1954 ford customline 223 ford inline six auto trans.....

[Anonymous]

ok so i finaly got a fordomatic for a 223!! it came out of a 1954 ford customline. does anyone know if this tranny is a 2 speed, or a 3 speed?? i thinks its a 3 speed but i dont know for sure.......

 

[Anonymous]

It is a 3-speed, but it starts off in 2nd when you have it in Drive. 1st gear is used only when you have the gear selector on Low.

However, there is a "shift trick" out there where you can utilize 1st gear. I've used it and it works.

1. Start off in Low. You are now in 1st gear.
2. Shift into Drive and then immediately shift back down to Low. This puts you in 2nd gear.
3. Shift into drive when you are ready. This "manually" puts you into 3rd gear.

It's a pretty cool little trick and definitely helps with the sluggish startoff speeds of the Fordomatic.

 

[Anonymous]

awsome!! thanks for the info!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Daves55Courier]

It is probably a small case fordomatic (with the cast iron rear extension housing) since it came out of a 54.
Did you happen to obtain the gas pedal linkage/bellcrank and passing gear shift link with it ?
It wont work without the passing gear link, and it has to be the correct bellcrank for the transmission.
For example a 223 with a medium case Ford-O wont work with a bellcrank that was made for the smallcase Ford-O and vise versa because the difference in the lengths of the bellcrank swing arm cant be made up by adjusting the passing gear link. Not to mention the passing gear lever on the medium case trans and the smallcase trans are different lengths to make mattwers worse. And those 223 Ford-O bellcranks are hard to find anymore.

 

[Daves55Courier]

However, there is a "shift trick" out there where you can utilize 1st gear. I've used it and it works.

Trust me, when you have a 223 with a 3.25:1 rear end ratio, you use that Lo gear at the stoplights, then just pop in drive when she winds out and it'll shift into 3rd when you let off the gas a little. Thats even better than Lo-D-Lo-D. I call it "Lo and GOooooooo" !

Oh yeah everybody slanders our Ford-O's. Well, our Ford-O's have a rear pump which allows you to push start the car just like a manual trans.
Thats not possible with most modern automatics that I know of.
And trust me, its a feature I have needed over the years with my crappy cheap 6volt Autozone batteries

 

[Anonymous]

ya i have the linkage for the kickdown and the gas pedal.. i believe its the correct bellcrank because it came out of the 54' with a 223. and im using it on my 25' tt truck hot rod.. im running a 223 that came out of my 56' ford mainline.... it took me a good 6 months or so to find the damn ford-0 for the six! but now i have it!! and i traded a 3 speed tranny that i got for free!!!! i cant wait to get into it!

 

[Lazy JW]

...
And trust me, its a feature I have needed over the years with my crappy cheap 6volt Autozone batteries

What you need is a series/parallel switch and two six volt batteries. Starts on twelve volts, then runs/charges on six. JC Whitney sells them.
Joe

 

[Anonymous]

i wont have that problem my motor is a 1956, plus im putting it in my hot rod it will be a 12 volt system