correct the length problem with the 1-2 rod you can cut & slevve the 1-2 rod to lengthen it as another option , I have dopne a buch of these with no issues once the minor adjustment probslems are worked out
 

[BB72Chally]

Thanks CP...I can understand & deal with the possibility of modifying the 3/4 shift rod as E-bodies didnt come with OD's. What I cant understand is why the 1/2 rod appears to be too short. I guess if I have to cut and sleeve it an inch or so, that's what needs to be done...dunno.  :dontknow:

Thanks for your help
Jefff :patriot:

[Chryco Psycho]

the lever sits at a different angle on the OD so if you use a different lever that angles back more it fixes the problem , this is what I have done in the past

[BB72Chally]

Thanks....got of the phone with Brewers and they said the same thing, ordered the OD first/second gear mounting tab. Thanks a lot for all your help!! :worship:

[Chryco Psycho]

I  though you may have the OD levers there with the tranny
you will love this swap  :thumbs:

[dgc333]

FWIW, I put an A833OD in my A-body Barracuda and used regular A-body A833 rods. As others stated the 3/4 was very close to the cross memeber and I actually dented it to make a little more clearance. Didn't have any issues with the 1/2 or reverse rods.

[BB72Chally]

To CP...about loving this swap, I hope you're being serious and not facitious. I probably went about this the wrong way..decided to swap auto to manual so I found a shifter, rods, levers for an E-body off of E-Bay. Then I got to reading your posts on the bennies of using an OD vs a regular 833, so I found one of those in a local paper. Then of course, there was the whole mess of bellhousings/bearing retainers, which (thanks to you) I have finally sorted out. So this last portion with the shift rods, I'm guessing would have been avoided if I had gotten the OD tranny with it's factory rods set up for the furthest back mounting pad (trucks & e-bodies??).

Anyway, as soon as the Brewers pkg arrives with the correct 1/2 rod mounting tab, I should be all set.......until the next phase.

That's where DGC333 comes in...I'll have to wait until the car comes back from paint to fit everything up and THEN, I can have the pleasure of dealing with the 3/4 rod & crossmember issue :gripe:

Seriously though, I am looking forward to trying out this OD. (Actually, the car has been off the road for about a year, I'm looking forward to just driving the car period!!!!!!)

Two questions CP & DGC333......I have a 742 casing with 4.10 gears (dana power-lock) and small yokes front and back. (1) What's you guys opinion of t he 4.10 with the OD? and (2) Do I need to worry about the small yokes with a 400hp 360?

Thanks again for everything guys....without all your help I would be wearing a brand X "bowtie" by now.
Jeff

[Chryco Psycho]

there never was a OD application using the rear mount so the "correct shift rods were never created ,
 the 4.10 /od combo works well , on the highway in OD / 4th it will be the same as 2.91 gears so you will have lots of top & bottom end
the Small joints should be fine with thew torque of the small block , if it fails go to 7290 large joints though , I doubt you wil have a problem but abuse can break anyhting
I am serious about liking the swap 

[BB72Chally]

Thanks :worship: That makes me feel alot better. Looks like everything is on track then. I'll be curious to see just how much I'm going to have to tweak the 3/4 rod once it's in the car, but atleast all the hard part seems to be done.

Thanks again for everything :beer:

[dgc333]

I hemmed and hawed what gears to use in my rear end. I really wanted 3.7 but no one had them in stock so I went with 3.55 in stead of 3.9. Don't forget the first gear in the OD tranny is a 3.09 so with 4.10's you will run out of first in a hurry.