E-body shift rods installed on an 833 OD transmission

[A110235]

Hey everybody.  I am in the process of installing an 833 overdrive  transmission in my '71 Challenger.  I looked around on the site and I found a lot of posts that explained this process, but didn't see much that had pictures to go along with it.  So I decided to do a writeup to explain the process I went thru to install the shifter and rods.  This may or may not fit your exact application.  Don't blame me if you follow this and end up breaking your junk! 

I'd like to give thanks to Chryco for his help in technical editing this post.

The machined pad on the lower right side of the transmission gives basic information.  It's hard to read from the pic, but mine says 833  8 27 85.  I assume the last group is the date code.


This was my starting point.  The original truck shift rods, shifter, and the rear shifter mount is raw and unfinished.


I used a file to smooth down the casting and drilled and tapped for three 3/8" bolts.


I ordered the E-body billet aluminum shifter mounting plate from Brewers, but I think these are available from several venders.


I mounted the plate with the supplied hardware.


As a reference I marked the original shift bar locations with the truck rods.  The bar on the top left, which I will be calling the front bar, is for 3rd and 4th gear.  It has the number 67 stamped on it.  The bar on the top right, which I will be calling the rear bar, is for 1st and 2nd gear.  It has the number 066 stamped on it.  The lower bar is for Reverse. 


The bars are mounted to a rectangular tab on the transmission.  They can be mounted 1 of 4 ways.  In this picture the front bar is pointing down, as it was originally, and the number 67 is visible.  I turned the rear bar front to back so the number 066 is no longer visible. 


As you can see, the rear bar is leaning away from the block


This was my starting point with all bar shown in their respective "neutral" position. 


This is the E-body shift rod kit I bought from Brewers, which is also available from several venders.  It came with washers and clips.  The rods are laying in order: top is 1-2, middle is 3-4 and the bottom is Reverse.


After mounting the shifter to the mounting plate I put the shifter in neutral.  To lock the shifter in it's neutral position, place a bolt in the alignment hole.  The levers are: left is Reverse, middle is 1-2, right is 3-4.


Here you can see them aligned and 3-4 is on the outside.


I installed the 1-2 rod in the rear bar first.   


I adjusted the end piece by eye to get it close, then removed the bolt from the shifter alignment hole so I could swing the Reverse lever out of the way to install the rod.


I installed the clip on the rod, put the shifter back in neutral, and then reinstalled the bolt in the alignment hole.


Next I installed the 3-4 rod in the front bar.


Then I adjusted the end piece and clipped it to the 3-4 lever.


Next I installed the Reverse rod in the lower bar.


Then I adjusted the end piece and clipped in to the Reverse lever.


All the rods are installed.  The shifter is in neutral and all three bars are in their respective neutral positions.


All three rods have plenty of fore and aft adjustment available.


There is no interference between the rods at the shifter.


The 1-2 rod at the rear bar does slightly contact one of the case bolts when it is shifted into second gear.  This rod probably needs to be tweaked a little to clear this bolt.


Here the transmission is shifted into 1st gear.


...2nd gear.


...3rd gear.


...4th gear.


...and reverse.



Now, this is how everything looks when installed on a transmission out of the vehicle.  Once the transmission is installed in the car, however, the 3-4 rod will usually hit the cross member.



With the transmission mount temporarily installed, you can imagine where the 3-4 rod hits the top part of the cross member.  The 3-4 rod should follow the same path as the 1-2 rod.


I would suggest bending this rod once the transmission is mounted in the car.  I took a guess and hopefully it works out.  I put the rod in my bench vise and I was able to bend it without heating it.  I reinstalled the bolt to hold the shifter in neutral, adjusted the end piece, and installed the clip.  In this picture the shifter is in 3rd gear and it appears that the rod will be up away from the top of the cross member


Here the shifter is in 4th gear, which moved the center of the bend away from the cross member.


Here is the final product, which may require additional tweaks once actually installed in the car.




I give the project a 2 out of 6 for degree of difficulty.




Kyle

[PlumCraZRT]

I give the project a 2 out of 6 for degree of difficulty.

I think all of my projects would be a difficulty of 6...

[Chryco Psycho]

Update this when you get it into the car & I will move it into the archives for reference

[A110235]

I will Chryco.  I'd like to do the same thing with getting the pressure plate, clutch and bellhouse bolted on, and also with the pedals, z-bar and linkage too.  I just got the clutch today, the plate is on back order:(

[4 speed fish]

I had nothing but trouble when I did my linkage on an OD trans.You will have issues with the 1 rod hitting the body when installed.The levers on an  OD trans are different then the correct trans.I got so frustrated  I bought a whole new trans.

[slsc98]

A110235 (Kyle!) 

Awesome service, man. You obviously put a lot of time and effort into this great contribution; I couldn't move onto any other posts without first saying, "Thank YOU very much!"

[CudamanTom]

Kyle,
Just saw this post as I'm getting ready to do the same thing. The pics are very helpful and I thank you.
Any updates on this?
Also, you mentioned about the clutch and pressure plate and z-bar install.
Thank you,

Tom

[A110235]

Cudaman,

I've been busy with work again and haven't had enough time to update this.  I do have the clutch/pressure plate installed along with the bellhouse and trans mounted up and back in the car.  Hopefully in the next couple of months I'll have the z-bar and peddles installed and then I'll update this with a comprehensive start to finish post of everything. 

