Can anyone help a new ford guy out? My three on the tree tranny is about shot on my 66 f 100. I have a friend that will sell me his t 18 out of his 74 f250 for $75. Keeping in mind that I am keeping the 240 six in my truck, is this a pretty straightfoward tranny swap, or would I better off rebuilding my 3 speed? Any input would be helpful.

 

If you need a tranny and someone has a good one for $75, GET IT! As far as I know they are all the same as far as front flange bolt pattern, input shaft, linkage points, ect. There can be differences in tail shaft length. Perhaps one of our more experienced members will chime in on this one

 

I would replace the 3spd with another. I'll bet there is a reader close by that might even give you one. I know I would because I'm shiftless. I don't think I would give over $25.00 for one either.

What town & state are you in?

John

 

I did that swap in a 74 F-100 and it was a direct bolt in, didn't even have to change the driveshaft. I got the tranny from a 67 F-250, grabbed the floor plate. It was so easy. Grab the tranny. Just disconnect the linkage, remove the shift rods and the shift handle. The tranny mount should be the same.

Barry

 

It should bolt right up!
Since you need to take it out anyway, take your bellhousing and mate it to the transmission you want to buy. If it fits, you are golden.

Gregtruck, though, indicated a major point: You may need to re-work the driveline. There will be several issues you need to check:
1. Do both transmissions have the same type of output shaft? More than likely, but not guaranteed, your 3 speed has a slip joint in the rear, and the T-18 has a bolt-up U-joint. If true, you will need to have a driveline shop make you up a slip joint for the T-18.
2. Are both transmissions the same length? If not, you'll need driveline work also. If the wheel base is the same between the '74 and your truck, see if you can get the drivelines out of it.
3. Do both transmissions have the same input shaft length? Use your existing bellhousing to check this.
4. Finally, go to a parts house and find out if the flywheels and clutches are the same for a '66 w/240 and 3 speed, vs a '74 F-250 w/?engine and 4 speed. You may find that they are not, which in the long run will mean that inexpensive transmission cost more than you thought. If they aren't the same, try to get everything, from the flywheel to the U-joint bolted to the rear axle.

Also, are you sure it is the transmission? Those things last a very long time. Could it be the shifter tube or linkages?
Those 3 speed transmissions are a dime a dozen, they used them in just about everything. Have you checked boneyards for another one?

One more thing to consider: The T-18 is a great bullet proof transmission with a VERY low granny gear. It will give your '66 good stump pulling power, even with that little 240. Better yet, you won't lose anything in gas mileage, because the final gear (3rd in the 3-spd and 4th in the T-18) is the same ratio in both: 1:1.
So, the cost of transplanting the T-18 may very well be a good investment.

 

Thanks for the help, I see I've come to the right place. I'm gonna take the tranny off his hands if for no other reason than I want it. In response to Jowilker I'm here in sunny Cedar Hill TX. I can't swear my trannys shot, when I got the truck someone had taken the column shift off, and put in one of those very cheap floor shift conversions on. The thing works terrible, and looks worse (at least mine does), so in a nutshell the thing shifts terrible. I had thought about pulling the tranny giving it a good once over and then retrofitting the column shift, but I've hit a lot of the boneyards around Dallas and I can't find part one. I thought it might make sense to put the granny four in there anyway. I have also looked at the Hurst, and B&M shift kits but I couldn't find anything in there that really impressed me, I'm not building a hot rod, its just an old ranch truck from San Antonio and thats the way I wanted to keep it. Plus I figured the little 240 could use some help with that low low 1st gear. Thanks again

 

John has a real good thing going in his area because I cant imagine transmissions-a-plenty for $25 or LESS. Not functional ones anyway.

I'll take an Engine and a Diff with that as a package deal for $60. Hold the driveshaft. Laughs

No offense to John the price just seems a little far out.

 

Greg, You ought to try to get something for those things, ya can't give em away when ya need it off your floor. Everything I have is worthless. I have spent good money going to swap meets and buying spaces, just to have folks walk past and want to buy a $50.00 item for $5.00.

John

 

Boy, ain't that the truth........... THe biggest bunch of pikers are at the swap meets. But the same item on E Bay, they'll spend thier last sawbuck bidding on it. Figure that one out!

Barry

 

Maybe the Ebay thing is the competition/buying power aspect of the whole thing. You have far too many people in this country with more $$ than brains. With Ebay they are all gathered together in one place by the billions.

I have come to the conclusion similar to John's in that nothing that I have is worth anything when I want to sell it. All the supposedly rare or valueable things I have come across through the years seem to always be a little less in damand or worth "whatever you can get for it" when I put a for sale sign it. Sometimes I think that the best time to sell something is when you don't want to sell it. Seems like thats when everbody wants my stuff. Especially old cars and trucks. So I guess if your a guy who has 25 transmissions taking up space and you wish you could unload them then you may be disapointed at how slow they move at whatever price. On the other hand if your a guy who has an old Ford truck and the only thing keeping you from driving it is a transmission, then you may happily give $50-75 for one.

I have a collection of radios and TVs from the 1920s to the 1950s. Valueable? Somewhat. Collectable? Yes. Could I get rid of the whole collection in a months time for anywhere near what they are worth? Probably not. Ebay is probably the best way to get rid of things but to me weight is too big a factor when buying and probably puts a damper on selling as well. If you buy something that weighs 150 lbs. it may cost way more than the value of the item to get it to your house. Know what I mean?