Hey there. Got a 1950 shoebox ford with the stock 226 and 3 on the tree. I'm at a point where I have to decide what to do with the tranny. It been crapping out on me and only 3rd gear works now. No OD. I was thinking of doing the c4 conversion with the Flat-O-Matic conversion kit. But whats better.... 1. Keep the 3 on the tree and rebuild the stock tranny. Is the stock tranny when rebuilt reliable and worth the rebuild? OR 2. Get a C4, Get the Flat-O-Matic kit, re-do the floor pannel above the tranny since I hear there are clearance issues, and do this conversion for $$$$. The Flat-O-Matic kit alone is like $700 shipped. ...I'm leaning towards doing just a rebuild, but is it worth the rebuild? I'm just a cruiser, I don't speed much, but I do go on the highway from time to time. I eventually plan to put a mustang II front and 4 link rear on bags. Swapping out the 226 is NOT an option.
I ran a stock three on the tree for 20 years without any problems. A transmission in good repair is very dependable. The weak point in the entire driveline is the u-joint yoke on the rear end (ask me how I know). Last year i changed out to a three on the tree overdrive and love it. If you do it, be sure you get a '49 or '50 model trans so the clutch linkage provisionds are correct. A '51 is different than a '49 or '50. A pic of my 226
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