I have a '59 F350 with only 54K miles on it. Runs, drives and stops fine. It was a potato truck in Delta Colorado all it's life and I was the first person to put a license plate on it. Problem is it tops out at about fifty miles an hour with 5:40 gears. I'm hoping someone can point me to a later model five speed with overdrive that is a direct bolt in. I am not interested in a Gear Vendors unit or changing the rear axle. The truck will be for local use only and I think this will be the easiest and least expensive way to solve the problem.
We don't know what engine it has, so kind of hard to answer. If it has a Y block V8 or a 223 six, there is no direct bolt in modern 5 speed OD trans.
There are several 5 speed overdrive transmissions that will bolt in. Don’t have the numbers in my memory. The way to tell if it’s an overdrive transmission is the fifth gear is up instead of down. But, remember the knobs can be changed. I have a friend that has one in his 65 Ford F-600. They only came in the larger truck, I believe. They are kinda rare. You could also put a Brown- Lipe transmission in it. Be sure it has overdrive, not all do. Bones Found a chart you could use a NP540-O, should be close to a bolt in.
I knew someone would ask for a picture. I'm looking for one. The truck is buried in my sons garage right now. I actually used it as a welding truck for in town work for several years. I want to get it out and start on the bed pretty soon. Figured it would be easier to do the trans swap while the bed is out of the way. I'll keep looking for a picture.
A 59 F350 is lighter than its modern counterpart, but by the time you throw a bed on it and a car, along with the increased frontal area, I would think the power required to maintain higher road speeds may be more than a Y block can dish out, especially with an overdrive transmission. Also, the brakes on these old gals will be more than a little bit sketchy, when loaded, at higher speeds.
I'm wondering if your '59 is the same as the '60 F-350 I stripped out for my hotrod. Mine has the Rockwell 5.14-to-1 differential and 17.5 wheels and tires (dualies). I've swapped the rear axle, brakes and spindles into my '29 AA with a 351W and an AOD, which gives me the overdrive tall enough for highway use. If you can't find a bolt-in od or five speed, think of swapping in the Windsor/AOD package.
Close to bolt in. IF you have the correct adapter, mounts, clutch parts, etc. All, including the trans may be hard to find. And those trannies are huge......made for larger trucks than an f350.....
Thanks for all the replies. The truck will be used around town. I'm well aware of its limitations. It was the first one ton truck I had for my steel fab business and I was the initial driver. I've had the truck for sixteen years and I kind of like it the way it is. It always got a lot of attention when it was on jobs. Now I want to give it a new life. The only irritation I have with it is the rear gear. When I was driving it I started in third and shifted to forth half way through the intersection. Hitchhiker, I will PM you tomorrow.
The 350 is a 1 ton, a pickup on steroids,I'm pretty sure there won't be a direct bolt in main trans for that, there are smaller auxilary transmissons out there but are becoming hard to find, a 5 or 6000 series watson/spicer would give you an overdrive, the 292 will pull that nicely. Pop into justoldtrucks.com should have a couple guys there that have a little bit more knowledge on these.
I have found a few used sets but I used to own a 4x4 shop and did a lot of gear work and every time I put in used gears it bit me in the ass. I also have conflicting info about whether or not I have to change the case. In either case all my sources for gears are saying that nothing is available. That was my first choice and the most logical but doesn't seem to be going anywhere. This is a heavy duty cab and chassis and apparently this Rockwell axle is a bit of a mystery. There is information confirming that it is original to the truck but very little else.
Swap out the rear end...believe it or not , it's easier than a trans swap...something the same width and bolt pattern would be a one day affair...or so...
You are a guy that welds for a living? A rear swap would be the easiest. Measure up some 70's truck rears. Cut and weld, spring and shock mounts as required. You might even be able to do the driveshaft without taking it to a shop. You might be able to do the whole job for $100 and less than a days work.
A rear end swap makes the most sense and I am rethinking that option. The problem is this housing is several inches narrower than most modern dual axle housings. It is also a six lug wheel pattern. I don't want to involve two spares. That is why I was aiming towards a trans swap. The logistics are easy. I have done plenty of axle swaps but I was hoping to preserve the original look. I thought this would be easy.
Really a rear end swap would be cheapest and easiest. Back in the 70's I had a '64 1 Ton with a GVW of 12,000 Lbs. and it had the 292 4 Speed, don't know what rear gears were in it. It too was a slow mover but never ran out of power and had the 17.5" 6 bolt hole dual wheels. Had trouble finding tires for it back in the day and switched it to 16" wheels so they were out there but hard to fine even back then and they were split rims. You could make them with your existing center sections and your skills.
Dual wheel trucks seldom carry a spare. You might carry one for the front. You did say it would be an around the town truck.
The spare thing really isn't an issue. Probably nobody but me will notice the additional two lugs. It will also be used for my shed business to deliver small sheds. I will have the coolest shed delivery truck in the area.
I reread my post, I meant to “close” to a bolt in. Lol. The snouts are the same length, I believe. May have to turn the input collar, change clutch plate. But I would put a new plate in anyway if I was that far into it. You are right about hard to find, took me years to find mine. The one I have is not much physically larger than a NP 435, but would look larger than the T-98, he problaly has in his truck now. As far a weight, the one ton will never know it’s there. I did this swap , but it’s been many years ago. Could have forgotten some things. Bones
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