I'm a novie when it comes to mechanicing and restoration so please bare with me if some of my questions are stupid, I'm young and learning.

I'm restoring a 68 Ford SWB with a 360 and granny 4spd trans in it. It tops out at about 60 mph, 65 downhill. As far as I know everything is orginial save for the front clip. My goal with this truck is mechanically make it an everyday driver that will also haul butt. Not to mention making it a head turner. My finances are limited right now but some of my questions are as follows.


1. Would an automatic transmission give me a significant improvement in performance and speed?

2. Is there a 5spd transmission that would match up well with my 360 and give me an improvment in performance and speed?

3. Would a tranmission alone give me the improments I'm looking for or should I change the rearend as well?

4. If a rearend change is recommendable what would be a good gear ratio that provides plenty of speed but is still comfortable for daily driving?

5. Are there any cheap upgrades I could make right now other than trans and/or rearend that would give me the improvements I'm looking for?

Any and all responses would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

1- The auto isn't as effeicent as the straight drive, but the 360 should handle it OK. I think a full grown Ford truck should shift it's own tranny, period.

2- No, a non overdrive tranny runs one to one with the engine.

3- The rearend will give you the most for your money.

4- 3.00 would be good, I run a 2.75 in my truck with a 352

5- You must have one heck of a short rear gear for your truck to hit the wall at 65 mph. Do you have a F350 4X4? Most trucks that I have seen with FEs in them will run past 100 mph easily.

Tell us a little about your truck (how it's specked out)and what you use it for or expect to use it for.

John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

[font color=red size=2]John is right, any non-overdrive tranny will have a 1 to 1 final gear. So changing from manual to auto will not make it go faster. To put an overdrive tranny behind an FE motor, you have to get an aftermarket one, it'll cost you more than you paid for the truck. The most cost effective is to change the rear gears, I have a 73 F100 390 4spd and my gears are 3.50, I really like them. Or you could get taller tires, but that is less effective than gear change. Save your money and get new gears.

Just a thought.

Marty

"Cleverly Disguised as a Responsible Adult"[/font]

 

In response to more information on my truck...

It's a half ton according to the title and it's a SWB so I wouldn't think that would be wrong. And it does top out at 65 going down hill, but there are a number of things that could be. I was a little presumptious I guess in thinking that the granny gear transmission was responsible. The truck had sat in a pasture for 8 years and a couple years in a guys back yard when I got it. I looked it over at one time and wanted to hear it run before paying 300 for it but they guy never got back to me. About a year later he ran into my Dad and told him he was going to haul the truck off for scrap so my Dad bout it for me for a 100 dollars then. Got it home and got it cranked with little to no effort and it knocked like crazy. Then we realized it had no oil in it. So I put oil in it, put a new master cylinder on it, bled the brakes and started driving it. Shortly there after the brakes went out while driving it and I rearended someone and had to put a new front clip on it. So then it sat up again for over a year till I could do that. Then I drove it a few months and the gas consumption got worse and the gas prices soared too. So for financial reasons I had to stop driving it. Now I'm looking to get it back in shape and start driving it again. So I guess the lack of speed could be the old engine or something else I haven't looked into. Also the rear-end appears to be posi-trac. But I read somewhere that there is something that can go wrong with a rearend that makes it appear that it's posi-trac when actually it's having problems. Is this correct?

Sorry to be so long winded, not sure if this is the further information you were looking for. I'm going to run the VIN number soon and find out more if I can. Sorry to ramble on but I find stories like mine very interesting and it seems like if anyone else would it would be other Ford Enthusiasts. Anyway, any advice or insight would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

Check the rear end for the metal ID tag. It should be on the drive shaft side, attached to one of the bolts. In the first series of numbers, it will have a number, and then L then two more numbers if it is a posi. If it it an open, there will be a space instead of an L. This applies if the rear end is a 9".
1977 F-100
300 I-6 / C-4 (soon to be AOD)
Offy C intake w/Edelbrock 500CFM
Hooker Ceramic coated headers w/duals, turbos, tips, and 02's
MSD6A w/Blaster Coil
Headlight relay system (Delanty style)
Overhead Mount FM-CD etc.
R-134 A/C system (I'm cool)

 

A half ton has a 5 lug wheel, 3/4 & 1 ton trucks have 8 lug wheels.

You have 5??

John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

Yeah it has 5 lugs. If I'd thought about it I knew that difference, thanks for reminding me.

 

Just a thought, as it was sitting for so long, why not change the rear end grease and look at the wheel bearings? Might be dry or worse in there! This may help somewhat..

 

JD, it must have one short rear gear like a 5.?? or something. If the engine will turn 3000/4000 rpms, it should run much faster than that. At this juncture what ever that is on the door tag doesn't matter because it could have been changed.

IMHO, the best way to check it, would be to find a level place and a buddy (must have). Mart the end of the shaft at the rear end the tire at the ground. Roll the truck one wheel revolution and count the turns of the drive shaft. Have the buddy push the truck while you count. Make darn sure it is level so it wont get out of control, and run away or worse run over you. :-)

John
jowilker
[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker|Club FTE since 01 01] My FTE Page

[link:www.ford-trucks.net/users/jowilker/NCFTE.html|NC Truck Owners] NC Ford Truck owners group

66F100s Rule
In the cool still quite of night you can hear chevies rusting away.

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-May-01 AT 05:31 PM (EST)[/font][p]I already changed the rearend grease, but I did it at the quick change shop I was working at with a suction pump. I'm thinking about taking it all apart and inspecting everything just to make sure everything is going alright.

And thanks for the tip about finding out the gear ratio, I plan on doing that sometime this week. Not sure if it was this post or another one I read somewhere, but someone else mentioned that to me. Thanks to each of you.

Also, if/when I change the rearend ratio will it affect my speedometer? Will I need to adjust it to get the right reading? Thanks, sorry if that's a stupid question. I know different tires affect it.

 

My truck won't do much past 70-75, depending on the direction of the wind. This could be attributed to the previous owner doing a $50 backyard rebuild. I must be making at least 50hp at the rear wheels!? I am planning an entire drivetrain rebuild this summer.

Yes, if you change the rearend ratio the speedo will be incorrect. This can be corrected by changing the gear on the speedo cable, were it enters the tranny. The gear is easy to snap on/off. These gears are color coded and are available through Ford. I do not have the info on determining what size will be needed. The Ford parts counter should be able to help. You just to tell him your tranny ID, rearend ratio and tire diameter.

Hope this helps
MattN