Quote:
Originally Posted by dmsfrr
I have an air-cooled Fordomatic in a '55 Bird that the transmission rebuild shop said is a two speed. When driving or being manually shifted it only shifts one time.
It was my understanding the original air-cooled auto trans for a '55 Bird 'should' be a 3 speed that normally just skips first gear unless manually shifted, or kicked down. Same with the '56 & '57 Ford-o transmissions.
But, the transmission info at this link says the automatic is two speed, and the same for '56 & '57 Birds. http://automotivemileposts.com/tbird/prod1955tbird.html
I'm confused.
Was the '54 Fordomatic a two speed? How would I easily tell them apart if they're different from the air-cooled '55 version?
I remember the ID tag on the trans being blank when I was looking at it a few years back.
Are there other numbers or letters cast into the trans that would be different?
The car had a '54 engine when I got it and the transmission may(?) have come with the engine.
OR, am I lost and barking up the wrong tree? 
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That reference you cited shows the transmission ratios as 2.44 to 1 and 1.48 to 1. High gear, which was 1 to 1 in all automatics back then, is not listed for some reason. Therefore, it actually shows the T-Bird Fordomatic to be a three speed trans.
Incidentally, is your T-Bird a very early production car? If so, it may have had that 256 engine from the factory. There is an article in a 1954 Popular Mechanics magazine (about April or May, I think) that talks about the upcoming Thunderbird and lists the engine as the 256.