69 mustang tranny question

[rdaniel911]

I am working on gathering parts for my 69 fb, it was originally equipped with a 302 2v and a 3 speed manual, the tranny is long gone. I am looking at a few 4 speeds, and a buddy of mine offered me a 3 speed overdrive which looks identical to a toploader 4 speed. I don't intend to hot rod the old girl, just maybe play with her a bit, she's gonna be more of a pleasure driver for me I've owned her for 22 years, and it's been 18 years since I last drove her. does anyone have any experiance with these trannys in a mustang. don't want to put it in and it just not do the job when i'm finished, it's just that the old 4 speed toploaders around here are gone, well abused or they think the gears are made of gold.

 

[D.Hearne]

If it's the late 70's 3+1 Overdrive Toploader 4 speed, it'll do just fine for what you want. Just measure the input shaft length, these may have had a longer input than the older std 4 speed models. The next gen of this transmission, the SROD that came out in the 79 Stangs did for sure.. These had a 1" longer input shaft (6.8" vs the olders with around 6". You might need to swap tailshaft housings though, for the shifter, if it's not present. Don't know if Hurst made an install kit to do a Hurst in the Granada's these transmissions came in. They did for sure for the pickup truck application, I have one of these. The tail housing difference was the bolt pattern for the shifter on the 3+1. It's different from all the earlier models.

 

[D.Hearne]

Also don't pass on what you think is an abused earlier Toploader. They're easy and inexpensive to rebuild. I've rebuilt two transmissions in my life and both were Toploaders, no special tools needed. Instructions and parts can be had here: www.4speedtoploaders.com , in addition to a couple other sites. The better condition Toploaders go fo more, due to the fact that they're very nearly the strongest transmissions made, the torque ratings exceed most modern 5 speed transmissions. And that's just the small block model. The one I have now is an unrebuilt 67 transmission doing it's job in my daily driven 89 V8 Ranger.

 

[rdaniel911]

I remember the toploaders rep pretty well, I'm having to relearn all the things about the classics I forgot over the years. after owning several classics, i bought a v8 cobra II then got bit by the 5.0 bug, did those for years, but always had my old sixty nine stuck under the barn, she was my first car when I was sixteen, and I want to put her back together and enjoy her some more since the kids are all most all grown and gone. would love to find a rebuildable toploader, but so far they have been pretty well trashed, busted cases, missing parts and such, I would expect to pay a premium for a decent one but some of the guys around here hear mustang and they think cha ching, lol.

 

[D.Hearne]

The site I linked to is David Kee's business, he can build completely new Toploaders from the mainshaft out. New everything. If it's broke, it can be fixed. I sold him two such that looked like basket cases when I bought em. One had two broken ears off the front of the case. Bought another case to replace it off ebay. The other had sat for years in the weather without the top cover. I emptied out the dirt and leaves, poured in diesel and used motor oil and repeatedly washed the stuff out. Got it working freely. I later rebuilt it afraid the needle bearings in the cluster gears were toast from the dirt and moisture. Low and behold, when I removed the cluster shaft, the bearings were as fresh as the day they left Ford. The only damage to it all were a few pits on the gears. That probably wouldn't have kept it from most jobs in a weekend cruiser. I paid $150 for those two. The main case on ebay cost me another $125. The rebuild kit from David was another $150. That was of course about 5 years ago, so the prices have gone up some, but so have the prices for other transmission parts. I'd never pass on a basket case Toploader for the right price.

 

[rdaniel911]

Thanks for the info, it's nice to see the amount of info out there that is easier to get now when it comes to personal experiance that you couldn't get back in the day. I'll keep my eyes out for the next one and maybe pick it up, would be nice to slip a 4 speed in where the old 3 speed used to reside.

 

[bnickel]

the 3+1 overdrive is a 4 speed but basically it's a 3 speed with an overdrive 4th. it's as good a tranny or better strength wise than a modern 5 speed it just doesn't have the gear spread a 5 speed does.