57 T-bird OD trans questions..............

R

reman

Member
I have a BW overdrive transmission that we took out of a 57 Tbird a very long time ago. I have 2 questions......1. Is there anyway to be sure if this trans was original to the Bird? 2. Is there anything unique at all to the 57 Bird trans that would differentiate it from any other BW OD in a 57 Ford sedan?
The numbers on the case are...T85B-1 and K188. Will appreciate any help with this thing. Thanks, Ron
 
The manual and OD transmissions in the baby birds have a shorter tail shaft housing than the full sized Fords. I don't have the measurements handy, but it has been my observation. Because of the X frame in the baby bird, the service manual says to remove the engine to replace the transmission. I replaced the automatic transmission once on our 1957 bird without removing the engine. I removed the fan and water pump fan spacer, un-did the motor mount bolts and moved the engine forward just enough so that the transmission's tail shaft would clear the X frame. It saved me quite a bit of time doing it that way.
 
For what it is worth, A t-85 C 1A case and R11 1P tailshaft measures 27 3/4 inches from the mounting surface at bell housing to end of tail shaft housing. I was told it is from a '63 Galaxie with 390 engine.
 
"The 57 t-bird 3 speed with overdrive had the ****** case stamped T 85 C -1A The overdrive rear casting is stamped T85 C-7B and is 19 1/2" long.The main shaft has 10 splines and outside diameter of 1"
The output shaft has 16 splines and oustide diameter of 1.375" "

* this info from the CTCI T-Bird restoration manual by Gil Baumgartner.
John in CT
 
For what it is worth about 1957 overdrive transmissions: On the 1957 Ford cars, the 292 engine came with the Borg Warner OD top load transmission behind it. The 312 engine came with the T 85 OD side load transmission behind it. I don't know if this also applied to the 1957 Bird. In 1961 I bought a 1957 Ford Sunliner with a 292 with a BW OD behind it. After about the fifth BW top load trans failure, (too weak) I put in a T 85 OD side load transmission from a 312 1957 Ford and I never had anymore problems. I owned the car for three years and I drove it hard. There is a huge difference between the two transmissions.
 
The T 86 has the R10 light weight overdrive and the T 85 has the R11 heavy duty overdrive....when viewed side to side there is a huge difference in case size ....my 55 Ford has the T86 and my 56 T-Bird has the T85.......J in CT
 
Hey guys!. Thank you for all the responses and great information. I have read your experiences and all the references you offered. I am still a bit puzzled with mine and have a bit of new information. The tail housing on this is 16 1/2 inches long. The overall trans from the bell housing mounting surface to the end of the tail shaft is 27 1/2 inches long. The input shaft is 10 spline and appears to be the same as my 427 toploader. The output shaft is 16 spline. The passenger side of the tail housing shows R11- 3. Unsure of the 3. Below that is WG DIV SB 3, then F1-8....unsure of the F18 also. One of the big things I am wondering about is the main case number...No where have I been able to find the T85B. The T85C is plentiful, but no B's. Do you guys have any further thoughts on identification? Could it possibly be an older unit from a flathead???
 
Could possibly be from a '49-'51 Lincoln. Many other manufacturer's used them, notably Packard and Studebaker. I had a '57 Stude Golden Hawk that had one. I couldn't break it...
 
I think Dobie might be on the right track. In 67, I put a T-85 in a 55 bird. Had to do some mods on the x member and cut the ears on the trans mount, and tap new holes. Best I recall, the trans came out of a later Ford, but who knows. These weren't all that valuable a car for many years, and many of us substituted parts we could find. Given the bearing and axle sizes, the Dana 44 in my current bird appears to have come from a truck. Try a site that's not Ford oriented, might find your numbers there.
 
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