Just a quick update:

We got a new water pump for it and found the pulley was not on far enough. I put it in my press and the impeller shattered, so we have another one coming. We also found the Borg/Warner overdrive on it will not work in reverse. That is kind of inconvenient. So we will be removing it. I called my friend Mac, at Mac's Jeep Parts in Peoria, OR. I gave him the guts of my Mighty Mite many years ago. He still has my old rear drive line which he will ship down to me next week. I don't have real good pics of the overdrive, but here is a couple so you get the idea.

The back of the overdrive and stubby drive shaft.



Rear view of the overdrive.

 

awesome. i want one. i bet the gas milage is way better than any cj5 haha.

 

Actually, it is not as good as you might think. My CJ5 with a V6 and 4.27 gears and 32" tires got 17 mpg. My Might Mite with the stock motor only got 10 - 12 mpg. The original motors were junk.

 

well damn i would think that it bein so small and light with a 1.6 itd would. my 2100lb ford escort with a 1.9 hot in the mid 40s in mpg

 

The thing is a box. Plus, it has 5.38s in it with a motor that was fully wound out with its 7:1 compression at 55 mph. The motors that they came with were junk. Good for only 500 hours before needing new jugs. They were aluminum with a chrome plate in the inside with cast iron rings on the pistons. Just the opposite of most engines with cast iron inserts and chrome rings. The chrome would start to peel off almost immediately and then there was major blow by until they smoked so bad you could not keep a set of plugs in them across town. That is why I pulled the motor out of mine and why my son's has a transplant. This one has some miles on it and smokes a little, but we have not had a chance to see what kind of milage it will get. We are thinking of putting a Subaru engine in it at some point in which case it should get about 20 mpg

 

Could you explain a little better the function and benefits of the overdrive?

 

These Borg/Warner overdrives were widely used in the States on Ramblers (AMC) and some Fords I think. They were a non synchromesh 25% electrically or manually operated auxiliary gear box available at the factory or could be added aftermarket. I found a fellow from NZ a few days ago that had one on a Triumph too, so I am guessing they were available internationally also. The cut on most gear box main shafts is straight with the slider engaging teeth on another gear. These had a spiral cut shaft to match the angle of the gears so the slider would engage without grinding. But unfortunately, the spiral cut also allowed them to slip out of gear going down hill, and also in this case reverse.

 

That thing is pretty awsome, ive never seen a jeep this small before? And it almost looks light enough to float lol If it needs a new engine you could drop a 2.5 in there? Just my two cents though

 

Actually it's not a jeep. It was made by AMC before they acquired Jeep

 

Sorry about that, but considering its age for an AMC it looks pretty good, but considering its out in california nothing rusts like it does over here on the east coast haha and for the one you had i was wondering why it was white? Was it used in a Naval Airport or something else?

 

That's OK, if you did not know its history, you would assume it was made by Jeep. In fact, when I transferred the tittle on mine, the DMV gal just didn't get it and said "OK, Jeep" and put it on the tittle. Both of them were made in 1961. Mine looks white because I have been removing the civil defense blue and the o d green. What you see is the aluminum body. They don't rust much even around salt water because most of it is aluminum.

 

Yeah but how do you use this overdrive? is it usable in every gear? how many ratios? Does it have a separate lever?

 

Your right i dont know much about it but i have been following the thread since page one, And i know how people calling everything thats not a jeep a jeep so i know thats annoying, it makes me madder then hell when someone calls a geo tracker a jeep.

 

Stefano

It could be used in every gear. It is a 25% overdrive. When in production it was set up to be used over 35 mph. However a little wiring and you could use it on demand with just a switch. Also it can be set up to use with mechanical linkage. Getting any ideas?

Steve

 

I just chalk it up to the same thing as everyone calling dark soda "Pepsi" Jeep has just set the standard for the last sixty years that is all.