Transmission

[89turbota]

Hello all. I'm new to this forum and I need some help on my 64 with a cruiseomatic. Originally reverse started failing and would only catch if the engine rpms were raised to a significant level. The tranny would slip and then would jump into gear--unfortunately also causing the car to reverse at a high rate of speed. Now reverse is completely gone and I've done some research and have narrowed it to the rear servo. All forward gears work fine. My question is should I spend the 1000.00+ to have this transmission pulled and rebuilt or should I find a C6 to put in its place. If I do, is there any other modifications that need to be made as far as linkage, driveshaft, etc. Thank you.

[4-5-6-birdman]

Originally Posted by 89turbota

Hello all. I'm new to this forum and I need some help on my 64 with a cruiseomatic. Originally reverse started failing and would only catch if the engine rpms were raised to a significant level. The tranny would slip and then would jump into gear--unfortunately also causing the car to reverse at a high rate of speed. Now reverse is completely gone and I've done some research and have narrowed it to the rear servo. All forward gears work fine. My question is should I spend the 1000.00+ to have this transmission pulled and rebuilt or should I find a C6 to put in its place. If I do, is there any other modifications that need to be made as far as linkage, driveshaft, etc. Thank you.

Greetings - The C6 is certainly a more robust tranny and should give you better performance and driveability. I would definently upgrade to the C6 as opposed to putting money into a dated lower performance transmission. You will have less downtime and costs down the road with the C6 and should be appreciated by a new buyer should you sell in the future.

I have not personally made the swap, it should be pretty straightforward with at a minimum you would need the C6 rear mount. I have the 66 shop manual which covers both transmissions, the drawings and photos of the kick down linkage look the same. If you don't get any other input on this subject the shop manual should provide quite a lot of info on the two.

Other things to consider are driveshaft length, speedometer cable, flexplate, kick down linkage, shift linkage, cross member mount. In most cases of like models Ford has made upgrades pretty user friendly. As I was typing I realized I have a fellow Bird friend that upgraded his 65 to a 428 and C6. I will drop him an email and get his impressions of the swap and leave an updated reply for you after I hear from him.

[boaterbob]

I think you need the early Dual Range C-6 and you have to change the front motor mounts, Kick down linkage, And rear crossmember and mount.

[Harley Eaton]

Cruis-O-Matics have been used faithfully for years in a lot of T-Birds. When repaired, it should give you years of good service and it will be quite a bit cheaper than switching to a C-6. You don't know yet what problems you will run into..

[boaterbob]

I agree with Harley, Not enough gain to warrant the switch.

[4-5-6-birdman]

Originally Posted by 89turbota

Hello all. I'm new to this forum and I need some help on my 64 with a cruiseomatic. Originally reverse started failing and would only catch if the engine rpms were raised to a significant level. The tranny would slip and then would jump into gear--unfortunately also causing the car to reverse at a high rate of speed. Now reverse is completely gone and I've done some research and have narrowed it to the rear servo. All forward gears work fine. My question is should I spend the 1000.00+ to have this transmission pulled and rebuilt or should I find a C6 to put in its place. If I do, is there any other modifications that need to be made as far as linkage, driveshaft, etc. Thank you.

I got a reply from my bud with the 65 that has made the swap to the C6. There is no doubt that the C6 is an improved design that truely has stood the test of time and has been in service for over 20 years in Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars and trucks. The Cruise O had of very short run of only 5 or 6 years before it was discarded, that alone should be evidence enough to make a case for the improved C6 design. It is clearly your choice and your money, there is no question which direction I would go. Here is the response I received this AM regarding the swap my friend made in his 65.

The tranny is not too bad. You need mounts, cross tunnel brace (critical), kick down (easier to use a Lokar cable), correct bell crank, and shift linkage. These all need to come from a 66' bird. Not sure about the driveline. I added an O.D. so I had to make one.

If you can find a donor 66 or someone with lots of cheap parts like Tim's Thunderbirds on Ebay. He could probably provide you these few simple pieces for less than $100.00 with a driveline. Just go to ebay and type in 1966 thunderbird, he has dozens of ads for parts everyday, he is in RI. Good luck, if you have any additional questions you can email me at [email protected]

[Harley Eaton]

Short run of 5 or 6 years? Thunderbird used the Cruise-O-Matic from 1958 thru 1966 at least. That is 9 years!

[89turbota]

Thank you all for your input. I'm still up in the air as to which way I'll go. The C6 is a STRONG transmission and I know you can beat on them and they stay together. My friend had a built 460/C6 combo in his truck and it held up extremely well. But I don't know if need an extra transmission laying around. I have enough parts laying in my garage as it is. The biggest problem for me right now is deciding if I want to pay somebody to pull it and R&R it or do it myself. I usually NEVER pay people to do something I can do only in this case I'm a little lazy because I don't have a lift and the car sits so low with the factory H-pipe and all. I do have a factory manual for the car and have done transmission swaps on other vehicles. Does anyone know the story of the cruiseomatics relationship to the FMX?

[4-5-6-birdman]

Originally Posted by Harley Eaton

Short run of 5 or 6 years? Thunderbird used the Cruise-O-Matic from 1958 thru 1966 at least. That is 9 years!

If you can come up with any sound reasons why a person would choose a cruise o over a C6 I would be happy to listen. The unmolested, don't change a thing defense doesn't count. 4-5-6-birdman

89turbota - If you have a good set of 4 stands and a good floor jack you should be fine. Don't let the gound clearance scare you, once they are up in the air you can't tell how low to the ground it sat..lol. As far as the extra tranny, I suspect there are guys lurking around here that would pay the shipping to get the old one from you. There were a lot of FMX's out there but mostly I have seen them with small blocks. Good Luck

[4-5-6-birdman]

Originally Posted by 4-5-6-birdman

If you can come up with any sound reasons why a person would choose a cruise o over a C6 I would be happy to listen. The unmolested, don't change a thing defense doesn't count. 4-5-6-birdman

89turbota - If you have a good set of 4 stands and a good floor jack you should be fine. Don't let the gound clearance scare you, once they are up in the air you can't tell how low to the ground it sat..lol. As far as the extra tranny, I suspect there are guys lurking around here that would pay the shipping to get the old one from you. There were a lot of FMX's out there but mostly I have seen them with small blocks. Good Luck

That's what I thought.

[reptar_head]

How well do the COMs stand up to high horsepower and abuse? Just wondering if anyone has a fairly powerfull engine in their 'bird and is still running a COM.