Bolt in top loader

[Gregs57]

Morning all. I have read a lot of the posts on this topic and I will try to narrow it down for simplicity. My 57 has an original 272 Y block with a 3 speed non overdrive transmission. At 70 mph it revs at about 3000 rpm with my BFG's 3.89 rear gears. I want to replace the trans with a top loader 4 speed. Not interested in a 3 speed with OD. Is there a direct bolt in top loader out there I should be looking for. If so what code on the tag will make it work. Also I am entertaining dropping an FE in at a later date so would use same transmission with it as well. Hope I'm not complicating the issue too much. Thanks 

[Ford Blue blood]

Mid 80s light trucks had a top loader 3spd/od.  Not sure of the bolt pattern to bell but I put one behind the 48 1/2 ton with a 390.  1st law way down there but the od was great as 65 turned around 2250 rpm.  The case is aluminum and the shifter was in the top cover.  I think they were in Jeeps as well.

[lalessi1]

Are you looking for a 4 Speed with a OD 4th (I am assuming you are).

[Lgcustom]

Here's a link to a page on David Kee's site that shows the toploader with od versus the normal toploader 4-speed.

[Gregs57]

Looking for a straight 4 speed. No Overdrive. Compatible with an FE if I go that route. I have 3:89 gears in the car now. May wind up being a weekend warrior drag car if I go FE.

[Lgcustom]

My apologies for not including the link. http://www.davidkeetoploaders.com/imposters.htm
Sorry, I can't help with fitment on the trans. My only experience was a T-10 that bolted up to my '57 312.

[CobraJoe]

As said, reach out to David Kee in Texas, he will point you in the right direction and hook you up with what you need. I have dealt with him in the past and purchased a few large spline toploaders from him.

https://www.4speedtoploaders.com/

[lalessi1]

I put a T-10 behind an FE in 1967. It bolted in...drive shaft, mount, everything. It went in in place of a stock three speed, of course the floor shifter was necessary. The Toploaders are stronger. I have a Toploader behind an FE in my Custom now. It is the short version 24" or so (same as the T-10) it has the dual pattern so it would bolt up in place of the stock tranny. It does require a minor mount  adjustment and I believe that stock drive shaft might work...

[59meteor]

I have a Toploader 4 speed in my 59 2 door sedan, with a FE 428 Cobra Jet engine, I am running a 1966 Fairlane 289 wide ratio transmission, which puts my Hurst Super Shifter about 2" ahead of the factory bem]nch seat. The Mustang transmissions have the shifter about 3" further back.  I am running a factory early narrow pattern only bellhousing, from a 60 or 61 Ford car, which works with my dual pattern Toploader case, although the early bell has a smaller bore for the front bearing retainer on the trans. 3 ways around that, either find a 1964 only Toploader retainer, which is the smaller size, had the larger retainer machined down to size, or as I did, have the bore in the bellhousing enlarged to fit the later retainer. For the trans mount, I retained the factory saddle style mount, and ground the saddle width, and U shaped retaining strap, to work with the narrower bolt spacing on the Toploader, (or later automatics as well). That said, the Toploader 4 speed will not lower your highway RPM at all, as 4th gear is still 1 to 1. I have 28" tall rear tires, (275/60R15 BFG T/A radials), and my "normal" gear ratio, is 3.50, which puts me at about 2600 RPM at 60 MPH. I really like the Toploader, and I have 2 other rearend center sections set up (2.91 for the freeway, and 4.33 for the dragstrip), but although I can change the rearend "chunks" in about 1 1/2 hours, I am considering swapping to a mew Tremec TKX 5 speed, to make the occasional 2 hour freeway trip more enjoyable, without changing the rear axle ratio so often. I originally had tried mocking up the Toploader with both a C5T PU truck bellhousing, and a Lakewood scattershield, but in both cases, the clutch fork was on a different angle, about 1 1/2" lower than the early bellhousing, which prevented the factory style mechanical clutch linkage from working. Also, the Lakewood bell interfered with the FPA headers.

[59meteor]

Oh, and by the way, back in the late 70s, I had a 57 Custom 4 door sedan, with a 272 V8, and I replaced the factory non syncro 1rst , 3 speed manual transmission, with  3 speed Toploader, from a 67 Comet 289. It had the dual bolt pattern case, which bolted up to the factory Y Block bellhousing, it was so long ago, that I don`t recall if I had the same issue with the front bearing retainer on the Toploader 3 speed, that I had with the 4 speed, or not. So the Toploader 4 speed should also be doable with the Y Block bell as well. And since my 57s 3 speed had the same size 1 1/16"x10 spline input as the Toploader, I retained the Y Blocks original flywheel, with the same clutch assembly. I used an aftermarket floor shifter when I swapped the 3 speed Toploader into the 57, but I imagine , depending on the levers on the trans, the column shifter could be retained.