Can anyone tell me about this 3 speed toploader? What did they come in? Any good? Worth anything? Working on a deal for a Caddilac 331 motor and it includes an adapter and this trans. Thanks guys!
looks like the ones ford used in the mid-late 60's in mustangs etc. Nothing special about it, decent trans though.
GM used this Ford design as well for high horse power applications in Pontiac and possibly even Chevy. The bottom line is the 3.03 top loader is likely the best 3 speed manual ever made. As good as they are, they can be found very cheap.
The 3.03 Toploader is a great transmission, I had one in an A-code 289 Mustang and it can take a beating. The 2.77 is for six cylinder cars.
That's a small-block 3-speed out of a early Mustang (you can tell by the long pilot bearing shaft). Good trans, not as strong as the big-block version, but behind a moderate-size motor will do fine...
Two good things about that trans is, you can install a Jeep T-150 shift top, and they are synchro in first gear. After removing the shift forks, we milled down the bosses on the side of the case for clearance, and installed cup type soft plugs in the holes.
I remember seeing someone do this with a 4 speed toploader before. Is anyone reproducing those shift tops or are they relatively easy to come by? Thanks so much for the input.
These top loaders are one of the strongest factory offered transmissions. I also did a jeep shifter but on a Dearborn trans.
There was an article on the swap back in the 80's, I think Frank Oddo wrote, and was followed up with the four speed top loader, and yes the shifter is hard to come by as the Jeep guys feel they are necessary to drive their jeeps up and down mountains,,,,,
The 3 speed tops can be found at a reasonable price, the 4 speed units are rare and spendy. On bell housings such as this Offenhauser adapter to a Red Ram Dodge to fit the 49-64 Ford transmission, I usually remove the outside upper set of holes. Ford was smart to include both bolt patterns to the later transmissions, to fit a wide range of applications. And yes, Frank Oddo did write that article.
The 4 speed shifter version is called a T-170, found in mid-80s Jeeps. I have the 3 speed version, and utilized the Ford pickup tail shaft for a very compact, husky unit at 1/4 the cost of the 4 speed.
I first noticed the Jeep top cover when I worked as mechanic for the Border Patrol. We had an entire fleet of Cherokees from the factory equipped with Ford 303 transmissions and a top shifter instead of the Ford side rail shift mechanism. When it came time to build my roadster I wanted a full syncro 3 speed Ford Trans with overdrive that I could convert to the Jeep top cover so I could have the early look in the cockpit but modern transmission. It turns our that Ford never made a full syncro 3 speed with an overdrive. However, AMC used the Ford trans in more than Jeep. From '75-'77, the ford 3 speed was offered with an overdrive in Pacers, Hornets, and Gremlins. Since Ford had no overdrive for it, AMC went to Laycock in England and they built a type J unit to fit. Laycock went belly up and Gearvendors bought them out. So, now I have a full syncro 3 speed with electric overdrive that looks old time, shifts great and has overdrive at the flick of a switch. And, all of it is strong enough to live happily behind my hemi motor. Almost nervana!
Actually, Ford did build a full-sync 3 speed with OD. In the late 70s into the 80s Ford offered a re-tasked toploader four speed with third gear converted to OD as a stop-gap. Looks just like the four speed, except it has a bulge on the passenger side of the case to clear the OD gear. A later version had internal linkage and an aluminum case (the SROD), found in light-duty applications. A common issue with both was neither would tolerate more than moderate loading in OD as that would quickly wear out the cluster gear shaft/bearings.
My 3 speed has the Jeep shifter and I converted it to go closed drive to a model A torque tube ,,shortened the output shaft ,made a support adaptor for the clamshell ,,,a good transmission ,,
Believe it or not.....but it is possible to use a 1939 to 1952 car and F-1 3 speed shift top. It requires a homemade adapter plate but it has been done and it works. There is an old thread about it. So that is one more check for the 3.03's versatility. 63-64 F Series 3.03s came factory behind Y blocks and 223s. These have the 1939 sized input spline but no tail mount.
No, the earlier Ford transmission (with the straight bottom side cover) is a completely different animal with more in common with the pre-war and immediate post-war boxes. And, they are not very strong.
Great thread and nice to see some informative pic's. Was there a 3 speed Top Loader with an O/D setup as well???
I did the same only I used a early Ford shifter to sit on top. Cut off the shift forks and relocated them to suit the later 3 speed gear sack. Made a spacer plate between gearbox and the shifter. Pluged up the holes with small frost plugs. Works fine but it leaks oil through the base plate. Made need a breather
The small version has a tag on the side RAN letters. The heaver tougher version has RAT on the tag. You can find the heavy trans in those FE powered pickup trucks. The one pictured is the mustang version. And yes the gear set is the same as the jeeps.
The Jalopy Journal
