I'm throwing in the towel on building my Cruise-O-Matic tranny for my 66 F-250. After the third build, I cant seem to get it right. So, I think I'll just order a remanned C-6 from the parts house. Problem is that I dont know what I need to buy to make it all work with my 352 FE block, 2 barrel, column shift and two piece bolt on driveshaft. My concerns are as follows:

1. What year is the best to use when ordering from the parts house and they ask me which vehicle I need the tranny for? Someone locally told me say I had a 1976 F-250.

2. There seems to be different lengths and types of tail shafts available. What would I need?

3. Would I need a different torque converter? If so, what bolt spacing/spline and size would I need?

4. Would I need a new driveline or would I need to modify the original?

5. What changes would need do be made to the linkage?

6. What modifications would need to be made to the mounts/crossmember?

7. Are there any other concerns other than these?

Also, I do have a C-6 out of a early 70's ford van. It had a 360 motor but it has a slip in style yoke. Could I use this with modification to the tail housing or driveline? If not, maybe I can use it for a core for the reman unit. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Zeus

 

Is the C6 you have any good. If it is then it would be easier and cheaper to modify the drive shaft and crossmember. The linkage will probably work with only minor changes.

 

Wow, I would have argued that there were no FEs in vans, the things that you learn here.

Personally I would not buy a tranny from a parts house. I would get one rebuilt at a local shop. $6-700.00 range in NC.

Have you tried a local shop for your C-O-M, It's still a good tranny. IMHO

Just about everything is different between the C-O-M & C6.

John

 

When I swapped from a C-O-M to a C6 and the only things I needed to do was slide the crossmember back and shorten the driveshaft. The yoke was interchangable between the two. I still have the C-O-M speedo cable that slid into the C6 without any major problems. I just had to reroute how it ran from the tail shaft to the firewall to give is some slack. Check out the internet using google to pull up a few websites to get an idea of how much it will cost to buy a C6 outright. I have found them rated to 500HP for $850 if you're plan on adding more power later.

 

You have a what??

NO FE engine was ever used in an Econoline Van...NONE.

First C-6 in an Econoline = 1975, and these Econolines have either 300 I-6; 351W or 460. For other E-van engines, see next sentence.

Econoline engines: 144/170(1961-67); 240(1965/74); 300(1975/); 302(1969/74 1979/); 351W (1975/); 351M/400(1980/82); 460 (1975/).


The 144/170's initially used Fordomatic 2 speeds, then after 1964, the C4. From 1975, C-6's only.

On the left side of the C6 case is a Ford ID number-like: PGD-B. Post it, I can decode it to when it was first used and what it was used with.

 

I did the exact same thing w/ my '65 F250. Aside from what harley said, you will need to buy a tranny cooler. Incidentally, my C6 came out of a '71 F250. Very simple upgrade, don't make a moutain out of a molehill.

 

You will have to pay for a core charge on the transmission.
The COM will not be accepted.
That could add considerable to the project.
You must get the proper convertor to fit the crank.
Linkages will be different.
The COM may have an external cooler close to the transmission.

What is wrong with the COM you are having problems with?

They are a very reliable transmission.

Tell you what.

You pay my air and a hotel for 3 days. I'll come there and build it for you.
You supply the parts.
Been there, done that.

 

Silly question from a newbie to old Ford transmissions. Is the Cruise-O-Matic a 2-speed or 3-speed?

Thanks!

 

COM is a 3 speed.

 

I'll try to answer the questions posted.

I was given this C-6 from a friend who was moving across town and didnt want to find room for it in his new garage. As for the condition and what it came out of, I can only repeat what he told me. He said that he got it from a friend of his who bought it to rob the engine out of for his truck and that they drove the van home to pull the motor. At that time, he said the tranny shifted great and seemed to be in good shape. He also said that the motor that was in the van was a 360FE. Maybe he's wrong or doesnt quite remember right. He did say that this was 4 or 5 years ago and at the time it was a good tranny. It was stored inside...I really dont know much other than that.

Bill,
I'll look for numbers on the case to find out what it really came out of since it seems obvious now that my friend is proabably mistaken about the engine in the van.

Stuart,

I had sent you an email when I installed the lastest one I tried to build. I really wish I had a web cam and audio set up like you had talked about. I wish I could afford to fly you down...how about if I ship it up there? I have not pulled it back out yet to see what went wrong. But I replaced the clutches/steels, bands, seals, took apart the servos valve body and pressure regulator and cleaned them. This symtoms are that it only has reverse, no forward gears at all and when you shift it in and out of reverse, you can still hear the shafts rotating to a slow stop. It's as if it is not locking up as it should. Maybe I put the one way clutch in backwards? I may tear it down again this weekend. I have two good cores with like new hard parts. I just cant seem to get the thing to work. I wish I could find a manual to reference. I figured if I had to throw an additional 600 bucks into having a shop build it, I might as well do a C-6 to avoid parts availability problems in the future. Speaking of the future, there are no plans to build a high horse motor.

 

You can easily ID that transmission as dfor an FE by looking at the bellhousing bolt pattern and the mating surface shape.
If it looks round, then it is for an FE.
Anything else it isn't for an FE.

 

I must have missed the part where you said you already have a C6.


Shipping may be a killer but if you want to, by all means do so.

 

zeus77, I'm betting on the 460, I have a hard time remembering last week.

IDing a FE bell is easy to ID like banjo was saying, it is round on top.
The 460 is raised with a flat top and a 8" bolt hole spread.

We'll be here to help you get going.

John

 

Well, I finally had time to look for some numbers on the C6. It does have a round bell housing but the bolt spread only seems to be about 6 inches.

There is the number 98 welded (bead) onto the top center of the bell housing and on the left side of the case, the numbers D4TP-7006A-A2A and the word SHEFFIELD are cast into the case. Does this help I.D. this tranny?

Stuart, UPS says the cost will be appx $144US to ship up and $110 for return ship plus any custom fees if required. I'll let you know when/if I'm going to ship it. It will depend on whether or not I will try to go with the C6 conversion. Still I'm VERY curious to learn why my build did not work...more to follow later.

Thanks again everyone,

Zeus

 

Measure the top 2 bolt holes.