300 cid Trans swap
 

I have a 85 f150 short bed 300 straight six with a manual 3 spd. I want to swap to a 5 spd, a friend has one off a 460 will that bolt up with a proper bell housing or only ones from a small block? what years could i get a 5 spd off of and bolt it up? i already need a new clutch and flywheel so that is not a prob. I am in the dark as far as transmissions go. Any advice would be very helpful.

If you can find a 5-speed from a truck with a 300, 302 or 351, you'll be good to go. A big block tranny won't fit because of the bolt pattern.

Only small blocks then thats what I figured. but the 460 trans would have been a freebie. will the old bell housing from the 3 spd work? Thank you.

Thread moved to "Inline Six, 200, 250, 4.9/300" tech forum. Should have more resources here to help with your question.

The trans & bellhousings from the 289/240/300/302/351 have the same bolt pattern & only those trans & bellhousing will fit, nothing else, unless you can find a conversion plate.

300 cid Trans swap
 

When did Ford switch to the hydraulic clutch on the F150 ? I've wanted to swich to the 5speed, but converting over to a hydraulic clutch from the mechanical one on my 3.03 has always been the issue.

:-X25

I believe 83 was the last year for mechanical clutch. My 83 F250 w/4 speed had one. A hydraulic clutch and M5OD is a pretty straight forward swap. Try a search for this swap in this forum and the 80-86 band 87-96 forums. If that large bell 5 speed is free get it. It could be a ZF5 speed that is very desirable for the big motor guys.

As far as 5 speeds go, there are two options. A ZF420/470 with a smallblock bellhousing or a Mazda M5OD.

The ZF is more desirable IMO but the M5OD isn't a bad choice either. The M5OD is a lighter duty tranny and has a reputation for failing due to fluid leakage through the rubber plugs on the toploader.

Check www.car-parts.com for pricing and availability. The ZFs run around 1500 rebuilt without a core charge, 500 for salvage takeouts. The M5 can be had for quite a bit cheaper.

Good luck

I have been looking on ebay for the m5od i did not know there was another one If the zf is a heavier duty trans i would rather have that because i haul my buds circle track car almost every weekend. the trans is only free if i remove it from the truck and the truck from their property i was gonna strip it of all useful parts and junk it. Its an 89 and worse off than my 85. The 460 needs a new crank and pistons. Up to what years can i look for one.

I'm guessing here....but maybe 1996. There are small bellhousing zf's out there, but they're not very common.