Technical Ford cruise o matic

Does anyone know how these hold up for modified 390s. Are the weak / strong or does anyone know how much power they are good for?

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I've got about 70,000 miles on mine behind a 390 with about 350 - 360 HP. Trouble free, but I'd like a higher stall converter for it, but haven't found anyone that can supply one. A C-6 might be a better choice if you're starting from scratch.

 

I already have the cruise o matic that I had no problems with but I'm rebuilding my 390 and expect some power gains. If I changed the trans now it would be easier if I needed to.

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Art Carr made them work behind 427's in Thunderbolts. Out ran the Lincoln transmissions the Ford engineers put behind them.. They got pi--ed off at him too. They are heavy as a drawback.
I'd use the one with a vacuum modulator for normal shifting: the second arm of the linkage is only set as a kick down when the governor is set right. Mine is a 62 T-Bird medium case and will bite second gear when I get on it..Art built it too.

 

I cant speak for how much power they can handle, but behind a 352 with bolt on parts it lived for over 10k miles in my Galaxie and is still cruising with the same trans and a 390 swap for the new owner. if you plan to drag the car or want a better matched converter, it sounds like your build is in the right place for a c6 swap.

 

Is it the COM that has the L and D shift pattern. Start in low and will hold first gear, start in D and it starts in second then shifts to third? Had one in my 58 Edsel. Not a bad transmission but for any performance use I'd look for a C6.

 

I'm going to cruse mainly but I want to be able to beat on it too without worry.

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RmK57....That's a Ford-O-Matic used up thru 1957.
1958 was the first Cruise-O, Fords first usable 3 speed auto trans for the masses and for the most part call the "green dot". The 1st notch under "N" was drive starting in 2nd, the next notch or "Green Dot" was 1-2-3, then there was "L"; this held it in 1st or 2nd if you were going over the govenor control speed the 1st.
At the end they were P-R-N-D-2-1 which my green do can be made into.

 

If it's one that came behind a FE originally, is in good mechanical condition, and you're not planning on racing, it'll do fine. The main problem these days is finding someone who knows how to work on one. If you're looking to rebuild it and/or beef it up for performance, I'd seriously look at an AOD instead. You'll need an adaptor to fit it to the FE, but high horsepower versions are readily available plus you'll gain overdrive.

The C6 is much stronger and a relatively easy install, but the downside is it has highest internal horsepower loss of any Ford auto trans, double or more of any other. That's one reason all those Ford trucks of the C6 era got lousy gas mileage.

 

Pardon my ignorance, I’m mostly a Chevy guy, but I’m starting to take an interest in Fords. Is a Cruise-O-Matic the same as an FMX? I’ve never seen much on the FMX.


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Yes and no. First, Cruise-o-matic is just a name that Ford applied to all of their three-speed automatics except for the first-gen Ford-o-matic; it doesn't actually identify the actual trans type. When the Cruise-o-matic was introduced in '58, there was two versions; the FX and MX, with the latter being the heavy-duty version. These were basically upgrades of the original Ford-o-matic (which contrary to some beliefs was also a three-speed) which disappeared in '59. The FX and MX remained in production until '66 when the C6 came out, and Ford redesigned the X series trans yet again combining the best features of both into one trans, the result was the FMX. This became Ford's 'medium duty' trans and was used behind everything bigger than a 302 or smaller than a 427 except for a handful of hi-po models and most trucks. The FMX was used through '79, and was redesigned/upgraded yet again into the AOD that came out in '80. They even share some parts.

These trans were never particularly popular with racers because they all (except for the AOD) used a heavy cast-iron main case. They also all have removable bellhousings. And IIRC, all FX, MX, FMX and first-gen Ford-o-matics use the same trans-to-bellhousing bolt pattern so there should be swap possibilities.

The three-speed Ford-o-matic was replaced in '59 with a two-speed version, and again was just a simplified version of the X trans. It was replaced by the C4.

One other interesting tidbit is the first-gen Ford-o-matic could be push-started. These had the trans pump powered off the output shaft, not the input, so get 'em up to speed and drop it into gear and it'll start.

 

Wow! Thanks so much for the great explanation Steve. I had no idea that there were so many versions of Ford automatics. The transmission engineers at the FoMoCo really earned their money. I’ve heard of the Fordomatic, C4, and C6, but did not know anything about the others. Once again you guys and the H.A.M.B. Rock!!


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I had a 56 Ford Pickup with an automatic and don't remember anything other than the coolant ran back to the transmission rather than the fluid to the radiator. Have no idea what it was.

 

Can only speak from experience they weren't built to set the world on fire Ok for a resto job recommend C6 auto

 

We never had good luck with the one in a 59 galaxie and another in a 63 gal . both 352 FE engines. they both broke the ear off the reverse band. and front seal leakage was a common problem. My dad bought a new 66 gal 428. with the crusomatic. It ran over 325,000 miles. I rebuilt the green dot cruseomatic twice in 150,000 miles. Then installed a C6 and it was trouble free. Now all of these vehicles where driven by teenagers. The 2 speed fordomatic that came in the 59 six cyl car my that dad bought new it was a all aluminum case. the same trans was in a 63 260 fairlane I once owned. I had a 58 ford with a 332 two bbl. It had a PRNDL shift and was a aluminum bell housing & tail shaft and cast iron trans case.

 

Me too I still have mine. Its the same trans that was installed in ford cars. It has a air cooled torque conveter and additionally a oil cooler that used pipes and heater hose to route the water to the trans cooler mounted on a bracket on the side of the trans. There is a script on the hood that says fordomatic.