Been looking around and the price of a t5 to drop in my mav... is just scary. So i've been wandering around pull-a-part looking for standard transmissions when it occurred to me, ford trucks commonly have 4-speeds, and some of them look like "toploaders"? Problem is i don't know a lot about identifying ford 4spd manual trans, and even more concerning, what's going to be the deal with the bellhousing? There are several sitting around up there, and they flat rate charge roughly 70 bucks to snatch one up... but i want something that's going to work. Not concerned with gear ratios, as i don't drive her interstate at ALL, and only to shows and back from time to time, or over to a buddy's place. I just want to know what's going to fit, and be the most cost-effective for a conversion out of the c4 that came stock in mine. They have 4-speeds in ford f150s ranging from 68' to 83' running 302's and some 351's.... what should i be looking for?
mid 70 truck has the 3+1,, 4 speed will only be in half tons just make sure it has linkage on the side and has 3 rods and you are good to go
3 rods? as in in the side shift linkage? i'm running on a week-ago memory, but if it serves there was a 77" f150 with a "toploader" looking trans... the trans tunnel in the cab had bee cut? or removed? and had that typical top plate with the bolts.... not sure about rods?
Cant you get a T5 at the junkyard also? The rebuild kits are pretty cheap also. I always see like twenty of them at the junkyard. Now toploaders are hard to find out here. The 3+1 ones show up from time to time though.
yes side linkage rods better get the bell housing while you are there and the fly wheel the pedals and other parts you will need to complete the swap are not cheap
are you kidding? the cheapest t5 i've been able to find is JUST the trans no bellhousing for 650.00! And yes... three rod sounds aobut right, and for what it's worth, i don't want to deal with some of the heavy modification on cost for the t5... however when it comes to clutch and such... i'm just going to fabricate the pedal set (buddy has the tools to bend the steel for the pedals and brackets) and going to just fab what i need that i can't grab from the truck... though i will definately gut e verything trans related form the truck simply to see what i can use and what i can modify... flat rate pricing junkyard is definately a wonderful thing.
when i toatlled it up ,it looks like i'm walking out of the junkyard witha toploader, bellhousing and all the goodies including parts to re-engineer for about 120.00 not a bad deal for everything except a cluth and pressure plate to get the job done... if this toploader will work, i'll have converted over to manual for about 400 total.... and a lot of work with the linkage and pedal assemblies that i'm after
Make sure it has 3 shift rods. Two rods and you'll end up with a three speed, which is much more common in pickup trucks! Not saying a three speed is a bad thing, but would be a bad surprise if you thought you had bought a four speed!
Aye that WOULD be a bad thing! Definately remember a couple having 3 rods... particularly a certain 77" f150 P/U that i THINK i'm going to go after, buddy of mine is going to help, and we're going to just rope-lock the J/Y motor, and snatch up the parts provided he verifies that it IS a 4spd. Also... you should be able to feel shift pattern to be an "H" with an extra far right bottom gear (reverse) in the shift pattern right? (as diagrammed) 1 3 | | . | | | 2 4 R Said buddy has a "bulldog" trans 4 spd in his f100... but that first gear is USELESS unless you are towing something, also looks similar to toploader? except the shift linkage is in the actual top plate? This all confuses me... heh but i'm guessing his is the 4spd Bulldog... geared super low? I think his truck tops out (302 w/ bulldog in 4th) cranking 4k rpm @ 65mph but first is completely unneccesary for daily driving, it gets you to about 3mph before the motor is wound out.
Most truck 4-speeds had a "granny" 1st gear to get the truck moving. Very stiff and almost useless in a car.
