1983 transmission question...again(update 7-8-08)

[SteveC]

the truck was made in feb of 83 and the question i have is what kind of trnasmission is it???

the info i have is as follows
its a manual transmission the reverse is towards you and up and is a 4 speed with the 4th gear being overdrive


and the tag on the door says "B" ive try with out luck to find out what that b stands for but cant find it and i dont want to go buy a book for this year cause the only thing im getting from this truck is the 300 inline 6 and transmission and a few odds and ends

ive looked at several transmission sites but all it gives me is a picture and doesnt tell me the code.
So does any one have a idea what transmission this is?? Thanks for the help in advance

[SteveC]

hmm maybe this would be a t170 series....is that a good transmission for just going from point A to point B?? the rear end has a 3.50:1 ratio

[spartman]

That transmission would be a SROD overdrive tranny.

Its a light duty tranny, and from what little info I have been able to glean from the net, parts are a little hard to come by and are expensive when you do find em.

If you go over to David Kee's toploader page he talks about em.

Depending on what flavor it is you might have trouble even getting linkage parts for it.

I was gonna put one of these from a 85 F-150 in mine but decided not to, simply cause of the lack of parts etc.

[SteveC]

is there a better 4 speed over drive that would fit the same bolt pattern??

[SteveC]

or do most ford 3 and 4 speeds for the 2 wheel drive have the same bolt pattern??

I may just go with this transmission since im gonna do any hauling with this truck..i got the f250 for that...

If this transmission looks good on the inside and if not what manual should i go look for?? that will bolt right up and has a overdrive

What about a ZF S5-42 or 47....are these hard to find in a junk yard?? or are they even any good

[spartman]

Don't know of any other 4 spd overdrive trannys out there.

Also I guess the gear split between 2nd and 3rd is huge.

Guess you rev the snot out of it in 2nd and then lug it in 3rd.

From what I was told if you can get the cast iron side shifting one from a car you have the availability of more parts options and I guess you can convert it to a toploader by swapping in the guts from a top loader.

IIRC those would be more found in cars than trucks, but I could be wrong.

Here is that site I was talking about: http://www.davidkeetoploaders.com/imposters.htm

[spartman]

Here is some more info for ya:

http://www.drivetrain.com/tremec4sp.html

[SteveC]

thanks for all the info ive been thinking all day about it....we are basically getting the truck for close to free for building the guy a box trailer out of a junk truck frame...and i think ill pull the top off and look at the gears and see how they look....i know the shift has a little bit of play in it but i dont know how they were new.

If every thing looks good ill go for it...im not using it to pull just drive around town. And if it goes to pot ill get something else and go from there....
Ive seen some where on this site here http://www.fordification.com/M5R2_5spd-swap.htm

about how this guy put a five speed out of a newerish ford truck i may still try this route if the transmission doesnt go right. Ill probally play it by ear
Thanks for all the info and help so far

[spartman]

Hey no problem.

Let me know how it works for ya.

[SteveC]

ill update when i get that far...
Though when i start putting the 72 back together ill probally create one big project page for it and lump all the different post from when i first got it into it.

[spartman]

From what I understand you need to check the aluminum case for cracks, especially on the input shaft end.

Other than that same issues as stated above.

[SteveC]

ok ill do that. not much options i really dont want to use the np435 i have cuase i was saving it for the 67.

Guess i just give it heck and try it till i can save up and get a 5 speed.

Worse case ill pick up another np435 or T18-T19 and use that and just live live with out overdrive for a while.

Thanks again i was thinking that was the same issues as the others

[spartman]

Glad to help.

I am not saying that these trannys are junk, but the do have issues and seem to be kind of like the Edsel.

Just want you to know what you would/could be in for.

I wish they werent so odd or I could get one for like 50bux and put it in my truck

[SteveC]

thanks again and i do appreciate the help and letting me know what i could be in for.

Live and learn

[spartman]

No problemo.