4 speed top-loader

B

BobM

Senior Member
I have a Rug J2 out of a '68 390 Fairlane that I bought online. Removed the top plate & turned input shaft and everything appears to be in good shape; very clean & no missing teeth. My question is what can be determined from a visual inspection; is there a way to tell if the synchros are okay by this method? My intentions are is to put this transmission behind a 276 flathead.
Any input would be appreciated.
 
One thing to watch out for: The input shaft on a big block FE (390, etc.) is about 3/8" shorter that a small block (289, etc.) Top Loader input. This is because the crankshaft on a 390 extends farther from the rear block face than a 289, 302, 351W. Assemble the flywheel with pilot bearing, bellhousing and trans without the pressure plate and disc so you can look through the fork opening and make sure the input nose fits into the pilot brng. (don't ask how I learned this!).
 
40 Deluxe, thanks for the info., I wasn't aware of the different input shaft lengths. I consulted the David Kee's Transmissions chart (top-loader expert) and it said to use the 24" case in a "hot rod" application with no mention of shaft length.
 
BobM
I have a toploader presently behind a flathead. Mine came from a 390 also. I used an adapter from Gene Sanders in Akron, Ohio. I have no idea what the talk about the case is, as I used a Jeep case with mine. It is dimensionally the same as a Ford case, about 12 inches. I used a rebuild kit from Toploader Heaven and replaced the synchros and shafts
Jim
 
Kahuna said:
BobM
I have a toploader presently behind a flathead. Mine came from a 390 also. I used an adapter from Gene Sanders in Akron, Ohio. I have no idea what the talk about the case is, as I used a Jeep case with mine. It is dimensionally the same as a Ford case, about 12 inches. I used a rebuild kit from Toploader Heaven and replaced the synchros and shafts
Jim
Click to expand...

Jim
... Good info! just stumbled across this; have you the email address of Gene Sanders in Akron, Ohio.
... what does his Adapter look like?
thanks, Ric
 
Jim, thanks for the help. Do you recall if the input shaft on your top-loader is 1 1/16" or 1 3/8" dia.? Mine is 1 1/16" & I would expect it to be 1 3/8" since it came from a big block. Also, what did you use for pedals, clutch & pressure plate. The 24" dimension is the overall length of case & tail piece (actually 24 1/2".) I'm using the Ford one piece stamped steel bell housing, the top-loader bolts right up to it.
 
BobM said:
Jim, thanks for the help. Do you recall if the input shaft on your top-loader is 1 1/16" or 1 3/8" dia.? Mine is 1 1/16" & I would expect it to be 1 3/8" since it came from a big block. Also, what did you use for pedals, clutch & pressure plate. The 24" dimension is the overall length of case & tail piece (actually 24 1/2".) I'm using the Ford one piece stamped steel bell housing, the top-loader bolts right up to it.
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that only the 427's and 428's had the 1 3/8 input shaft. All others had the 1 1/16.

There are three bolt patterns on a toploader. The first, very early ones, used the same bolt pattern as the earlier cars. The second had the old and the new bolt pattern on the top, bottom didn't change. The third, had only the new top pattern but, supposedly, there was plenty of meat to drill the old bolt pattern in the case. Again, the bottom didn't change.

I have a toploader behind a 312, and it's the early one and bolted right up (except for a few needed modifications).
 
Thanks Paul, I thought maybe someone switched out the input shaft, mine must be second generation as it has both bolt patterns.
 
As Paul mentioned, you have the smaller input shaft. Here's the info for Gene Sanders:www.modelengineeringco.com. He makes a lot of stuff for 32 Fords.Rick-The adapter looks almost exactly like a Ford bell housing. Because of the shorter input shaft of the '390" trans, I had .100" milled from the face of the adapter to gain better engagement. Seems Ok. Bobm-I'm using the original 32 pedals, and used a 10" Long style pressure plate. I took the clutch disc for the early Ford to the Napa Store and for $40.00 bucks got the correct disc to use with the Toploader- probably from a Mustang?
Jim
 

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Jim, thanks for the info, will go to Napa for the parts, what did you use for throw out bearing? Bob
 
Forgot about that, Bob. A friend of mine made a sleeve to fit over the Toploader input shaft housing, so I could then use the stock early Ford throwout bearing. Seems OK and much easier than trying to adapt more parts
Jim
 
Jim, are you aware of any supplier making a sleeve for the input shaft & what is a "long style" pressure plate? Thanks, Bob
 
Another point of interest. Shifter mounting locations went all over the place on the tailshaft depending on which car the trans went into. The closest location to the main case is a 64 Falcon tailshaft which puts the shifter right up close to the case (This is the trans I have). My understanding is that David Kee repos these tailshafts and also has a Hurst shifter for it (couldn't find one anywhere else and the Hurst catalog did not show it). The Hurst catalog only showed the T-10.

If you want an easy clutch to push, get a diaphram style
 
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