Ford O Matic Question

[outcruisen]

Hi all.. Finally took my nearly completed 57 4 door Ht for a spin around the block to do a shake down, and came accross this with the auto transmission..

Seems to hold first gear for a bit, gives a little squeek, then goes into next gear. Sort of feels like a 2 speed transmission as opposed to a 3?

Not ever having driven the car before the pull down, and also never driving a car this old, is this normal. I had the auto serviced and adjusted whilst out, and have used the recomended transmission fluid, but the lentgh of time it holds first gear, and the harsh change seems odd to me. Once in top gear it purs along, but a mate with a (Dont yell at me) 57 Chev, says his 2 speed auto does exactly the same thing. Do the Ford O Matic boxes start in second gear, then jump into 3rd as did the Galaxies etc, and only use 1st gear when it is pushed hard off the line?

Sort of dont want to be out with the family and have a failure due to my uneducated knoledge of the old girl.

Any info would be much appreciated.

Cheers from Downunder..

Mark

Is this normal?

[JPotter57]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the Fordomatic was the 2 spd, and the later cruiseomatic was the 3 speed?  Hoosier, Glen, anyone care to weigh in on this one?

[outcruisen]

I could be wrong here as it certainly performs like a 2 speed auto.. Maybe me being a 57 Fairlane novice I got it wrong.. I need more help with this than I thought LMAO!!!

[cool57]

Fordo is 2 speed, but you can start in low and shift to Dr. manually for 3 speeds total.

[outcruisen]

" Tricks For Ford-O-Matic Power Shifting For Speed "

This last month I read an article in Street Rodder Magazine ( Transmission Options by Doc Frohmander Y-NOTTA Y-BLOCK part 7, Sept. 1999 issue Page 206). On page 208 of this article there is a section called Ford-O-Matics. I own a 1959 Ford Country Sedan Station Wagon and I had been trying to figure out how to manually power shift my car for speed when I needed it. The following has been quoted from this article.

FORD-O-MATICS by Doc Frohmander

These transmissions are often maligned, but in their day, they were quite solid and serviceable units. They were what I call "stealth three-speeds". Nearly lost in history is the Ford-O shift trick that allowed you to make use of all three gears. The Ford-O had only two: "low" and "drive". The only way you got low was to manually shift into it. If you started out in drive, you got second gear and a single shift to third. So the trick was to start out in low, wind it up to were you wanted second, and manually upshift to the drive position. Unfortunately, if you stopped there, you got third when the trans wanted to shift-usually a lot lower rpm than you wanted. So to stay in second, you simply upshifted to drive from first and immediately dropped it back into low. The trans would react by shifting to second and staying there until you again shifted into drive. There-three speeds, and once you got the idea it was simple to do.

The Ford-O remains a usable trans and will support a reasonable healthy Y-block if it is in good shape. Another option: Use an adapter kit made by Flat-O Products that allows you to use a C4 transmission. Obviously, the C4 is the premium option; able to handle some serious strong drag engines in beefed form and easily handle everything a Y-block can produce. I personally have never seen this kit, but am told that it is a complete kit of parts that adapts the C4 with little fuss. The obvious advantages are the C4's strength, lightness and shift. (end)

Some other tricks that I have found with experimentation :

(1) Start in low. (2) Up-Shift into drive for second. (3) Down shift immediately into low to stay in second.

(4) Up-Shift into drive for third. (5) Down shift back into low if you need to go back to second for pick up.

(6) Up-Shift into drive which will put you in third again when slowing back down so as not to bang the

trans in first while coming to a stop.

(7) Once stopped you then can drop her back into low and start over again.

You will only find this article in Street Rodder Magazine. For other great articles on the web you can go to Street Rodders website by clicking the link below.

Street Rodder Online

Happy Motoring,

Jeffrey

Webmaster / aeclassic.com

[canadian_ranchero]

if you swap the front pump,torque converter and bell housing from a ford o matic on to a fmx trans you get a more modern 3 speed [you may also need to swap the rear housing but it all bolts up]just something to think about and another transmission option 

[shopratwoody]

The article you read is correct. They work good like that and are quite strong. Never had
a problem even hooked to much bigger FE engines.