Alrighty, so i'm looking for possible alternatives to the 435 in my comp mud boggin truck, right now i'm running a 435 and it needs some work, as its worn out from 5years of comp with nothing but a clutch and couple fluid changes.

I had a thread on possible mods to quicken the shifts and lighten the insides up, but it dawned on me that i have a couple old 3sp manuals avaible. The plus to these is the shift linkage is the same as a toploader's and i can make a couple different shifters work very easily, plus its a tad lighter (one less gear :)) and should be plenty strong (same input, not sure on the output, but thats where my questions are), i do not need the low 1st gear of the 435 cause its to slow and i've only ever used it for loading up onto the trailer.


Now my question is with the tailhousing, would i be able to swap a tailhousing and shaft from a 435 to the 3sp (out of a mid 70's ford f-100 with a 302 if i rember right, but could've been a straight 6, i do remember that its in good shape, but i'd throw a rebuild kit and fresh synco's in it) to be able to bolt my 205 to the 3sp? I've already contact advanced adapters to see if they have anything that could help me out, and i have a few connections that could help with the machine work if i need some done.

Anyone got any ideas that may help me out?

The only cases a 3-speed were ever bolted to were the Dana 20 in the Bronco's, and the Dana 21 in some F-100's, so I don't think you will find an adapter to fit the NP cases. I don't think the tailshaft or housing will interchange from a 4 speed to a 3-speed, however, I'm not sure what 3 speed you are talking about that has a top shifter like the NP-435. I would not use the Ford 303 3-speed found in most trucks and Broncos(column shift) as they are weak and prone to jamming from the side shifters.

I'm refering to the old 303 as you say as i said they use the same style shift linkage as the 4sp toploaders.

In what ways are they lacking strength, i already use a sfi scatter shield bellhousing and ceramic racing clutch, and the input splines on the tranny i have in mind is the same as the 435.

If there's no adapter to a 205 i9 may just have to make one, and then the only issue would be the output shaft.

If I had to guess, I'd say they are probably like most Ford trannies of the era, and are 31-spline output, but its been 20 years or better since I last had one out. I saw where you said top-loader, but I was still thinking 435. My bad. I consider them a light-duty trans, and I doubt the bearings, gears and case have the beef a 435 has for what you are going to be putting in it. I guess a quality shifter would be fine if you could gear it to use 2nd and 3rd for boggin'. Start hittin' the web to look at pics and specs. I use ebay to find pics of almost every critter out there. Ask a few questions if you need details that aren't shown. Get a cheap one and experiment with the adapter to see if it will work before you spend money on a quality rebuilt one, or a rebuild kit.

P.S. Probably need to look at F-100 4 x 4 through 73, maybe 74, and Bronco up to 77(or whenever they last offered 3-speed) to see how they did the adapter and if it used an extended, shorter or stock length tailshaft.

Double P.S. Of course, if you are making your own adapter, I guess you could size it to any length tailshaft.

My not so humble opinion: The old ford topload 3 speeds are pure crap. When I was a kid, my dad had one in his '63 F100, powered by a 292, and the tranny was always giving him headaches. It would half shift all the time, usually sticking in 2nd.

Fast forward about 10 years, and my kid brother had an 80 F100, with a 300 I-6 and one of those 3 speeds. We were playing in a mud hole, and as he swung the truck around to do a donut, it started slipping out of 2nd, and somehow engaged two gears at the same time. Talk about a cluster fuck.

If you feel the need to go to something lighter, but still strong, swap in a topload 4 speed out of a fairlane, galaxy, maverick, or a T10 and find a divorce mount 205 to put behind it.

not 31 spline
they are splined to match the d20
would be $$ to make it fit

if you wanna drop $$ then go lenco or jerico, if you wanna go cheap look at getting Liberty to face tooth 2nd 3rd and 4th in the np435, no more missed shifts

thanks for the input, more to ponder. my missed shift are due to wore out syncros, shift forks and shift tower, just thinking of other possibilities that i have readily avaible.

that is why I mentioned Liberty gear mods, rather then put syncros in that are not designed for shifting fast and with load on the gears change to facetooth that can be shifted in those circumstances.
IF they make the weld on facetooth parts big enough for an np435 I recall the cost being under $100 a gear last time i looked at their website
you will still be facing the huge gear ratio splits unless you can find a close ratio gearset from a dodge or chev, which I have never had so cannot verify if it will go in the ford case

http://www.libertysgears.com/faceplate.htm

The 3.03 in my 67 F-100 had a 28 spline output. There may be 31 spline outputs out there, but I don't know.

The 3.03 in and of itself isn't that bad of a unit, it's the shift linkage that gets worn out that causes all of the problems.

On that '67 I swapped to a floor shifter and never had another issue with sticking, not wanting to shift, binding, or missing gears. It was just that the column shift mechanism had 40 years of wear on it.

Justin

On that '67 I swapped to a floor shifter and never had another issue with sticking, not wanting to shift, binding, or missing gears. It was just that the column shift mechanism had 40 years of wear on it.

Justin

My thoughts eactly

The EB three speeds were the RAT and RAN. They were very similar.
If you could find the rare NP-4?? (445 maybe?)that Dodge used that had the normal first gear instead of the 6-1 low first like the ford version you might be able to swap in the gears. This would give you a around 4to1 first gear and would get rid if the big gap. I think this tranny was also syncro first...

I also vaugely remember reading about swapping a Jeep tower shifter from the t-176 onto the EB three speed. I'll be danged if I can remember where I saw it though. This would be a good swap and would avoid the bolt on side mounted shifter the top loader 4 spds and three speeds used. I think the Jeep cover/shifter bolted on in place of the top cover and you dismounted and blanked the holes for the side shift forks and rails. If you find any info on this post it.

Refresh my memory again as to why you do'nt just go to a C-6??

I preffer manuals myself, but it seems like time and time again you keep trying to reinvent the wheel here, when the simplest and most effective solution is the C-6.

What happened with reducing or eliminating 1st and 4th in the 435?

i don't have the spare cash to build the auto that i want to build, as i have other safety things i'm investing my money in as well as some suspension upgrades, as yes you are right for what i'm doing a c6 is the way to go.

I'm going to check that liberty gears out and see what they can do as that may be the ticket i need, and the old column shift linkage on the 3spds is the main culpret on the shifting issues some people may have.

Still going to look into that, gonna see what the more viable option is (ie cheaper, stronger, quicker), as truth be told the only progress i've made towards that is i figured out how to mod the shift tower to make a shifter from an auto work with the 435 (i can't explain without pictures, and i still need the shifter parts to), and i'm also trying to find some gears that i could possibily swap to get a better ratio in 3rd gear, but i still have yet to tear into a tranny (i work to much to have any type of spare time to myself to do this, that and i have no shop or yard to work in here in calgary) I'm hoping to make a trip to the local pick n' pull to get some parts for the shifter (among other things) sometime this week and hopefuly when i go back home on the 4th i can start digging into the 2 trannies to see what i have to deal with.