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-   -   Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission (http://www.autobanter.com/showthread.php?t=193303)

[email protected] August 31st 07 09:14 PM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 
Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
with the 3 speed

Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and to
avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong

I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford transmission
that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think I
read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not a
strong tranny

Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to miss
out on it because of some bad advice

Thanks


Jan August 31st 07 09:57 PM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 
wrote:
> Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
> with the 3 speed
>
> Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and to
> avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
> the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong
>
> I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford transmission
> that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think I
> read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not a
> strong tranny
>
> Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
> appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to miss
> out on it because of some bad advice
>
> Thanks


Is that a 'green dot' tranny?
I have a 66 with that one, and it was trashed when we got the car.
I don't know what the PO did to it, but the car would only move in reverse.

I tore it down and found a totally worn out, burnt clutch pack, which I
replaced with new parts. I added new reverse and fwd bands, and adjusted
them properly. I replaced clutch pack piston seals and shimmed the
clutch pack to spec.

Still doesn't go forward. The only part I did not open was the tailshaft
assembly. I am a novice, and I was under the impression that there's
nothing in there that could cause something like this. So I didn't look
in there.

All this time, the reverse works like a champ.

I'm stumped. What I did with the center section of the tranny, was a
piece of cake, very easy to do. Just need to know tolerances and have
the right parts.

Jan

Big Al[_1_] August 31st 07 11:31 PM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 

"Jan" > wrote in message
...
> wrote:
> > Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
> > with the 3 speed
> >
> > Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and to
> > avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
> > the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong
> >
> > I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford transmission
> > that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think I
> > read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not a
> > strong tranny
> >
> > Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
> > appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to miss
> > out on it because of some bad advice
> >
> > Thanks

>
> Is that a 'green dot' tranny?
> I have a 66 with that one, and it was trashed when we got the car.
> I don't know what the PO did to it, but the car would only move in

reverse.
>
> I tore it down and found a totally worn out, burnt clutch pack, which I
> replaced with new parts. I added new reverse and fwd bands, and adjusted
> them properly. I replaced clutch pack piston seals and shimmed the
> clutch pack to spec.
>
> Still doesn't go forward. The only part I did not open was the tailshaft
> assembly. I am a novice, and I was under the impression that there's
> nothing in there that could cause something like this. So I didn't look
> in there.
>
> All this time, the reverse works like a champ.
>
> I'm stumped. What I did with the center section of the tranny, was a
> piece of cake, very easy to do. Just need to know tolerances and have
> the right parts.
>
> Jan


I'm thinking he's talking about a manual transmission. If it's an automatic
I think you can identify it easily by the pan gasket. Most had C4's.

Al



Jan September 1st 07 12:26 AM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 
Big Al wrote:
> "Jan" > wrote in message
> ...
>
wrote:
>>
>>>Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
>>>with the 3 speed
>>>
>>>Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and to
>>>avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
>>>the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong
>>>
>>>I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford transmission
>>>that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think I
>>>read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not a
>>>strong tranny
>>>
>>>Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
>>>appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to miss
>>>out on it because of some bad advice
>>>
>>>Thanks

>>
>>Is that a 'green dot' tranny?
>>I have a 66 with that one, and it was trashed when we got the car.
>>I don't know what the PO did to it, but the car would only move in

>
> reverse.
>
>>I tore it down and found a totally worn out, burnt clutch pack, which I
>>replaced with new parts. I added new reverse and fwd bands, and adjusted
>> them properly. I replaced clutch pack piston seals and shimmed the
>>clutch pack to spec.
>>
>>Still doesn't go forward. The only part I did not open was the tailshaft
>>assembly. I am a novice, and I was under the impression that there's
>>nothing in there that could cause something like this. So I didn't look
>>in there.
>>
>>All this time, the reverse works like a champ.
>>
>>I'm stumped. What I did with the center section of the tranny, was a
>>piece of cake, very easy to do. Just need to know tolerances and have
>>the right parts.
>>
>>Jan

>
>
> I'm thinking he's talking about a manual transmission. If it's an automatic
> I think you can identify it easily by the pan gasket. Most had C4's.
>
> Al
>
>



Ahh, it didn't register with me, never had a car with 3 speed manual,
seemed unnatural to me :)
The C4 auto that I have is 3 speed too, AFAIK

Jan

RD Jones September 1st 07 12:43 AM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 

wrote:
> Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
> with the 3 speed
>
> Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and to
> avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
> the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong
>
> I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford transmission
> that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think I
> read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not a
> strong tranny
>
> Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
> appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to miss
> out on it because of some bad advice


If you ARE talking about a manual tranny ...

I had at least 3 early Mustangs (including 2 '66s) that were
originally equipped with
the "3.03" 3 speed. I was very hard on transmissions in my youth. I
never had any
problems with the 3 speeds. I have heard of someone damaging a shift
fork on one.
Then again, I did the same on a toploader (4speed) which is a very
strong tranny.

The toploader and the B-W T10S are a bolt-in swap for the 3.03, using
the stock
bellhousing.

