Drive Train

[67F-100]

Looking for a little help with a trsnsmission conversion... I'm going from a three speed to a four speed top loader, however, upon disassembly, I discover the input shaft from the three speed is 1/2 " longer than the 4 speed,which would not allow the nose of the input shaft to engage
the pilot bushing. Does Ford make a bellhousing that is 1/2" shorter face to face for the 390 ( which is what is in my truck)? The transmission came from a 1970 Torino Cobra with a 429 CJ. Any help would certainly be appreciated!

[averagef250]

Sounds like you need a car FE toploader bellhousing. Are the input splines the same? I was thinking the big toploaders used 1 1/8 splines while trucks are 1 1/16".

[67F-100]

Yeah, its the big spline. Trans ID: RUG-AU. I was going into the swap with the idea I would have to change out the clutch anyway. Does the 429/460 have the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the FE series?

[fordman]

Yeah, its the big spline. Trans ID: RUG-AU. I was going into the swap with the idea I would have to change out the clutch anyway. Does the 429/460 have the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the FE series?

no they are two different bellhousing patterns. i thought the rug trans was a ligth duty 6 cyl transmission. but i dont know that much about car transmissions.

[My427stang]

Average250 is right, you need a car bell. They make special pilot bushings that reach out, but stay away, they dont stay in place

Ford was tricky back then, big blocks had a short input, small blocks had a long input, unless you had a truck, then all bells used the long input so they wouldnt have to switch transmissions

Any scatter shield you get will be the car depth you need, as will any car bell. A new Lakewood scatter shield is about 275 from Summit, so it may be your easiest find if you dont mind spending the dough (plus its a lot safer)

One last thing, do you have the matching clutch setup? RUG-AU sure isnt light duty, that tranny should be a 1 3/8 10 spline input versus the 1/16 that a truck or small block tranny would have and a 31 spline output like a C-6

One last thing though, be ready, that tranny will have a 2.32 1st gear, you will lose gear ratio in first. I used to run a RUG-AE2 in my Mustang, basically the same box, and I hated it. 2.32 verus 2.87 for a wide ratio box, killed the launch even with a 427

[67F-100]

Thanks for all the info, all of you! I know what I should be looking for now. To answer a couple of the questions: No, I don't have the clutch set-up. I had plans to get new components anyway. Hopefully with the 3.73's the launch will be ok. I really didn't plan on dragracing it anyway. Do you think the 1st gear in the RUG is taller than in the 3-speed?

[My427stang]

2.99 or 2.42, I believe, with the 3 speed depending on which box you have. So it will be taller

If you currently have a 2.99 the RUG will feel pitiful LOL, however if you have the 2.42 its a 4% difference, which would be the equiv of your current setup with a 3.58 gear.

Dont can the tranny though, do it and if you end up not liking it, you can always comvert to a wide ratio.

For a few hundred bucks, offset by Ebaying the parts you take out, David Kee makes a kit to make a big/in out trany into a wide ratio with a 2.87 1st gear.