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Hey guys I got a 1979 with a 390fe and a 4speed guy called it a t4 I’m new this is my first dentside project anyway what will I need to do the swap can you guys help me find parts etc please and thank you
The truck I have is a factory auto but I’m swapping over to a 4 in the floor and need help finding parts I don’t know if I’m stupid but I can’t find stuff on how to do the swap or part’s
Welcome to FTE.
I must have a hard time reading and understanding..
But WHAT exactly do you want to swap?????
The truck I have is a factory auto but I’m swapping over to a 4 in the floor and need help finding parts I don’t know if I’m stupid but I can’t find stuff on how to do the swap or part’s sorry I need to explain better
We'd love to help you. Please slow down and use some punctuation, so we know when one sentence stops, and the next begins.
From what I've pieced together, you have an automatic transmission in the vehicle now. And you're swapping in a T4. Is that correct? Are you talking about a Borg-Warner T4 transmission, like what came in Jeep CJ's back in the early 80's? If that's the case, you're gonna need an adapter, in order to mate that transmission to your FE. I've never seen an adapter for that. And there's probably good reason. The T4 was a weak transmission. They were notorious failure points in light weight Jeeps. Imagine how bad it'll be in a heavy truck. Another thing I'm wondering, is your truck 4WD? Because I've never seen a 2WD T4. And yet another question...did this 1979 truck come with the 390 installed? To my knowledge, 390's were not factory installed after 1976, and never in 4WD trucks.
Swapping to a non-standard manual transmission will require A LOT of fabrication, mock up, R&D, and parts finding. If you're just looking to motivate the truck down the road, I suggest a T18, or NP435. Those transmissions were standard equipment in our trucks, and the swap parts will be moderately plentiful and inexpensive. If you're wanting to bang shift and have a lot of fun, you can find a T5 out of a Mustang. I remember seeing a youtube video of a company that makes FE, and big block T5 adapters.
Are you sure the truck has a 390fe engine in it? I think 76 was the last year Ford put the fe engine in the trucks. Did the previous owner swap it in? What engine came in the truck from the factory? What engine will be important to figure out what bell housing you need. Im not familiar with a T4 transmission or what they came out of but Ford commonly used T18s and NP435s. Is the truck 2wd or 4wd? With a picture of the engine and valve covers, someone can tell you what engine family you are dealing with. You are going to end up needing a brake/clutch pedal assembly and a manual steering column. There is more as well but I cant think of it right now. Welcome to the forum. Post some pics.
Sorry my punctuation is **** I’m young but I’m not sure it’s a t4 but Ik it’s a manual 4speed and yes it’s 4wd I’ll have to looked this weekend it’s not at my house right now and I’m pretty sure it’s a 390 and it was a factory 351 truck also pretty sure it’s a ford transmission I’ll have to get more info seems I should’ve came more prepared lol
We can get you there. How about taking some photos for us. The grill, the door tag, a few of the engine, and a few of the transmission, and transfer case.
Properly ID the motor and trans you have now, then go from there. If it is an auto trans now, it is probably a C-6 transmission. Need to 100% ID the current motor to know exactily what bell housing you need, and fly wheel and get a manual trans starter. And a A T-18 and or NP-435 will be easier to find and swap in and it needs to be a 4wd transmission to be able to get the xfer case to bolt up. You are going to need parts like this below. What is wrong with the auto trans in it now? Or you just like a manual trans? Going to be some work, but it is doable.
Hey Aowen,
In my opinion,,, Both Ranger and 77&70F250 are correct.
UNLESS you have great fabrication skills, and many $$$$ Go with the parts that belong in that year truck. NP435, NP205.
Even then the conversion from auto to 4 spd will be a lot of work, time, and $$$.
From bell housing,starter, flywheel, clutch Pressure plate.
Clutch linkage, clutch and peddle assembly maybe tunnel cover? drive shafts measure, cut or lengthen mounts.
I am sure I did not list everything needed but you get the idea..
Good luck and have fun.
My .02 here on this discussion
Um the c6 they took out because my cousin wanted an manual and took the c6 out the motor is 100% a 390 I’m not sure about Trans I’ll get a picture here inna sec I have clutch and pedal assembly and drive shaft and transfer case and fly wheel but idk if they are right etc
We can get you there. How about taking some photos for us. The grill, the door tag, a few of the engine, and a few of the transmission, and transfer case.
NP435 = aluminum top cover w/8 bolts
T-18 = cast iron top cover w/6 bolts Warranty Plate TRANS code: A = NP435 (N-1965 only) / F = Warner T-18 / P = F350 Warner T-19. Warner T-18 shift lever retainer cap (8MTH-7220) threads on/off. NP435 shift lever retainer cap (B8T-7220-D) has two notches, is retained to shift tower by two pins. To remove this cap, it must be pressed downand held down while turning it counter clock wise to remove it. Its spring loaded and twists into place, we removed one and it was a 2 person job. Put the trans into 2nd, 4th, or reverse, then one person holds the cap and applies pressure, twisting in a counter clockwise direction. The other person taps it from the top with a hammer to get the cap to go in below the two clips that hold it in. People unaware use pliers or channel locks to remove it, which tears out the pins.
Originally NP435: Reverse-down towards the seat while Warner T-18: Reverse-up towards the dash.
The reverse shift pattern was changed circa 1973, but I can't recall for which of these 4 speeds. (I believe it the NP435)
Note:There's another 4 speed: RUG SR-OD Single Rail 4 Speed Overdrive introduced in 1978 F100/150 300/302, TRANS code B
On the NP-435 shift retaining cap the piece of wood trick works great.
NP435 = aluminum top cover w/8 bolts
T-18 = cast iron top cover w/6 bolts Warranty Plate TRANS code: A = NP435 (N-1965 only) / F = Warner T-18 / P = F350 Warner T-19. Warner T-18 shift lever retainer cap (8MTH-7220) threads on/off. NP435 shift lever retainer cap (B8T-7220-D) has two notches, is retained to shift tower by two pins. To remove this cap, it must be pressed downand held down while turning it counter clock wise to remove it. Its spring loaded and twists into place, we removed one and it was a 2 person job. Put the trans into 2nd, 4th, or reverse, then one person holds the cap and applies pressure, twisting in a counter clockwise direction. The other person taps it from the top with a hammer to get the cap to go in below the two clips that hold it in. People unaware use pliers or channel locks to remove it, which tears out the pins.
Originally NP435: Reverse-down towards the seat while Warner T-18: Reverse-up towards the dash.
The reverse shift pattern was changed circa 1973, but I can't recall for which of these 4 speeds. (I believe it the NP435)
Note:There's another 4 speed: RUG SR-OD Single Rail 4 Speed Overdrive introduced in 1978 F100/150 300/302, TRANS code B
On the NP-435 shift retaining cap the piece of wood trick works great.
No I am not, can you take the piece of tape off where the shift lever goes in so I can see the top of the cover. Do you have the shifter lever? What does the retainer look like? Like the 1st pics below? Also look on the top cover just aft of the shifter lever hole, does it have a NP on a gear circle on it?
Alternate info source. https://www.fordification.com/tech/transID-man.htm
NP-435 below, you can see the 2 retaining pin heads just under the bottom edge of the blue tape. And the NP gear raised ID part just aft of the shifter. I would have the transmission setting up right and then cover the taped up hole with a plastic bowl and more tape. Also before you use it, you better check the fluid level.
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