3 Speed Stick Shift ???

[tjm73]

I am a Fox body Mustang guy (actually I'm kinda getting out of the Fox body stuff, I love the 65-66 cars) and I am looking for a little help and think you old school Mustang guys might be able to help.

I know the early cars often had 3 speed manual transmissions and the 4 speed was an option. Who made Ford's 3 speed stick trannies? What model was put behind the V8's? Which model is the strongest? I knwo I6 transmissino are weak and not what I would want.

And why am I asking about 3 speeds? I am planning to build a street rod and I want to run a 3 speed stick because the car will be very light and a 4 or even 5 speed would be overkill. And I can not seem to locate any usable info online. So, I though of you guys and thought maybe you could help me out.

 

[D.Hearne]

Ford used several three speeds in their cars. Many Stangs had a Toploader 3 speed mfg by Ford, looks similar to the better known 4 speed Toploader, but has two shift levers on the left side instead of the 4 speed's three levers. Beware though the thrre speed has extremely wide ratios, first gear in my old 67 FB 390 Stang would get you up to about 60mph with a 3.00 geared rear. Really not a problem if you put it behind a torquey motor like a 390. Beat a built 69 Camaro with a 350/4 speed/4.11 geared combo once with the stock GT390/3 speed/3.00 geared 9" rear the Stang came with. Ran high 14's with that combo.

 

[EL1NOR]

I can't answer your questions but I can tell you that I have a fully functional 3-speed toploader sitting in a crate in my garage that I pulled off of my 289 when I did a swap to a 4-speed a month ago... I even have the original shifter and a brand new shift knob. I also live in New Hampshire... not far away at all.

If you're interested,
-Tim
1967 Ford Mustang Fastback

 

[6Stang7]

There are 2 types of 3 speeds that I am aware of. A 3 speed and a 3 speed HD (heavy duity). The HD was placed behind V8's, while the standard was put behind I6's. The 3 speed I had before I put my T-5 in is the HD, as it stood up to the massive amounts of abuse that I threw at it. It never had any problems, unlike my T-5 which I know is gonna blow out any day now.

 

[STSFCTN67]

I believe the 67 and later 3spds were the first to be fully synchronized. I swapped my first 3spd for a 3spd overdrive and it was really nice to have that extra gear.

 

[6Stang7]

My 3 speed was from a 65 Gal. and was called a syncro smooth 3 speed. I am pretty sure that all of its gears were synchronized.

 

[tjm73]

....Beware though the thrre speed has extremely wide ratios, first gear in my old 67 FB 390 Stang would get you up to about 60mph with a 3.00 geared rear. Really not a problem if you put it behind a torquey motor like a 390. Beat a built 69 Camaro with a 350/4 speed/4.11 geared combo once with the stock GT390/3 speed/3.00 geared 9" rear the Stang came with. Ran high 14's with that combo.

Thanks for the heads up. I knew they were often wide ratio and that's ok, because the planned powerplant is a built for torque 347 stroker 5.0 and it's going to go into a fenderless Model A pickup or Model A sedan. Either of which will weigh less than 2500 lbs.