How good were the old ford, ford o matic trans........i have been offered a running 292 y block and ford o matic for $200 by a friend of a friend.......it was pulled out of a 52 to 54 ford four door that belonged to his grandparents.....(he upgraded his drive line and ft suspension) thinking of getting it and putting it up for a future project........if they weren't that good i may get it anyways and drop the 1963 bw 4 speed i have put up behind the the y block........
Well, '54 was the first year of the Y block, and they were 239 in Fords and 256 in Mercury, so be sure of what you're buying. 292s weren't common until '56. They were available in '55, but most of the V8 Fords that year were 272 equipped.
To add a little bit... The early Ford-O-Matics are three speeds, but have a two speed shift pattern..i.e. they start in 2nd gear under normal use & shift to high. They only start in 1st under full throttle conditions...sometimes not even then. There are a couple of different methods around this, but it is something to think about. Also, the '54-'56 Ford-O-Matics are air-cooled...not the hot tip. (Yeah...I know...that was bad. ) Later ones are more conventional. It is possible to swap a later FMX trans onto the Ford-O-Matic bell, with some work. To use the B-W 4-speed, which hopefully is the Ford version, you will want to use the Y block car bellhousing, which are pretty easy to find.
I would choose the 4spd, if you have it, for the exact reasons mentioned above (Homespun). I had a later Fuck-o-matic and it sucked worse than anything. It wasn't even useful as a paperweight when it came out.
I have one of these Ford-O-Matics. I didn't think it would bother me to start in 2nd all of the time, but it is getting old. I end up manually shifting to first at every stop. What methods are there to get around this? Mike
There isn't a way around it. You do that goofy trick where you start in first, manually shift up and then quickly back down to keep it in first and then shift into 3rd whenever you are ready. Half the time it didn't even work on mine! I had an air cooled Fordomatic in my '57 Custom. In '57 the "Mileage-Maker Six" still used the crappy air cooled design. It liked to overheat and cook the fluid from time to time. I ditched mine a few weeks ago. Couldn't even give it away, so it went to the scrap yard. It's a dog of a tranny and can really hamstring a motor. There are some decent options to put behind a y-block with an adapter. If they're selling both for $200, consider that the cost of the engine because the Fordo kinda sucks.
Uhhh....basically, that would be it, so far as shifting it goes. You've probably figured out how to make it shift through all three gears under full throttle....if not, I can go through that too. The next step up is to convert the Ford-O-Matic into a Cruise-O-Matic. This does require disassembly, so it's not for everyone, but it is actually fairly easy to do. It's easiest to use a '57 or later Ford-O-Matic to start with. This gives you a true three speed sequence...though, you generally will not be able to access first gear directly unless you modify your OE shifter's gate/detents, or use a aftermarket shifter. Beyond that, it is also fairly easy, maybe easier, to install a FMX trans to the Ford-O-Matic bellhousing. For that matter, you can use all the FMX parts inside the Ford-O case...or, mix & match parts to get what you want. Those are the cheap options....then we go to swapping a C4, AOD, etc.
I've got a 57 Ranch Wagon I'm woking on, 292, Ford-o-matic. I haven't driven it on the road yet. What's the trick to make it shift through all 3 gears under full throttle? Also, what's involved with making it a stick car, besides the obvious. Is the pedal assembly a simple remove and replace with parts from a stick car? Can you tell I'm anticipating puking the Ford-o-matic?
Studebaker also used these transmissions (made by Borg Warner) through the 60s. On some of their performance models they offered a "Power Shift" model of this trans that started off in first, without having to shift into 1st. Non power shift transmissions could be converted to power shift by swapping in a Power Shift valve body. That valve body may well work with the Ford-O-Matic. The valve bodies sometimes show up on ebay and on Stude parts websites.
SASCO (the big Stude parts seller in South Bend) sells new 1st gear start valve bodies: http://www.parts123.com/parts123/yb.dll?Parta~PartSort~A0~~~~~A10~A1
I think there is an early Ford-o-matic laying in the weeds down by the barn where I threw it around 1960.
Man, everyone's throw'n it under the bus. Knock on wood my ford-o-matic in my 59 f-100 with a y block has been good. Starting of in second is no big deal, If I want to go fast, nail it and kicks down to first. They are expensive to fix, and yes there are better transmissions out there, but if you have one already in a vehicle and it shift good, I'd leave it. Now those air cooled models.....
Ok...thanks....it may be a little newer ford.....i know enough about the y blocks to spot them out but never have really messed with them that much......
I'll have to keep both of that in mind.......i have a fmx in the shop....and the bw 4speed is a early ford with the narrow bellhouseing pattern.......
Going to do some more looking over it this time home from work.....hell i may just try it out.....then if it don't float my boat......bye bye............
Best description yet! I originally intended on keeping mine and having it rebuilt at one point. I don't do major tranny work, so I was going to bring it to Broader Performance in Weatherford, TX....to the tune of over a grand. This included converting it to fluid cooled and a new converter. It only cost me a few more bucks than that for a rebuilt AOD and the parts I needed to rebuild a 302HO myself.
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