After years of popping out of 1st finally now i have no 1st atall, it just grinds when i engage the clutch so i guess its time for a new one. I checked the linkage and found it bottoms out on the trans case, so i cant be a matter of the gear not engaging far enough i figure...I have a 79 with the 300i6 and i found a guy willing to sell me his 3 speed out of a 65...question is, is it the same trans? All the info i find isnt helping much in id-ing the trans and finding out wether there are different 3 speeds of those years. anyone have a clue?

 

If they are both Ford top-loading, side-shifted, iron cased, all synchro transmissions, they might interchange directly.

If the '65 is a BW (side-loaded, side shifted, iron case, synchro in 2 & 3 only) and the '79 is the Ford "303" as described above, then it might still interchange.

Things to check:

--Ford vs. Ford or Ford vs. BW
--overall length
--input length
--input spline
--output spline
--speedo location
--shifter arm location and what controls what.
--bell to block pattern. Both should have the Ford "Butterfly" pattern, and the '65 might have both that and the old "square" pattern.

If you hit a major mismatch, keep looking. Billions served right up to 1986. (or is that '85...??)

ID charts, mostly car stuff:

3 Speed ID Chart

A little more info on the type:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...ay-1969-a.html

More info with a link to another thread with even more info:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...tion-info.html

 

ok ty...the trans in my truck is a RAT, the one im offered has an id of :HEGT 012257
I cant find anything HEGT, maybe he told me wrong...anyway both are 3 speeds, top load, 2 shift levers and butterfly front, he sais his has a short tail housing of 7 in...i measured mine at 15 :/ i guess tht means the output shaft is longer on mine.

 

If you are adventerous, you might be able to use the internals from his to fix yours.....Stand by on that one, there may be another member here that could shed light on that.

Otherwise, remember, there were billions served.

OR, you could "go nuts" and swap in a Mazda or ZF 5 speed......

 

haha id swap if i had a shifter kit for it...this 3 speed with cheapo shifter kit keeps getting stuck if i move the stick diagonally rather than up over and up, u know.. i sure didnt have that problem with the 3od with a hurst shifter kit in another truck...but thats expensive. One thing is for sure- no automatic for this truck.