Kyle

[CudamanTom]

Cudaman,

I've been busy with work again and haven't had enough time to update this.  I do have the clutch/pressure plate installed along with the bellhouse and trans mounted up and back in the car.  Hopefully in the next couple of months I'll have the z-bar and peddles installed and then I'll update this with a comprehensive start to finish post of everything. 

Kyle

I understand my friend,
Please keep us posted when you get time. Your experience and how things go are a great thing for others to learn by.
Thanks,
Tom

[ShelbyDogg]

I did this on a couple of cars. What I had to do for the non-e-body shifters to work properly, was to cut the lower arm for the 3-4 shifter linkage then space it out to e-body width then weld it back on.  Have you tried fitting it in the car yet? If you look at a real e-body shifter assembly, you'll see it sticking out at least an inch.

Shifting into 2nd gear was a problem before I modded my shifter.  I also changed one or two of the trans shifter plates to stand straight up when in neutral.  Another mod I do is to add a second hole to allow less throw before going into gear.  These plates with the 2 holes used to be available from Chrysler, which is where I got my first set.

[CudamanTom]

Kyle,
Just wanted to say thanks again for your post here.
I referred to this post today when attaching my shifter and rods and it really saved from being a 6 while working it. But now it's a 6



One thing I'm concerned about is my 3-4 rod clearing the crossmember. It doesn't have the higher bend like yours but it might be close. That might be a 6 day then.

And just a reminder on any other progress made, would sure love to see it like this.
Going for the clutch/pressure plate soon, then install engine and work in the z-bar (if I don't go with hdro system).

Thanks again,
Tom

[ShelbyDogg]

Kyle,
Just wanted to say thanks again for your post here.
I referred to this post today when attaching my shifter and rods and it really saved from being a 6 while working it. But now it's a 6
One thing I'm concerned about is my 3-4 rod clearing the crossmember. It doesn't have the higher bend like yours but it might be close. That might be a 6 day then.
And just a reminder on any other progress made, would sure love to see it like this.
Going for the clutch/pressure plate soon, then install engine and work in the z-bar (if I don't go with hdro system).
Thanks again,
Tom

Looks like you changed your linkage plates to make them straight up and down while in Neutral.  Your 3-4 rod will hit if you don't bend it up in the middle. I put mine halfway in a pipe, then shove the linkage arm into a vise and bend it to fit. Those bend very easily so you might want to wait till you are under the car to mark the spot of the bend.

[CudamanTom]

Looks like you changed your linkage plates to make them straight up and down while in Neutral.  Your 3-4 rod will hit if you don't bend it up in the middle. I put mine halfway in a pipe, then shove the linkage arm into a vise and bend it to fit. Those bend very easily so you might want to wait till you are under the car to mark the spot of the bend.

Hey Rob,
I purchased the rods/shifter/plates as one assy. It's the way they came. I didn't change anything, just put them on.
I don't have any threads left on the adjuster for the 3-4 rod if I bend it up too much.
It might not be the correct rod and might have to purchase the right one.
But I will take your advice and see how it goes.
Thank you for your input.
Tom

[ShelbyDogg]

Hey Rob,
I purchased the rods/shifter/plates as one assy. It's the way they came. I didn't change anything, just put them on.
I don't have any threads left on the adjuster for the 3-4 rod if I bend it up too much.
It might not be the correct rod and might have to purchase the right one.
But I will take your advice and see how it goes.
Thank you for your input.
Tom

They'll fit without bending on a regular 4 speed but once you flip the 3-4 lever down, it needs a little bending or it will hit. You'll also want to use the second lower hole in your shift plate to shorten the throw of your pistol grip. Sometimes the levers will bottom in the shifter assembly before the trans is all the way in gear. Some of my plates didn't have a second hole so I drilled one to create a second hole.

[A110235]

Tom,

It is kind of hard to tell from that angle, but your 3-4 rod may need to be bent, which would shorten it even more.  Comparing the position of the bars on our transmissions, yours are definitely more straight up and down than mine when in neutral.  Having the bars straight up and down may be why your 3-4 rod appears to be a little bit shorter.  Like ShelbyDogg said, people either bought these bars, or this was probably a common mod back in the day.  If this came off of a car where everything worked ok then you are probably good to go.  The bars I used were original to this OD trans.  The setup you got may be off of a regular 883.  I don't know how much of a difference that would make.  It may be hard to tell until you actually have the trans bolted in.

Here are pics of the shift rods with the engine/trans in my car.

 





The 1-2 rod is the only one that gave me any troubles.  It just barely hit the the back of the crossmember right close by the shifter.  A little hammer work and some grinding on the lip/flange of the cross member fixed it.  Everything shifts smoothly and nothing else hit.  The biggest thing that helped me with this process was that I have not welded the hump in yet.  It was super easy tweaking stuff sitting in the car rather than laying on my back under the car!

I am done installing everything for the trans, but I am still trying to find time to put all of this together in one post where I mount the flywheel and do the z-bar and pedals.  My main goal for this summer was to have the car running and driving.  I wanted to make sure I got everything to work correctly before I put it all on a post, only to find out I screwed something up and were telling people the wrong way to do it! 

ShelbyDogg - Thanks for the tips on the bars.  I will probably give those mods a try later on next time I have the trans out.

Kyle