OLM8

I drove an old XY Falcon back in the day that had been converted from the tree to the floor, still the 3 speed .
I kept wanting to go from 3rd to 4th even tho it wasnt there, just my mind said 
"its now a 4 speed with this floor change". 
Id find an auto for your car. Keep it simple. 
 

spares are handy... but id keep it as is while its working still

There’s a few things going on in my head about this..

1) Don’t spend any more money

2) Get rid of the gran pa gear change

3) Floor shift would be nice

4) Put an auto in , it’s just a cruiser

As you can see I’m very confused

But...I’m going to Sydney tomorrow a guy there, has a xy dash pad he’s giving away and he also mentioned he’s got a falcon 6 and a BW35 he doesn’t want.

So basically anything could happen





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if you don't need the overdrive like you suggested in the gearbox thread, then i'd leave it. i had a race with a 3 speed column change  torana once and that thing was a rocket,. 
there's a video of some EH or similar at Bathurst racing with a 3 on the tree, but i can't find it 
 

Thanks for that.
 
I’m really not sure what I’m doing with my car.
 
The column change works fine.
 
 
 
 
 
 
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i'd expect they'd only jam up if the links are worn. 
a mate of mine had one in a cortina, seemed fine. i've seen one in a transit van that was sloppy as stick n a bowl of rocks, still worked though. 
i actually like the column shift, 3 on the tree. other than the no overdrive( back in the day(20+ yrs ago) i'd always considered getting a toyota 5 speed and column shifted setup and fitting that to a falcon.. seemed like not worth it. especially these days. 

Nope, all these items were pretty quickly either sold or disposed of. I’ve tried for years to get the specific notes on the items and their special runs but no one can tell me what they actually looked like so to speak and what their model numbers etc were so it’s really just a hidden secret
 
 
They were only a run in the FCs, from 1979 through to late 1980. I have seen some 81 plated ones but I suspect they were actually made a year or so before and sat at the factory awaiting the order. I would think they made them in one hit but maybe with a few blank spots in case someone wanted something odd. The exact number so to speak, is very sketchy but the registered number is 400. So many have been wrecked over the years and there were actually a few that didn’t receive the special option code on the vin plate for some reason so it’s very hard to actually pin point the actual number. Ford did some weird stuff back then.
 
The Cartier wasn’t actually ‘officially’ a model, only a package

Thanks I will




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many late xd's and xe's manily esp's and some ltds had the extremly rare nazcar pillow block,i have never been able to snag one but they do exist out there and people dont no what they have,on the other hand it could just be a normal black block still good,but you have a good chance it might be one,belive it or not more 302c engines had these rare blocks than 351s,check it out man .

Thanks for that.

I hear what you’re saying.

When I get access to the car I will know a lot more.

Cheers





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olm8 grab that engine and keep it a secret from the owner at present,it could have a pillow block or nazcar block as many top level cars got these blocks thrown in to them.see if you can get underneath it and shine a torch from underneath around where the block meets tranny and look for the XE casting number ,you could have a $2000 block there for a song.

If it's matching numbers, look at the build plate. Engine codes are different for each one. They would have either "P" for a 302 or "T" for a 351

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pull a spark plug out of it, get a bit of wire or a cable tie put it in the spark plug hole wind the engine over so the piston is at the top of its stroke, mark your bit of wire/cable tie with a texta then wind the engine over until the piston is at the bottom of its stroke and mark your piece of the wire/cable tie again then measure the distance between the two marks 3 inches means it's a 302, 3.5 inches means it's a 351
 
 

I converted my sisters XP Ute 10 odd year ago.
Her's had the 3 on the tree and hydraulic clutch and we used a single rail gearbox.
Now we used her 3 speed bell housing and we had to get the centre hole machined out to fit
we also had to get a new hole drilled and tapped in the bell so the box would bolt up to it.
We used a brand new 4 speed clutch kit when we installed it. 
Then we dummied it up under the floor so i could mark out where to cut the hole for the shifter.
We never had to mod the trans tunnel, was simple cut a hole and stick the shifter thru.
We did have to get a new gearbox cross member as the 3 speed was different to the 4 speed 
and i think i just got that from Sydney classic Falcon? (i have a fuzzy memory)
Never changed diff ratio's, just drove it and it worked. 
Still does today , she still got it 😊
Oh and hers has bucket seats so never had issues with shifter.
She has an XF centre consol in there and all look well. 

