Toploader is referenced to a specific family of transmissions. Fords 4-speed car transmission where the inspection cover is on the top of the transmission. It is built by loading the gears in from the top. Different from many of the car 4-speeds of the day that were installed on the side. Muscle car era 4-speed.
Toploader is referenced to a specific family of transmissions. Fords 4-speed car transmission where the inspection cover is on the top of the transmission. It is built by loading the gears in from the top. Different from many of the car 4-speeds of the day that were installed on the side. Muscle car era 4-speed. They evolved and lived up to the early 80s.
Completely different from the truck family of 4-speeds. Truck 4-speeds are very wide ratio. You generally drive them like the 3-speed that came in the Bronco. 1st gear is extra low. Sometimes the gear shift would not even list it as 1st gear, it might show it as "L" for low gear. Intended as a gear just to get a very heavy load rolling, or on a farm where low ground speed is desired. Often called a granny gear. Transmissions like this are the NP435, T18, SM465. The NP435 is the favorite for the Bronco since the adaptors put it the exact same length as the 3-speed so it is a bolt in except for the hole in the floor for the shifter.
Ah, I understand now. The f100 out in the yard has a pretty low 1st gear but its nothing like the granny gear in my 52 GMC. It's a light duty truck so I imagine it is a T170F or FS from this page...
I don't fully understand ratios when it comes to gearing but I included what the site I found claims.
The shifter available from AA leaves a ton to be desired as far as strength, fitment, and adjustment. I'm about 70% done with a shifter bracket and rod kit for the toploaders.
Those are the ratios for the car toploaders from the '60's.
What year is the F100? It could be one of a couple of transmissions. If it is a later toploader(T170F) the truck variants usually have a 1st gear ratio somewhere between 2.99-3.25:1(depending on engine size) and 4th gear would be an overdrive.
You got that right. I just went through this with mine. I would be interested in what you have come up with. I had to modify the AA brackets quite a bit and the shift tabs and rods were pretty much useless. I ended up making my own set of rods and modifying the stock tabs.
Are you looking at a standard toploader that just has more gears between 1st and top, or the overdrive version? Yes, there is an overdrive version (actually versions, multiple). It is basicly a 3-speed, 1st and 2nd are like a 3-speed transmission. You get a 1:1 for 3rd (what would be 4th in a normal 4-speed). Overdrive is what would normally be 3rd on a normal 4-speed but the gearing is setup to be overdrive instead of underdrive. The linkage is flipped so the shift pattern is still correct.
As for the normal toploader, 1st gear is actually a little taller then the 3-speed in the common wide ratio version. And most of them are the wide ratio. The close ratio has a really tall first gear, something like a 2.3:1 ratio. That's halfway between 1st and 2nd on the 3-speed.
So all this begs the question, what are you trying to get out of it? What is the goal of putting a 4-speed in? That will be a very important before you figure how it goes in.
Have you looked at the Advance Adaptors instructions for installing one? I know most of there instructions are horrible, but it is still a starting point.
I do still remember driving an old mustang with a toploader. In that light of a car with a lively 289 in it that was a lot of fun. But it was a lighter car, not a truck, and it only drove on the street.
Well to shed some light on what I’m doing ,I have a street truck with the stock 3 speed converted to the floor shift.
Running 33s and stock gearing.
As it’s not too bad now I have the opportunity to get a 4 speed T18 from a guy that has it already installed in his bronco that wants to upgrade to a 5 speed.
So all that said I was kinda hoping it would give me a lower 1st gear for creeping a little better at slow speeds
and that 35 -40 mph where I can’t decide to be in 2nd or 3rd city driving.
Believe it or not 3rd gear on highway speeds isn’t to bad.
( Im referring to the current 3speed trans with above comments.)
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