what's the shortest, strongest Ford manual trans?

looking to find the shortest length Ford manual, hopefully about 1/2 the length of a C6. It needs to fit in a tight spot, so I was thinking a 4 wheel drive truck box with a short tailshaft (one that was originally bolted between a motor and transfer case). It's going on a 460, so it needs to be strong, overdrive is a plus. I don't know Fords well enough, so what are my choices? Something that hasn't been bought up by the muscle car crowd

thanks!

 

i would say a 60's top loader but thats about all the info i could give ya sorry

 

http://www.motivegear.com/tech_info/tranny_guide/tranny_guide.html

lists many trans from old 4 speed rock crushers to more modern 5 and 6 speeds....pics included

 

cool page thanks. I didn't even think of the fact that transmissions were supplied to many manufcaturers, meaning maybe I'll throw that SM465 I have behind it? It even has a first 7:1 "burnout" gear Thoguh it shifts awful slow........

 

Half the size of the c-4 good luck...I just put together a toploader 4 my 64 fairlane, small block. built it from a ,65.390ci Galixie unit, I found a sunbeem tail and shaft.what thay call a tiger tail. With a rebuild kit,and the tiger tail install'd it's as short and strong as it gets....Well as far as i know...works great...Shane-O

 

Where did you find that Tiger Tail? Seems like a custom (short) tail could be built.

 

I'd look at the T19 - it's a truck tranny, but the granny gears aren't horribly low - 4:1 & 5:1 depending on the variant. Plenty strong & should work easily behind the 460...these are very short trannys - less than 12" if I recall correctly...

There's also the NV4500 - it's a 5 speed w/overdrive, but they're the darlings of the 4x4 world = pricey.

 

The early Ford Bronco V/8 used a fully syncroed three speed that is pretty short OR a T-176 Jeep 4 spd. , some came with higher or lower 1st gear options . They used a Ford bolt pattern at the front as the case is very similar to a top loader ,in fact some have adapted the top shift plate to the the toploader . In either case , one would have to build an extension housing for the open driveline. As I was typing this ,I remembered some of the early Econolines used a shorty also . The biggest drawback for any is the strength behind that 460. Having destroyed my share of '39 Ford boxes behind fairly stock early Olds motors, just keeping one's foot out of it doesn't always hold true ,so whatever route you go be forwarned , find a good supply of cheap replacements !

 

Finally something I can contribute a little to. If you decide to try out the Bronco 3 speed you could get one cheap Im sure, they're junk for offroad because they are weak and are one of the first things bronco owners like to get rid of (look at my avatar). A t-18 and np435 are almost identical with a t-18 having a slightly higer first gear, both only have a 1:1 4th gear. You can get np435's in 2wd and 4wd versions. Most people get the 2wd versions for offroad because adapters are easier to come by, and there isnt a size differance the output shaft on the 2wd is slightly shorter. Are you talking about a divorced transfer case in you'r first post? (where a little driveshaft connects the trans to the x-fer case) I believe a divorced case trany is identical to a standard 2wd one. If you went with one of these get the 2wd version, the tailshaft housing is pretty short if I remember corectly. The np435 is a truck transmission and you know it when you drive it, if I were you I'd try and squeeze something else in there, or put really high gears in the diff and plan to use 1st gear. If you need measurement let me know, and Ill get under my bronco with a tape. Oh and an np435=indestructable, well something else will break first atleast. Best of luck!
-Spearodude

 

some of the early 80s ford 1/2 ton 6 cylinders had a t-176 .the only thing you have to watch is the front input bearing ,they go out with hard use...but not a hard repair....

 

We sheared the gears in the '39 tranny in the HA/GR car at the HAMB Drags. I'm looking for a strong three speed. (I only use second and high) I thought the top loader Ford was the strongest three speed manual out there. You say the Bronco unit is weak?

 

ok ok There may be some confusion here, Im talking about the 66-77 bronco 3 speeds. Those aren't known for strength in offroad circles, but may be fine for drag racing I dont know. Some full size broncos came with t-18's which are strong 4 speed manuals. My feeling is that if the bronco 3speed is an option, why not go with a t-18 or np435, they are the same length, have similar gearing except for the low 1st on the 4 speeds, and the 4 speeds are a helluva lot stronger. The only toploaders I've read up on are 4 speeds, and even then I dont know much about them. When you say toploader do you mean a trans with the shifter coming out of the top cover or a trans with a top cover instead of a side cover. This may sound like a noobish question but I've hear both of them refered to as "toploaders".