I agree with all advice so far.

I will add that not all single rails were created equal. If running a 250, you're best off with the 3.06 1st ratio set. This is well matched to the midrange torque of the 250, whereas the 3.48 ratio box might have you off the boil often.

A good Cortina box might be hard to come by, but what you can do is try and find a stuffed one and transfer the extension housing, shifter and shift rail over to a good Falcon box with the ideal ratios.

The shifter might end up a bit far away from you in order to clear the seat but you can easily modify the stick to sit back over closer to you, sort of like an F100 setup, but not so goofy.

The clutch should be the same but I don't know if you can get a 3 speed bellhousing to mate to a single rail. Maybe if the 3 speed bellhousing mount face has enough meat on it to line up with the holes in the single rail, then it's a simple drill-and-tap for (I think) 7/16" UNC.

I did a similar thing with a toploader bell and a T5, as my single rail bell didn't have sufficient mounting face to line up with the lower 2 gearbox bolts.

A hydraulic SR bell will be hard to come by.

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yeah i was thinking also the 3 speeds ran a 3.23 or 3.5 diff ratio, so you may like to change that to a 2.92 when you fit a 4 speed( 4 speed's 1st gear will help it, will take off better even than it does now, plus cruise better)
or you can probably adapt the T5 to the current bell housing, (gear stick will be tight fit but can probably do the curved stick also..)
the cortina box had a gearshift mounted further forward is the only difference to a falcon box. 
 
not sure what the other bits will need(tailshaft, clutch etc.. i thought the clutch plate was different at min)
 

depending on where you are@chestnutxe has a whole hydraulic single rail setup for sale, although with the bench you may be better off with a cortina box, the shifter is located further forward than a falcon single rail, you'll need to modify the trans hump as well
 
 

@CHESTNUTXE

Wow.!  That looks SWEEET.... 
 
Yes, you will notice the difference. The gear ratio's are different, and of course that changes how the car feels. It may not go any better, but, it will feel like it does, make sense?
 
Not sure on the tailshaft length, you may have to wait until you have the 4 speed, and check the length of the whole 'box.
 
Bench seat MAY be an issue, but you might be able to modify the gear shifter and get away with it. Bit of heat, bit of bendy, bendy...
 
Clutch kit MAY fit, if the single rail has the same input shaft size and spline as the 3 speed. Check online with Xtreme Clutch or similar, see if the part numbers are the same for the kit.
 
Welcome aboard. Would love to see more pics if you get time to start up a build thread...  👍

Hi all,
I’m new to this place it’s only my second ever post.
 
I’ve got a XY , 6cyl 250 pre cross flow car, that’s 3 speed column manual,bench seat.
 
I’m looking for info and tips on converting it to a 4 speed single rail.
 
I’ve got some questions...
 
Is it worthwhile doing?
 
Will it drive better?
 
My hydro clutch and fork is on the passenger side, can I keep my existing bell housing and all internals , clutch and flywheel etc?
 
Do I need to mod the tailshaft length?
 
Gear lever clearance near the bench seat all ok?
 
Speedo drive/cable mods?
 
Other than the box , what other parts do I need?
 
Any info or tips would be appreciated.
 
If anyone’s got a good single rail box for sale ,I heard the Cortina box is better ? please pm me.
 
Happy to pay freight also.
 
