I have a PAW-7003-C air cooled Fordomatic in a 1956 Thunderbird that I am going to overhaul. This transmission is in front of a 3.31 ratio rear axle and normally starts in second gear.

I have heard that the '55 & '56 Fordomatic used in light trucks started in first gear. I would like to know if I could use parts of the truck transmission to convert my T-Bird transmission to start in first gear. That will allow me run taller rear gears.

Thanks for your help.

 

Anybody out there ever heard of a Fordomatic starting in first without pullin' it down?
Not me.

 

According to the owner's manual ( for cars ) they are suposed to take off in first gear when you push the pedal to the floor on takeoff. There's some advertising name/ catchphrase for that feature that I can'r remember now. Not really practical IMO, also it never worked with any I ever drove.

 

I had a 57 Ford with the 2 speed Fordomatic and if I really pushed hard on that sucker, she'd light up the rear tires, all that with a 272 CID, Other than that, she'd always start in second gear. I was happy with the way it worked.

 

Yeah. My '57 Failane 500 (292) had the gawdafulest cammed-first-gear-kickdown throttle linkage that needed mucho fussin' and adjustment to work. I guess I never trusted it to kick first from a dead stop so I pulled the lever down--so I suppose its possbile tromping on a properly adusted setup might get you first off the line

 

I have a stock 55 Fairlane. It has the 272 with a Fordomatic. The phrase in question for the ads that year was Trigger-Torque power. It readily shifts down to first if you floor it and it will smoke the tires. I never heard that the truck versions started off in first. Good luck, John