 

The way I understand it is, the '64 thru '73 Ford "toploader" gears drop in from the top (rather than the side like a GM Muncie or Saginaw). The three, four and granny low trans are all from the same "family" and should be of similar strength. They can be shifted from the side or top on different models. I'm no trans expert. I'm trying to learn as much as I can on the subject.

 

Ok makes sense to me. Obviously all my experiance is related to early broncos, everyone I've talked to consider the 3 speed weak for high performance applications, but consider the 4 speed toploaders strong. The t-18 and np435 are stronger still but aren't built for fast shifting, but I believe they are shorter. This page has some info on 4 speed toploaders and links to pages with info on some of the other tranies discussed in this thread http://classicbroncos.com/tranny-toploader.shtml its 4wd bronco oriented so some of the info may not be necesary/true for a 2wd application. I hope I was of some help!

-Spearodude

 

You want short? 65-66 econoline. I don't know how stout they are but they look as large as any Ford 3 speed I know of. I never ripped one out with a bad 289 in front of it.

 

3, 4, & truck toploading trannys are NOT the same family, they merely share design characteristics. There is no/extremly limited parts interchangeability - particularly among the truck trannys.

If you're looking for dimensions & pros/cons - here's a decent page that covers many 4-speed trannys. It's focused on 4x4 adaptions - mainly into Jeeps, but has tranny length & gear ratios listed in each section.

http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/trans_to_transfer_adapters.htm

 

I'd also
figured those to be the shortest.

 

another vote for the econoline trans. as i recall, ford also put 2-speed automatics in them.

 

HD 3 speeds in stuff like F 250's,,,,don't know #'s,,,may have been mentioned

 

For short and tough, the Ford 3.03 all-synchro 3 speed trans from a 1963 and up F-100 pickup will be as rugged as you can find.....and still have the short overall length. This is an open driveshaft trans.....assuming that is what you had in mind.

 

T98 4 speed, it a granny low truck transmission but it is strong and short.

 

my guess would be to look for a t18 or t19 I know I found a t18 in a mid 90's f250 or f350(was not paying much attention) 4x4 and I think they came behind the trucks with the 4.9 inline six's

 

Econoline

 

Same as the pick up 3.03.

 

that one looks to be a 4 speed. I don't think they used that tranny in pickups opting instead for the T18 / T19 with a granny gear for a 4 speed.

 

I grabbed the pic from http://www.fordmann.com/4x4van.trans&trans.htm where he spliced the Econoline tail housing on a four speed as I wanted to show length, but I don't think there was ever a short 4 speed

 

Geez I should know this.....my experience is a New Process design from a Ford F450. I have mine in a Jeep CJ7 388 SBC stroker motor, 465 ft/lbs torque with 35x14.50 tires. Twisted 2 driveshafts and destroyed a Moser nine inch with it. It has lasted thru 3 incarnations of the small block, and only rebuilt it after 23 years of hellacious, graphic abuse....after installing it used from a dump truck. They made the same transmission case/guts to accept 2 and 4 wheel designations. Less then a foot long.....10.8"......and a top loader. Final is a 1.00 to 1, with an extremely low first. I'll have to crawl under and get the number. 4 speed. Until the daylight comes back........stay tuned.......but I swear it is a NP435. I have thought about an NV4500 for the extra gear....those are 17 to 18" long.......also 2 and 4 wd.....but at this time in life...that would be a luxury.

As well, the link above(post 16) to Novak does indeed list dimensions, and those guys are a phone call away. They are the genius behind my previously mentioned monster. They will steer you in the direction that you shall need. That Jeep on a 31" tire ran an 11.93 at 116mph many moons ago.

 

This is what is behind my 302. They fit big blocks also. They are Heavy, but strong.

 

I'll second these. Basically just short version of the car trans, these can take a pretty serious beating. 'Back in the day', I installed the car version behind a 390 in a '58 Ford wagon and the guy at the wrecking yard that sold me the conversion said 'you'll never break this kid', and he was right; I broke virtually every other driveline part at least once, but that trans lived through it all. Smooth shifting box too...

Downside is the output yoke is fixed, so you need a slip joint in the driveshaft. If you really want an overdrive, maybe the tailshaft could be adapted to a late '70s overdrive cast-iron-case toploader.

 

Oh you are so wrong!!!


Sadly, it's a Dagenham, so not terribly strong...
Oh, yeah, to my understanding, Econolines were 3 (or 4, see above) speed manual Only from inception to '65, when a C4 was made available. They apparently also hung from the crossmember as above. Or similar, this is a 1964 HD P/U.

Cosmo