I have a 64 f100 with a 292 was wondering what tranny and rearend gears would make it higher for today's driving. And also needing a wiper switch don't know if it's 1 or 2 speed has a four plug coming from motor. Thanks Aaron

 

If I'm understanding you right, you're looking for higher gearing (lower numerically) for mileage. All modern transmissions, except overdrives, have a final ratio of 1:1 in high gear, the same as what you have now.

An overdrive swap can be done, manual or automatic, but is a little involved & not exactly a bolt-in. If that's something you want to take on, there's a number of people here that can give advice- let us know.

As for rear axle gearing, you almost certainly have a Ford 9", & all the parts are (relatively) cheap, and easy to get. Also, center sections can easily be swapped in & are often found in the salvage yard for under $100, if you find the right place. I'd look for a 2.75, 3.00, or 3.25, if mileage is your biggest concern.

The wiper switch may be available for '64s, I don't know about those newfangled trucks. If so any of the big vendors will have it- Sacramento Vintage, Mid- '50s, Bob's F-100, etc. Bob's also carries used parts & may be able to help if it's not reproduced.

 

I agree, messing with the rear axle is a better bet if you want to change your overall gear ratio. If your rear axle is a Ford 9" (which it should be unless you have positraction: in that case, you will have a Dana 44) you can use the whole rear axle up to about 1979 from another truck. They are the same width. However, you should be able to use the carrier from another axle. Maybe someone else can help here, but there are 28 and 31 spline 9" axles, the 8" axles can look similar -- in other words, if you do your research, you should wind up with a pretty easy bolt-in. Ford Motorsports used to sell a plastic container that you could use to store your old carrier in, free from dirt and dust. This way, you will not have to cut the drive shaft or fiddle with a lot of other issues.

The long and short of this is that there is a long and short input shaft transmission. The ones that came in Ford trucks of 1964 and before had a 7 1/8" long input shaft and you can note these by their having rear motor mounts on the bellhousing. The later trucks and all cars, 1949 and up, used a transmission with a 6 1/2" long input shaft. There are also other issues, like clutch linkages (your truck pulls the throwout fork, the cars push it from in front and use a different setup. Actually, you might have a hydraulic clutch, which has its plusses and minuses) clutch pedal shaft mount, size of the input bearing retainer on the transmission (makes a difference in the size of the hole in the bellhousing) and all sorts of other issues. The bottom line is the only car transmissions that have a long enough input shaft are the ones that came in 5 liter Mustangs. There was the SROD, which has lousy ratios, but will bolt to the old 3sp truck bellhousing (when you get the input bearing retainer issue solved) and the T5, which has good ratios, but requires a mod of the bellhousing to mount to your truck. See Mummert's page; he offers a modified bellhousing that will do the job.

Anyhow, the rear axle is the easiest and cheapest way to go.