1957 Ford with a 390 and 3 speed on the column?

[Ford_Crazy]

I'm thinking about going with a FE 390 engine in my 57 custom, but would like to keep the standard 3 speed on the column.  My car has a 272 with a 3 speed overdrive. I suspect the OD 3 speed trans won't take the FE torque.  What 3 speed trans will work with my column shift and a 390?

[shopratwoody]

I don't think you would have a problem as long as you don't rev it and dump the clutch. If it's a T85 it
should hold up fine. I ran Olds powered stuff back in the day with trans weaker that that.
Then you could always change to a 4 spd.
Ron

[Hoosier Hurricane]

That 272 would not have had the T85.  Its transmission isn't very strong, but as stated, baby it and it will work.  The T85 was installed by the factory behind 390s and will hold up very well.

John

[Ford_Crazy]

The transmission that came with my car is not original. It's a three speed O/D transmission with an iron case and a side cover.  I think it may be a T85.  Any way to be sure?  Also, this trans if hooked to a Y-Block. Is the trans input shaft the same as a FE?  Thanks!

[Frankenstein57]

I had a 69 GT390 ranchero with a 3 on the tree, it was the 4 barrel , I think it was 310 HP stock. The car was real fast stock, toploader trans. I still have the engine and trans. Scrapped out the car due to midwest frame rot.  Mark

[Hoosier Hurricane]

The T85 has a side cover with a curved lower edge.  The light duty has a straight bottom edge on the side cover.  There should also be a casting number on the right side of the case.  The shaft lengths are the same, but you may have to change the clutch disc to match the splines.

John

[JimNolan]

flawebmaster,
      My advice is, the T85 transmission if you want 23mpg on the highway. It's a strong transmission but won't hold up to power shifting. The three pawls in the syncronizer assembley won't hold up. Once they get bent it's hard to shift gears. The Hurricane told me and I wouldn't listen. I put over 900 dollars in new parts in my T85 and then went out and found out he was right.
     The fact that you're installing a 390 tells me you're looking for performance. Performance can be found with a good Ford toploader ( 3 or 4 speed ). Gas mileage can be found with a T85. Both can be found with a Tremec. Jim

[Ford_Crazy]

The transmission I have is a T85.  I like to build cars that I liked as a kid back in the sixties.  I had a 57 Custom in High School, so I bought the 70A to bring back old memories.  The 70A was a six-cylinder car from the factory, so I'm not concerned about modifying it. At first I thought I would rebuild the Y-Block, but 57 Customs with a big block were really cool in 1965. I'm not into super high performance these days but I like to jump on the gas once in a while and definitely like the old school three on a tree.  I still might go the Y-Block route but it's up for grabs. By the way, does anone know if the 406 shorty cast iron headers will work on my 70A with a column shift?  Thanks for the input!

[Lou]

I have a solid lifter 1960 352 built to 1960 hiPo specks with a top loader overdrive that I just took out of a wrecked 60 Ford. Engine has 44,000 miles trans was just completey rebuilt less than 2000 miles. 100% complete less the 4 barrel carb. $1000.00 for everything, picked up here. If you are intersted contack me at vehicleone at hotmail dot com.