How good is a Ford 3 speed overdrive transmission? I found one today in central Mn. and the person said it was in decent shape. I am wanting to put an overdrive transmission into my 48 F-3 pickup with a 4.86 rear end. What are the good points of them and what are the bad? Also what is the going price for one? I don't want to get screwed if I do go with this option. Thanks
Pretty tough items. They come in two spline sizes,course and fine.They are non sync 1st gear boxs. Fine spline will be a stronger unit but harder to find.Fine spline was used in 58 Edsels and 58-59 T Birds so they are few and far between. There are some tailshaft length differences.An electrical activation switch to kick in the solonoid has to be considered. Not a race item but a good,tough street gearbox. Prices ??? From the good reasonable $150.00 to the insane $2250.00 for a compleat rebuilt unit. Let your wallet be your guide. Oldmics
As Oldmics said, they are reasonable. They were primarily used in the fullsize Galaxies, T-Birds, Edsels, Monterey's, etc. What motor are you putting it behind? I tore one up with a mild 351W in my '51, screwing around. Throttle control will help make it last alot longer. Make sure you get as much of the elctronics (relays, solenoid, kick down switches, etc) as you can. It will make the installation alot easier. Good Luck
There a good transmission and it's possible to hook it up as long as you have the cable ***y and use a toggle switch to activate the solenoid. Probably better if you can get all the kick down and relay switches and do a factory hook up though. I have a 1952 courier and I just use a toggle but in OD when you come to a stop or light you have to cut power to the solenoid and in OD it wont back up unless you do cut the power.
my experiance with them is ok, i tore one up that is mated to a 390 fe in a 55 ford sedan. they are not strong between first and second. i had it rebuilt by bob bendtsen from bendtsens speed gems here in MN. now that its fixed it shifts nice, i love the overdrive. i would give it 7 out of ten. great trans imo if you are just driving a cruiser. Jason
Are you asking about the early trans or the later toploader 4spd OD that was a 3spd & 4th gear is OD? They were installed in 1970's Vans & PU's. I asked about the 4spd one on the FEForum & got an OK answer unless the rear tires hook with alot of Torque from an FE. Movin/on
You want an early 3+OD, not a toploader overdrive, right? The basic three + OD trans. is tough enough for daily use behind inline 6 cyl, flatheads, small v-8s etc... Have found them for $50-$150 bucks pretty regular.
I had one in my 49 ford Coupe with a suped-up flattie. Did dragracing, dirttrack, really used it. Broke the OD unit, when i forgot that the OD was activated and i tryed to force it in reverse! Loud crunsh noise! So i had to find another one! ............................... Taildragger&fenderless
Which 3 speed OD are you looking at? The T-86 is a light duty transmission with an R-10 overdrive unit that cant handle a whole lot of HP. The T-85 on the other hand is a heavy duty transmission with an R-11 overdrive unit that will handle much more abuse and HP than the lighter trans.
Not necessarily. T-85's came with 1-1/16 X 10, 1-1/16 X 23 (Used from 1958-1962), and 1-3/8 x 10 (used in trucks and is actually listed as a T-89 in some B-W information). The T-85 first appeared in the Ford line in 1957 behind 312's. It was continued until 1962 when the T-10 4 spd was offered behind the big engines. It was probably still an available option after that, but what rodder in his right mind would pay extra for a T-85 behind his 406 or 390 when you could have the 4 spd. There was also the early mercury od trans with the big bellhousing. I don't know if they were a special version of the T-86 or what. I have owned T-86 OD trasmissions in both top loader and side loader configuration. Never could figure out the difference.
Either model would work for me since what I am working with even when I am done modifying the motor will only be putting out somewhere around 140 horsepower. I am keeping the original Flathead 226, 6 cylinder and doing a few modifications and just want to be able to run down the road at a decent speed without replacing the complete rear end and transmission. How much of a problem am I going to run into, in bolting the transmission up the the Flathead?
