three speed transmission

[dgarner08]

would a three speed manual transmission out of a 70ish truck be worth using for a 302 swap in a ranger or is it kinda a waist of time to use a three speed...thanks

 

[Gotta_gofast]

If your truck is a dedicated trail rig, then 3 gears is all you really need. But, for anything on the road, I'd opt for something more modern.

 

[LearjetMinako]

A 3-speed manual tranny is fun to drive when its back by a powerfully V-8.

 

[Shran]

3 speeds are OK but not very durable...a T18, T19, or NP435 4 speed would be a much better and far stronger choice. These are also cheap to purchase, easy to find, and very cheap to rebuild.

 

[dgarner08]

i was just wondering because there is a bunch of them around that could be free to me. the truck is two wheel drive btw. and i would like to put a stout v8 with it. just for fun

 

[Shran]

Are you gonna leave the Ranger 2wd? If you're going 4 wheel, then I'd avoid it...there are adapters made for *some* 2wd manual transmissions, but not all of them.

You also need to be sure that you can use a hydraulic clutch...almost everything before the early 80's had a mechanical clutch linkage that is kind of a pain in the ass to set up in anything that didn't originally come with it.

 

[dgarner08]

yes i would leave it 2wd and i saw a universal hydraulic slave that i thought might work it was in summit or jegs i cant remember. I'm just trying to figure out a cheep approach and being i can get multiple three speeds destroying one is not a problem....im a broke college student trying to find any possible way to put a v8 in

 

[Shran]

Well since you're going 2wd...

I would consider the 3 speeds then. It's not like they're factory built junk or anything, just not AS strong and not geared as low. I would also definitely consider the 3.03 OD tranny too, just because it's geared really nicely for street use and they're actually really strong. I had one in my '80 F100 stepside that had gone for who knows how long with no oil in it, and it survived another 60k after filling it. It's probably still out there but I lost track of the truck after selling it.

The cheapest way to go is to stick with junkyard stuff... My plan for my '86 is a carbed 302, NP435 and 205 transfer case. My buddy has a good running 302 for $150, and I got two NP435s and a 205 for free, so I just have to get a bunch of misc shit in order and swap away for cheap.

 

[Shran]

Oh, one more thing to consider is column shift vs floor shift...dunno which you're able to get but floor shift is a lot easier. Just gotta cut your floor and maybe bend the shifter.

 

[86ford]

3 speeds are OK but not very durable...a T18, T19, or NP435 4 speed would be a much better and far stronger choice. These are also cheap to purchase, easy to find, and very cheap to rebuild.

the np435s are a 3 speed with a creeper gear.

86

 

[Shran]

Yes and no. 1st gear does count as a gear so the NP435, T18, and T19 are all "true" 4 speeds. The T19 is the only one with a synchronized first gear, though.

Here I am talking tranny tech and only earlier this week I was asking stupid questions about bellhousings...been doing a lot of research