I would NOT pass up a deal on a '66 just because it had the 3 speed.
Certainly many now have T5s.

Good Luck
rd


[email protected] September 1st 07 05:06 AM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 
Hi - sorry for being vague in my initial question - it is the 3 speed
stick and not the C4 auto that I am refering to

Thanks for all the helpful replies

Don


On Aug 31, 6:43 pm, RD Jones > wrote:
> wrote:
> > Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
> > with the 3 speed

>
> > Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and to
> > avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
> > the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong

>
> > I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford transmission
> > that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think I
> > read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not a
> > strong tranny

>
> > Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
> > appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to miss
> > out on it because of some bad advice

>
> If you ARE talking about a manual tranny ...
>
> I had at least 3 early Mustangs (including 2 '66s) that were
> originally equipped with
> the "3.03" 3 speed. I was very hard on transmissions in my youth. I
> never had any
> problems with the 3 speeds. I have heard of someone damaging a shift
> fork on one.
> Then again, I did the same on a toploader (4speed) which is a very
> strong tranny.
>
> The toploader and the B-W T10S are a bolt-in swap for the 3.03, using
> the stock
> bellhousing.
>
> I would NOT pass up a deal on a '66 just because it had the 3 speed.
> Certainly many now have T5s.
>
> Good Luck
> rd- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -




Kruse September 1st 07 09:00 PM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 
On Sep 1, 12:06 am, " >
wrote:
> Hi - sorry for being vague in my initial question - it is the 3 speed
> stick and not the C4 auto that I am refering to
>


I read your initial post and I suspected you were referring to a
stick, but wasn't quite sure. Anyway, the early Mustang three speed
was not as strong as the toploader or the Borg Warner, but don't let
that keep you from buying the car. You could always upgrade to a
better tranny and the car would not lose any value.

At one time I owned a '66 with a 200 and a three speed stick. That
tranny was WEAK. I remember I tore out second gear in it, but at the
time I was too poor to fix it so I just went from 1st to 3rd. Hey, it
got me to school.


GILL[_2_] September 2nd 07 07:46 AM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 
Kruse wrote:
> On Sep 1, 12:06 am, " >
> wrote:
>> Hi - sorry for being vague in my initial question - it is the 3 speed
>> stick and not the C4 auto that I am refering to
>>

>
> I read your initial post and I suspected you were referring to a
> stick, but wasn't quite sure. Anyway, the early Mustang three speed
> was not as strong as the toploader or the Borg Warner, but don't let
> that keep you from buying the car. You could always upgrade to a
> better tranny and the car would not lose any value.
>
> At one time I owned a '66 with a 200 and a three speed stick. That
> tranny was WEAK. I remember I tore out second gear in it, but at the
> time I was too poor to fix it so I just went from 1st to 3rd. Hey, it
> got me to school.
>

Mine was in a 70 Maverick. Took me to school too.....hard knocks.

--
Tropic Green Y2K Mustang GT
W/bits & pieces
http://tinyurl.com/yjdb66

Eric[_13_] September 3rd 07 05:00 AM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 
I had a 67 Mustang with a 3 speed manual, I ran it rather hard and never had
a problem. Also if you need to rebuild it it's not too hard. if it's tight
it seems to be pretty solid. good luck.
> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
> with the 3 speed
>
> Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and to
> avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
> the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong
>
> I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford transmission
> that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think I
> read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not a
> strong tranny
>
> Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
> appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to miss
> out on it because of some bad advice
>
> Thanks
>




Kwiksilver September 11th 07 05:27 AM

Question on 1966 Mustang 3 speed transmission
 

> GUEST wrote:
> Hi - a friend of mine is looking at buying a 1966 289 V8 Mustang
> with the 3 speed
>
> Someone is telling him these are not very strong transmissions and

to
> avoid the car - I thought V8 mustangs used the same unit as most of
> the other small block fords and that this tranny is pretty strong
>
> I'm not sure if someone is thinking of the English ford

transmission
> that they used with some of the early 6 cylinder cars ( and I think

I
> read somewhere that unit was a 4 speed) which I understand was not

a
> strong tranny
>
> Anyway if someone could clarify on this point that would be
> appreciated - it is a nice car and it would be too bad for him to

miss
> out on it because of some bad advice
>
> Thanks


The Ford 3 Speed used in the Mustangs is a great
transmission. It will take a lot of abuse and come back for more. My
first Mustang was a 66 289 3 speed. It never broke or complained. And
it had every reason to do so.

If your friend picks this Stang up and wants to replace it, go with a
five speed. The toploader, if you can find one, will be real
expensive. Ford doesn't offer parts anymore for rebuilding it. For
what it would cost to obtain a toploader and rebuild it, you could
get a good 5 speed.

By the way, I have to 60's Mustangs, a 66 and a 68 Shelby GT 350.
Toploaders in both at this time. Everytime I drive the Shelby, I am
wanting to put it in 5th gear. I am so use to the 6 speed in my
3000GT VR4.



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