HELP !!!! Needing info on how to do a 4 speed convertion . HELP !!!!!!!

[rob .h]

HI guys , Can any one help me get started . I,m wanting to install a 4 speed , but cant find any info on what parts will work. Some "custom" work was done to the car before I got it . So now it looks like it has a '68 289 auto ?? Stock rear ?? My wish list is a 4 speed , 428 CJ , 9" posi. rear. But to get it on the road this summer , I'd be happy with starting with installing a 4 speed.
The only info I got was that a '67 Fairlane trans would fit . Is this right ?  WHAT ABOUT THE NEEDED CLUTCH / BRAKE BRACKET / Z Bar , etc. ??
PLEASE HELP , If I can't get a stick in it soon , I'll have to sell it. AND I SURE DON,T WANT TO HAVE TO DO THAT !!!!!!! But I just cant find the needed help to do it my self. And can't afford to have a Custom Shop Fab. the parts .

[lalessi1]

There are several 4 speeds that will work. Basically you have a Borg Warner T-10 or a Ford "Toploader" to coose from. The T-10s and early Toploaders have a narrow bolt pattern, later Toploaders have a wide bolt pattern. The narrow pattern is the same as the '57 3 speed and early FE bellhousings. There are 3 different lengths of Toploader tail shaft housings. The shortest one is the most common, the longest one is on transmissions from early full size cars. Basically if you happen to have the right combination of parts the swap is almost a bolt in. Finding the parts is the issue. I have a 66 FE, a '67 Mustang 390 4 speed Toploader with the wide bolt pattern and short tail shaft. My car has a stock cross member and uses a stock transmission mount. I think the drive shaft may have been stock but I have a custom one now. The topic can get complicated as far as details on any specifics but PM me and I will give you my phone number and we can talk about it if you'd like.

[59meteor]

My laziness have prevented my from getting my car drivable, but I do have a 428 Cobra Jet engine and 4 speed Toploader in my 59 2 door sedan, which mechanically, is pretty much identical to a 57. On a 57, you can use the motor mounts for a 58 Ford 332/352, which I believe are also identical to the 57 Y Blocks motor mounts. My Toploader , according to the ID tag, is from a 66 Fairlane, although the guy I bought it from pulled it out of his 66 "K"Code Mustang. The tailhousing has 2 sets of mounting holes for the shifter. The Mustang shifter the trans came with mounted at the rear of the tailhousing, but I am using a Hurst Super Shifter 2, in the further foreward Fairlane postiton, which clears the original bench seat nicely. From what I have seen, the stock Z Bar from a Y Block will work, although you will need a 58 FE clutch pivot bracket, or make/modify something to work. My car has the FPA headers, made specifically for 57-59 Ford cars with FE engines, and I did need to relocate the lower lever on the Z bar towards the frame about an inch to clear the header, and also trim the corner of the engine side Z bar bracket , both pretty simple. t first I tried using a common FE PU truck bellhousing, but it located the clutch fork almost 2" too low to work with the stock clutch linkage. I currently am using a 1961 FE car bellhousing, which has only the narrow transmission bolt pattern, but my 66 trans has both patterns, so it bolted up no problem. One issue of concern is that the register hole for the trans front bearing retainer on the pre 65 bellhousings is smaller than the later versions, I had a local machinest bore the hole in the bellhousing to the larger size of a later bellhousing, or if you can find one, a 1964 Toploader bearing retainer could be swapped. No idea if a retainer from a early  Toploader 3 speed would work. I used the stock trans crossmember, and modified the stock trans "saddle" style mount and retaining strap to work. The strap has a wider bolt pattern than the Toploader does, I just cut out a section of the strap and welded it back together, and ground each side of the saddle mount to make the narrower strap fit. I will be having anew driveshaft made, as I just don`t trust the stock skinny 60 year old shaft, with its small U joints.And since my Toploader has the speedometer cable hole on the passenger side, I will need a longer speedo cable with the correct gear on the end. A couple of other guys here have also installed FEs and Toploaders, into their 57s, so they may have some different ways to accomplish this task, but since the FE was available in 58s, we are really just replicating what Ford did 60 years earlier. If you need some photos, I will try to post a few.

[lalessi1]

I had similar problems with bellhousings as well. I had a '64 (still do) and the transmission bearing retainer on my Toploader was too big to fit. My transmission came out of a '67 390 Mustang. I have a 3 speed Toploader that fit the bellhousing but the bearing retainer bolt circle was different. I am using a late model car FE bellhousing now with the wide pattern, for reference it has a "Z" cast on it rather than the "T". Turns out my '64 bellhousing had a small crack in it so I didn't have it machined. I have two z-bars one is supposed to be from a '59 FE car the other a '57. They differ on the engine side in that the pin is reversed...maybe that lets the rod clear the block boss? I am using a Competition Plus shifter on a Ford factory mounting plate. It required a small tunnel hole and I use the smallest Hurst boot. I too was a little uncomfortable with the original drive shaft although I used it for a while, I had another drive shaft made.