Transmission trouble

It started on US 40 just west of Richmond, Indiana, in June, 2009. My wife and I were on our way to our car club's annual "Farm Boys Tour," this year in the New Castle, Indiana area. Attempting to shift up from a stop light, somehow both transmission forks engaged at the same time, and we came to a screeching halt! Luckily, the garbage truck behind us was able to stop in time and the young men on board assisted me in getting off the highway. I was able disengage the jammed gears, but initial inspection indicated some serious damage had occurred. There was a distinct "thump, thump, thump" when in first gear. Not wanting to make things worse, we decided to continue the tour riding with friends and to trailer our car home at the tour's conclusion.
When we got home, I removed the inspection plate on the front floor "hump" to see what needed fixing. With the transmission exposed, I was able to remove the top plate that houses the fork assembly....in several pieces! Yes, it appeared the extreme torque forced onto the mechanism had broken the plate. Inside, I also was able to find the source of the "thumping"...first gear had lost two teeth and chipped a third. I put the Clipper up on blocks and removed the unit from the bell housing to the drive shaft. It appeared that a rebuilt transmission was in order, either this one or one that was ready to bolt in. I also thought while I had the tranny out, I should probably rebuild the clutch too. I think a "sluggish clutch" probably caused both forks to engage in the first place.
What to do, what to do.....
My search for parts and/or a tranny and clutch began. The internet is invaluable for finding old car parts. Using ebay, and forums on packardinfo.com and aaca.com, I was able do find many of the clutch parts and possible transmissions that I needed. I concluded that it would be easier and probably cheaper to replace the whole transmission with a new one.
I finally settled on a freshly rebuilt R-11 OVERDRIVE out of a '53 Patrician restoration project that was being parted out from a Packard collector's estate in California. Internet Packard experts assured me that this "newer" unit would bolt-up to my '41, 282" okay and that it would fit through the "X" in the middle of the frame.
Another Ohio Packard enthusiast had traveled to the west coast to purchase from the estate, a rebuilt 327", nine-main engine and, what was believed to be, an Ultrimatic transmission attached to it. But when he got there he discovered it wasn't the Ultramatic he wanted, but a 3-speed R-11 overdrive....just what I needed! He brought it back to Ohio anyway and sold me the transmission, the bell housing, the flywheel and the rebuilt clutch parts....all for one money.
Installation begins....
It's now the end of October. Even though I finally got my prized O/D transmission, many of the electrical components to make it functional were left in CA. Going back to the internet, an overdrive relay, a kickdown switch and a lockout cable were all located and purchased. From the internet, I also printed the original Borg-Warner manual that explains how the overdrive works and how installation should be accomplished. I also knew at this point that I would need to have the drive shaft shortened (and balanced) about seven inches to accommodate the longer overdrive transmission. Friends tell me that a local firm does this type of work. Now with most of the stuff I need to finish this project, I began to install the rebuilt clutch.
I discovered that the new pressure plate I purchased was slightly larger than the one it was replacing. The hole pattern on the flywheel was different to accept the larger plate. Simple fix: since the correct flywheel for the pressure plate was included with the transmission purchase, I switched them. Next. I borrowed a centering tool from a local mechanic to get the friction plate behind the pressure plate lined up correctly. But when tightening the pressure plate bolts to the flywheel, I didn't know my own strength and I twisted off the last one! Ohhhhh! I know, that's why they make torque wrenches! I used a drill-bit guide and drilled a 1/8 inch hole into the broken bolt. Then I took a left handed 3/16 bit to it, and when it bit, out she came! Next I bolted the cast iron bell housing bottom from the '53 Patrician to my bell housing top. It fit perfectly! I wanted to use it instead of the pressed steel one that I had because it adds support to the bigger transmission with its heft and an additional bolt on a gusset.
Before installing the new transmission, I need to remove the old speedometer cable and gear from the tail housing. It's stuck....really stuck! PB blaster seems to have finally loosened it, but it still won't come out. I'm using a cold chisel and moving it slightly around in the housing hole, but still no success in removing it. As a last resort I will use some heat. More later when I get it out.
I've also removed the shifting linkage arms from the fork shafts on the top of the transmission. I will need to use the old ones that have a curve to them so as to fit around the frame crossmember mounts that holds the whole unit in place. The '53 Patriacian that this unit came out of must have been held into place differently because the straight levers on this tranny would be in the way of the crossmember mounts on my car.
We finally got the speedometer gear/cable out today (11-12-09)! I took the whole unit to a local mechanic and we used an extraction tool and some muscle and it FINALLY, stubbornly, came out! It appeared to be just corrosion holding a grip on it. Now maybe next week (when I have some time and with some help) I can finally try to hoist it into place.