I picked up this transmission from a friend, who said it came out of a 55-56 ford sedan. It is supposed to be a 3 speed manual trans. I have searched both here and on the rest of the Net and cannot come up with an answer. I can find no stamped numbers only the cast numbers shown in the pix. Can anyone here id this thing for me? Any help will be appreciated.
The bellhousing and tranny are definitely FoMoCo and likely the year range you indicate. The year is hard for me to determine exactly. However, the cast in number is a FoMoCo number. I am having a hard time reading the leading numeral or letter. But typically ford numbers, starting the 50's, begin with the decade in which the part was designed or first used..i.e. 'B' is 50's, 'C' is 60's 'D' is 70's etc. The second digit is the year of that decade..i.e. "B5 would be '55....the third letter is the series of vehicle in which was first intended for use. i.e. 'A' is Ford passenger car, the forth digit is the engineering group. The middle four numbers or the parts group i.e. fuel, trans, etc. and the last is the revision sequence 'A' the original, 'B' 2nd design, 'C' thrid design etc. Hope this helps
I appreciate your input, thanks! What I'm trying to find out is whether the trans is a Borg Warner or Saginaw, etc. Any ideas? I've been told that both GM and Ford used the same three speed manual transmission for a period of time in the 50's and 60's (with different bell housings of course). I hope to find out if this transmission will mate up to a 235 motor and bellhousing set up. Thanks again Ed
Ford also had their own design of trans, which that looks to be one. Borg design trans were used both by Ford and GM. It will not work with your 235 without a lot of effort and really is no better than what the 235 came with strength wise.
The tranny in your photo is a Ford manufactured unit. The Borg Warner unit you mention being used by both Ford & GM is the BW T-85 HD 3 speed. It was used on higher performance V8's from 50's and into the 60's. Think early 50's Lincolns, some mid 50's Mercurys and early 60's Ford/Merc with the larger V8's. It was also used with and without Overdrive by some other makers. It is easily identified by the curved shape of the side cover bottom edge. The one you have is not a bolt on to any GM bellhousing. If you prefer a 3 speed manual, I would recommend a Saginaw full syncro 3 speed from 60's up ChevyGM passenger cars and also used widely in Chev/GMC pickups. It's plenty rugged for a 235 and you'll really like the syncro low gear and they can be bought fairly cheap.
Thanks for the info guys. The amount of experience and knowledge available here on the HAMB is awe-inspiring! Ed
......with the long tailshaft so that optional automatic tranny or, on that three speed, a overdrive unit could be installed using the same driveshaft/uJoint combinations on all.