Toploader 4-Speed

It's not original for a 65 Mustang, but it'll work. Don't forget you need the four-speed speedo gear. The three-speed gear won't work.

96 DOHC Cobra said:

It's not original for a 65 Mustang, but it'll work. Don't forget you need the four-speed speedo gear. The three-speed gear won't work.

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Very true.

Go to Mustangs Unlimited dot com and depending on what rear end gears you have. They have combinations for almost any thing you can think of. It is where I ordered my Toploader speedo gear for 3.25s.

It could be anything. So If you know that your rearend is original, crawl under there with a tooth brush and some brake clean and find the tag that is on one the of the pumpkin studs. If the tag is still there...rarely Clean it off and read the numbers, the rear end ratio will usually be the top row and the first thing that is stamped. 2.xx or 3.xx If that doesnt work, mark your pinion yolk and the tire and have someone (with the car jacked up) spin the tire one full rotation and see how many times the yolk spins...not exact but close. Thirdly, read the door tag, and copy down all of the numbers and letters, go on google and search "Mustang decoder" and enter all of your data. It will read out your original paint code, engine, tranny, rearend, blah blah blah. HAVE FUN!

Sorry for the long post, Morgan

No problem! I learned a little when switching from the stock 3.25s in my Ranchero to 4.11s then back to 3.25s haha. Oh and beware. the first number might be blocked by the nut that is holding it on. I went around thinking I had the only 2.50:1 rear end in the world for a while till I took the whole tag off

65springtime said:

I found a tag on the passenger side and it has- RUG BF on the tag. Maby this will help someone.

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RUG-BF 1972 Fairlane 351 wide Before 12/1/71 28-spline

65springtime said:

But this toploader 4-speed should work in my 65? (RUG BF)

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It will most certainly bolt right in behind a small block as it has the right bolt patterns and is the proper length needed for a Mustang, but the shifter mounting is not directly compatible with what is used with a 65'. The 65' mounts the shifter at the rear of the tailhousing, whereas the shifter found on the Rug BF is mounted more forward. If you got the shifter with the tranny, it is worth a try. If not, you might be able to use a big block Mustang shifter mount adapter from an early 428 car which uses the forward 3 hole of the tailhousing, but it still may be too far forward for a 65'. I've compared the Hurst BB adapter mounts to the Hurst SB mounts before and there is about a 1" difference in shifter location.

Alternately, you could easily swap out the tailhousing for one from a pre-70 Mustang toploader with a small block and then you could use the stock or an aftermarket 65' shifter. The C4ZR-7A040-A tailhousings are pretty common (actually used from 64-73, but more common in the earlier years) and it is a very simple direct swap. All of these castings were 28 splines and the same length (14") as what you have.

The DOZR 7A040-A found on your RUG BF is seen on the top and the proper 65' Mustang C4ZR-7A040-A tailhousing is the on the bottom in the following photo:



Although the same C4ZR-7A040-A tailhousing is found on the older 25 spline toploaders, the tailshafts are the same as the 28 spline ones.

A C6OR-7A040-C or a C7OR-7A040-A tailhousing (with a 28 spline output shaft) will also work but you have to be careful with these as the same casting was also used for the 31 spline output shaft and thus the end was overbored for the larger diameter bushing and seal. The 31 spline tails are not interchangeable on a 28 spline shaft.