Lots of trouble. The solenoid at your cross member try to be at the same place. You have to hack your cross member and fab up a new rear motor mount, as well as changing your drive shaft to a slip u-joint instead of a bolt on u-joint. For my F-2 I purchased a Dana 60 rear axle from a mid 60's F-250. The spring perches are the correct distance, the drums are 8 lug to accept your current wheels. You just need to make the hand brake hook up to the cables and maybe adapt the rear u-joint. You can get axles with 3.54 ratio, which will take you up to cruising 65 m.p.h. at 2500 r.p.m. with a 31 inch tall tire (get a radial meant for dually use).
Well, the cross member and motor mounts, I can handle those. Also your talking a lot more money than I am wanting to spend with a new axles, tires and time. My old tires are almost new and 7.50-17's don't come cheap.
I will echo that as long as you aren't pushing serious power thru it you should be ok. I wouldn't go much more than 150 hp or so and expect it to live for long.
Well a stock 226 puts out 95 horse and getting up to 140, I don't think is too shabby. But that will be after a few mods. To start it will more likely be just around the 110-115 horsepower range.
I found a late '51 merc 3 speed overdrive on Craigslist for $250 in late 2010. It came with the cast iron bellhousing, bottom starter plate, pressure plate, flywheel, working solenoid, working governor, cable, relay, ***ociated wiring, kickdown switch and rear trans mounting plate. Its going into my '52 F-1. The reason for that model? It has the same clutch setup....a rotating shaft vs the pivoting fork. I want to keep my column shift and get about 55 mph at 2000 rpm with the stock tire diameter and a 3.92 rear end.
There is, and has been for quite awhile, a early 50's Lincoln T-85 w/OD in the HAMB Parts for Sale section. Philadelphia, PA as I recall........would be a great ****** for a truck application. Ray
this is a real old thread but as i recall wasnt the 48s pu all open drive? both half and 3/4,, wudn an S10 or chevy half, 3/4 ton overdrive be a viable swap, ther S10 trans uses a chev trans pattern,, doa chev to ford oops ford to chev adapter,, trans dapt, do the clutch work,, drive shaft,, bolt it and go, and .69 final drive and synchro to all gears,, just my two, buck
Point of clarification: All T86s were toploaders, never any sideloaders All T85s were sideloaders, never any toploaders The T85 is the heavy duty ****** from which the T10 was evolved. They're plenty strong for any street use. jack vines
What he said ^^^... T86 was light duty top-loaded; T85 heavy duty side loaded with rounded bottom edge on side cover. There was also another light duty Ford 3 Speed early 50's (49-54?) that had a side cover which was rectangular and used an R10 OD unit... perhaps a Ford-made ****** or earlier version of T86? No raised casting numbers on those front case like you generally see on a T85 or a T86 front case though.. I have several examples of most all of these that are discussed here and in other threads. The T85's had heavy duty R11 OD units instead of the lighter duty R10 unit. Rumor that Jeep used some version of the T85 must be true also. I bought a NOS Jeep front case off Ebay out of curiosity some years age that appears to be exactly the same as a Ford T85 front case, including front mounting bolt pattern. Read on a Lincoln forum that the heavy duty 1 3/8 input shaft T85 with R11 OD was also used in late 40's Lincolns. Discovered and bought what was supposed to be a 49 Mercury OD trans - and it looks very similar to the 50's - 60's sixties T85 - except for weird bolt pattern on ****** to bellhousing mount surface and the larger input shaft. Turns out it is for Lincoln and quite well-preserved with governor and solenoid still present. Have to put that up for sale... one of these days... (Pa Kettle).. In the meantime, anyone got a GM version of 3 speed T85 overdrive ****** from late 50's early 60's Olds, Pontiac, Buick probably...) and want to sell it or trade for a good Ford one (or Lincoln) ? Want to put one behind a 348 in a 60 Impala that has a 3 speed factory column stick shift already and decided it might be simpler to get a GM one than using a Lakewood bell to adapt one of my Ford T85's to it....(and speedo adaptation, driveshaft, linkage rods, shift arms, etc...).. But, I will if I have to...
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