F150 tranny with overdrive

[Ray A from PA]

Tell me more about the F150 tranny with overdrive. What year, how much is involved to install, what has to be done to it, who does the preperation, and whatever else one should know if they are interested in installing it. Thanks Ray

[Logan]

Your gonna have to make an adapter plate, cut part of the cross member, shorten the drive shaft, cut new hole in floorboard for shifter, and im sure im forgetting one or two other little things. But its well worth all the work. With a good engine there is no reason why you couldnt run at 60-65 mph.

[Logan]

And gary bernard from ft.worth makes an excelent conversion kit. There is atleast 50 of his transmitions running around Dallas & Ft. worth and havent heard a complaint yet

[john in illinois]

Dave Delmue makes a drop in kit. No cutting of crossmember,or cutting of brake cross shaft. He uses an AA bellhousing which is shorter. He supplies every part ready to bolt in. I have one and really like it. Available in several overdrive ratios. I have a 23%.

http://modelaonly.com/home

[john in illinois]

Here is a try at a photo

[Alan Riordan]

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have one of daves conversions in a 36 phaeton, very pleased with it.

[AL in NY]

To answer your question, the transmission you are looking for is out of an 84-87 Ford F150 2WD pickup with an inline 6 or small V8. It has a floor mounted shifter and the shift knob will have "OD" where the normal "4" would be in a normal "H" pattern 4 speed. Secondly, look at the left side of the transmission case. There should be a casting number "260XXXX". Third, on the right side of the transmission there should be a riveted metal tag with the first three letters "RTS" followed by two letters which will identify the OD ratio. See my chart below for the decoding.............Go to post #245 for missing photos

[Jamie86]

I just wanted to thank Al in NY for the chart on the F150 transmission.

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by john in illinois

Dave Delmue makes a drop in kit. No cutting of crossmember,or cutting of brake cross shaft. He uses an AA bellhousing which is shorter. He supplies every part ready to bolt in. I have one and really like it. Available in several overdrive ratios. I have a 23%.

http://modelaonly.com/home

I'm sure Dave makes a good kit, I just wish he'd ship me the one I paid for 9 months ago.

[dfish2931nc]

That is if you ever get it from him. Many "Barners" are still waiting for for him to show up. He gets the money from you and disappears. Luckly I paid by PayPal and got my money back. BE CAREFUL OF HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by dfish2931nc

That is if you ever get it from him. Many "Barners" are still waiting for for him to show up. He gets the money from you and disappears. Luckly I paid by PayPal and got my money back. BE CAREFUL OF HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You might indicate who "him" is.

[MAG]

I installed one in my 30 Town Sedan and like it very much. In spite of what you hear, if a AA Bell Housing is used, no cuts are required on the crossmember. No modification of the brakes. The rear radius rods, drive shaft and torque tube must be shortened approximately 1 1/2 inches. considerable machine work and fabrication is required. If a kit with every thing requied is available it would make the job a lot easier.

[Kirby1374]

Originally Posted by MAG

I installed one in my 30 Town Sedan and like it very much. In spite of what you hear, if a AA Bell Housing is used, no cuts are required on the crossmember. No modification of the brakes. The rear radius rods, drive shaft and torque tube must be shortened approximately 1 1/2 inches. considerable machine work and fabrication is required. If a kit with every thing requied is available it would make the job a lot easier.

Mag, What clutch/flywheel did you use?

[MAG]

Originally Posted by Kirby1374

Mag, What clutch/flywheel did you use?

Kirby,
AA Bell housing, AA Throw-out Arm, AA Throw-out Collar, Model A Throw-out Bearing, Model A Flywheel, Model A Pilot Bearing, Model A Clutch Assembly, 49 Ford Clutch Plate, Model A U-joint,, Model A Gear Shift Lever.

[Kirby1374]

Originally Posted by MAG

Kirby,
AA Bell housing, AA Throw-out Arm, AA Throw-out Collar, Model A Throw-out Bearing, Model A Flywheel, Model A Pilot Bearing, Model A Clutch Assembly, 49 Ford Clutch Plate, Model A U-joint,, Model A Gear Shift Lever.

Thanks!

[AL in NY]

There are three fellows that make a bolt-in kit for the F150 OD conversion, Ken Parker, Dave Delmue and Gary Bernard. All three make a quality kit which comes with all parts needed for a bolt-in installation. Kits vary in price depending on the source, but generally the price is around $2800.00 plus or minus. Both Ken and Dave make kits using the "AA" bell housing. This keeps the new transmission in front of the brake cross-shaft and the mid-frame crossmember so there are no modifications to the cross-shaft and the crossmember only needs a very slight notch for clearance. Gary Bernard's kit uses the standard Model A bell housing which places the new transmission further back and requires a highly modified brake cross-shaft and the frame cross member has to be notched quiet a bit. All three kits require the driveshaft, torque tube and radius rods to be shorten. Ken Parker is in Van, TX, Dave Delmue is in San Jose, CA and Gary Bernard is in Ft. Worth, TX. If you would like any of their contact information, please email me............

[whitetm]

What machine work did you have to do to make this work for you?

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by whitetm

What machine work did you have to do to make this work for you?

No machine required with the kit I purchased. Complete bolt in.

Originally Posted by duke36

Few other items we found, hopefully covered in prior posts:
1) Tranny is heavier than stock model A;
2) Plate can be made to support tranny on cross member with Float a motors;
3) Some frame spreaders may not clear the F150 tranny when using stock A motor mounts if/when installing engine with tranny already in car;
4) Brake/clutch shaft may need special bracket to support shaft end and to accommodate stock A pedals;
5) Speedo may need calibration , etc.

1) True
2) Comes with kit
3) With a little creative ingenuity, works ok
4) Comes with kit
5) Speedometer gear is aft of transmission, will give you the same reading in or out of OD. No need to re-calibrate.

[Kirby1374]

after reading the info and looking at the F150 trans installed I don't know which way I want to go. T5 or the ford tranny. Has anyone driven both? I mean driven one with the T5 and then one with the Ford. It sounds like the same amount of money. I know the guys on the HAMB favor the T5 and several Model A Tourers (is that a word?) prefer the Ford. Does the T5 have more of a high performance car feel vs. the Ford?
Thanks,

[steve s]

Originally Posted by Kirby1374

after reading the info and looking at the F150 trans installed I don't know which way I want to go. T5 or the ford tranny. Has anyone driven both? I mean driven one with the T5 and then one with the Ford. It sounds like the same amount of money. I know the guys on the HAMB favor the T5 and several Model A Tourers (is that a word?) prefer the Ford. Does the T5 have more of a high performance car feel vs. the Ford?
Thanks,

I and several friends have the F150 and all love it. Another friend has the T5 and loves it. The major downside to the T5 I have heard is that it requires a brake modification; the brake mod that comes with the kit is reported to be woefully inadequate, such that you really must convert to hydraulics. If you haven't already done that and don't want to, my understanding is that the F150 is the way to go.

The other major T5 concern is the absence of the torque tube, which some feel plays a crucial structural role. On the other hand, T5'ers are happy.

My only regret about my F150 is that 1st and 2nd gear are the same as Model A stock; I wish they were higher. But, if I were seriously interested in optimizing gear ratios, I would have gotten a Mitchell gear splitter OD and had 6 gear ratios to play with--too many levers for my taste.

Steve