I would like to take the warner t-18 from a 74 F150 which has a 240, and install it in a 66F100 which has a Ford 3 speed in it behind a 352. If someone else has done such a conversion I'd be interested in your experience.

In particular:
Will the bell housing on the 352 accept the t-18?
Will I encounter clutch linkage problems?
Will I need a new drive shaft?
Will the tunnel cover in the 74 fit the 66 floor?

As an aside, are the bench seats interchangeable?

Thanks for any interest, j66b

 

Same bell housing used with 3 M/T; 3 M/T O/D; T-18 & NP435 4 speeds: 1965/66 F100/250 352 2WD; 1966 F100 352 4WD; 1967 F100/350 352; 1968/76 F100/350 360/390.

 

Many thanks to number dummy. Do you have any thoughts on the clutch linkage or tunnel cover pan? j66b

 

Would a Warner t-19 fit behind a 352 in a 66F100 just as easily as the t-18?
Thanks, j66b

 

When I bought the truck, it had a Ford 3 speed side loader with the shift on the column and a 3.5 rear end. I put the truck on a 4 post lift, removed that transmission, cut the floor, and installed a Warner t-18 wide ratio (1st gear is 6.32) 4 speed. The swap was straightforward. The bolt patterns of the two transmissions are identical, and the cross member can be bolted in two positions, one of which fits the t-18. I had to lengthen the drive shaft by about an inch. After searching all over the country for a tunnel hump cover, I found one in great condition in a boneyard in a town of 5000 about 20 miles from my front door.

I used the core exchange money from the 3 speed and bought a 2.73 rear, and put on the largest tires (235 75 R15) that would fit the rims. An 18 tooth speedo gear completed the drive train: the speedo reads 10% low, so it's easy to figure actual speed while driving.

I am very happy with these modifications. The 352 purrs along now at 2000 rpm at 65 mph. I don't mind starting in 1st, and double clutching down is easy. With the old transmission and rear, I got 12mpg. Now I get 15. The road noise is considerably less, and the 352 has adequate torque to do the job for my purposes.

I would really like to thank those who offered suggestions and technical advice, especially Number (not so) Dummy and a guy called Iceman on the Slick 60's sight.

On a different topic, after finishing the mechanicals, I had the truck painted Ford J (rangoon red) body and Wimbledon white roof, and a Ford J Linex bed liner sprayed on. You can see before and after if you visit my garage. j66b

 

Nice J66, pretty close to what I want to do.

Ive been thinking about going to a 4 speed. I have a 2.75 rear end to install in my 66 with a 352/3spd.

I also have a 3 speed ps column and everything I need for the install except for the pressure hose. I hate to waste a 3 speed ps column since they are so difficult to come by but I have been unable to locate a 4 speed ps column.

Ive been thinking about a T-19, I think they are the same as a T-18 except for the gear ratios.

I will probably go with whichever one I can find.

 

Shadow: The 19 has a synchronized 1st gear. The lowest first gear was 5 and change, but they are extremely hard to find: the 4 wheel jeep guys consume all of them. From my experience, unless you like replacing clutches, you will need the low first gear to go with a 2.75 rear. The t-18 has a really low reverse as well, so it makes backing up a lot easier. Wide ratio t-18's are relatively easy to find.

j66b

 

I swapped out a 3-spd in favour of a T-19. It has a 4:1 syncro first gear which is actually usable in ordinary driving. It came from a diesel F250. I have heard the 4:1 tranny came in 460-equipped trucks as well, although there is conflicting info on this, and I would focus my search on a diesel only. Some say the 460 used either a 4:1 or a 5:1. There is a double-low version as well which is really no improvement over the NP435 which is a lot cheaper.
I had to turn the trans mount around and swap driveshafts. Maybe there is a factory driveshaft that bolts right in but I used one off the JY pile and got combination u-joints.
Eric

 

I found a 1970 F250 with a T-18 that the guy is parting out.

I told him I want the tranny, shifter, front driveshaft, tunnel plate, and I asked if the truck had PS.

That should be everything I need to bolt up and go.

Im waiting for him to get back to me.

 

Shadow, your 2.75 rear will make first gear useful although the ratio will still be about 18:1. The problem with a T-18 as I see it is the awful gear spacing no matter which rear gear you have.
Eric

 

The gear ratios in a wide ratio t-18 are: 6.32, 3, 1.69, and 1. Reverse is 7.3. The top three gears are the same as the 3 speed that a lot of these trucks came with. Reverse in the three speed was 3.

for the narrow ratio t-18, the ratios are 4.02, 2.41, 1.41, and 1. Reverse is 4.73.

The t-19 had three possibilities Reverse is 6.96 for all of them

4.02, 2.41, 1,41, 1

5.1, 3.03, 1.73, 1

6.32, 3.09, 1.69, 1
So you can see that the wide and narrow ratio transmissions are geared very similarly. The mid range 19's top three gears are the same as wide ratio.

They probably put the narrow ratio 19 in the diesels so that the rpm's would be lower.

With my 2.73 rear, the wide ratio works very nicely with the 352 engine. I want reverse as low as possible as well. I personally would not want the narrow range ones, but this, of course is a matter of personal preference, not right and wrong.

Hope this helps, j66b

 

I didn't know there existed a 4:1 low T-18. Thanks for that. Maybe I could have widened my search and saved some dough! The first gear "usability" is one issue, the 3-4 rpm drop on the wide ratio is another. My T-19 is way better.
My Merc CS was built with a 6.68 low NP435 and 4.56 rear. I used only 3rd and 4th around town empty and was occasionally asked why the truck had a "two-speed" tranny!
Eric

 

J66B was it necessary to cut your floor to get the tranny to fit?

Can I just cut the hole for the shifter and avoid cutting the entire floor.

 

The factory 4spds had a large cover plate mounted on the top of the hump for the shifter, the 3spds did not, so you will have to make one.


John

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/a...1&d=1370247251

Shadow: go to this thread and you will find pictures of the tunnel hump cover that you need. If the floor of your truck is the same as mine, it will have a groove stamped in it to keep the floor rigid after the hole is cut and it will accept the flange of the cover, making alignment easy. I popped a 1.5 in hole at each corner so that the edge of the hole was 3/4in inside the groove, and then connected the holes with a Bosch jig saw. The floor will be stamped with recesses for U nuts: I used 1/4 x20 ones with 1/2in backset, and bolted the cover down with stainless steel machine screws. To seal it, I applied two strips of 3M 3/8 round windshield sealing tape before bolting it down. Place a donut of 1 in thick closed cell foam on top of the transmission around the shifter tower, and the cover will just compress it nicely and seal out the noise and road dirt and water. If your truck is like mine, you will be amazed at how thick the floor is: I used one of the holes for a washer to hold my air cleaner in place.

While you have the seat out, why not blast the floor and POR 15 it? They usually rust where you rest your left foot as you drive along.

I had a somewhat difficult time finding the cover. I had a couple of offers from folks on this site, but managed to find one in a boneyard in a tiny town 20 miles from my home, just lying there on the seat of a dead slick. I mean dead: the rest of the floor ahead of the seat was missing.

Hope this helps. This is a project worth doing. I love what it did for my truck.