Thank you
 
OLM8
 
PS it’s just a cruiser, patina paint, original car, nothing fancy.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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yes i have the 009 behind the crossy

Please excuse the fragmented nature, of the below info... 🙃
I progressively update this post with copy/paste info, as I find it across the net.
(latest updates - 09/03/20, 24/08/20, 05/04/21 and 09/04/22)
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
https://www.hemiperformance.com.au/shop/shop-by-category/transmission/manual-4-speed.html
 
BW gearbox prefix numbers -
0501
0503 - Borg Warner 4spd single rail - Ford Falcon, Valiant, Leyland P76?
0505
0506 - Borg Warner 5spd single rail with modified shifter to make it 4spd - 3.3ltr crossflow?
0507 - Borg Warner 5spd single rail - 3.3ltr crossflow - XE onward, and Mitsubishi Sigma
 
XB, all models including 351 GT with 2v heads had the BW 0503-003 (6cyl and 302 has BW 0503-006).
XC/XD 4.1/4.9 had the BW 0503-009
XC/XD 5.8 0503-008.

003 is 1st 2.82, 2nd 1.84, 3rd 1.32, 4th 1.00 - (4.9)
006 is 1st 3.06 - possibly (3.3/4.1) not sure on ratio's yet
009 is 1st 3.06, 2nd 1.84, 3rd 1.32, 4th 1.00 - (4.9)
008 is 1st 2.46, 2nd 1.78, 3rd 1.27, 4th 1.00 - (5.8)
 
Ford never published the codes for XE and XF but the 1st gear ratios are
XE 6 cyl. carb 3.43
XE efi & 302 3.06
XE 351 2.46
XF efi 3.40
XF carb 3.50
 
XE 4.1L factory carburetor Single Rails have a 20 spline input shaft
XE 4.1L factory fuel injected Single Rails have a 21 spline input shaft
 
XF 4.1L (carb and EFI) Single Rails have a 19 spline input shaft, up to 10/86 build vehicles
XF 4.1L (carb and EFI) 10/86 onwards, had 21 spline input shafts
 
 
Other numbers XB Single Rail -
74DA-7003-AB
0503 006 3192
 
0503-006-3013
 
XD Single Rail?
78DA-7003-CB
0503-014 (8096)
 
 
76 DA 7003 AA 05 03 009
84 DA 7003 BA 0503 038
 
xd/e/f
0503 carby 1st-3.43 2nd-1.99 3rd-1.43 4th-1.00 rev-3.29
0503 efi 1st-3.50 2nd-1.99 3rd-1.32 4th-1.00 rev-3.47
0506 1st-3.47 2nd-1.96 3rd-1.26 4th-1.00 rev-3.37
0507 5spe 1st-3.47 2nd-1.96 3rd-1.26 4th-1.00 5th-0.79 rev-3.37

xa/b/c
0503-009 (4.1/4.9) 1st-3.06 2nd-1.84 3rd-1.32 4th-1.00
0503-008 (5.8) 1st-2.46 2nd-1.78 3rd-1.27 4th-1.00
 
A 250 or 302 single rail is rated to 285lb/ft, similar to a stock T5.
A 351 single rail is rated to 325lb/ft which is the same as a Z-type T5.
A std. wide ratio Toploader is rated at 375lb/ft and a bull nose 425lb/ft.
 
BW single rail differences.
All have same mounting flange, which is the same as the 3 speed box except for one bolt.
Valiant has longer, finer input shaft, same output I think.
Valiant has a short shifter shaft with a dogleg intermediate rod to clear the Valiant crossmember.
Valiant has 2.84 first gear, so does cortina.
Cortina has foward mounted shifter and short shift shaft with no intermediate shaft, extension housing is different to cater for this.
Falcons all have rear mounted shifter and long shift shaft with no intermediate shaft.
There are several ratio sets in falcons, from 2.54 first gear fitted to 351s, to 3.47 on xf type sixes.
The highest torque rated box is the 351 at around 350lbsft.
 
BW single rail.
Valiant has 23 spline input shaft which is longer than the Falcon/Cortina box
Valiant has different extension housing with different mounting and shifter to Ford types.
P76 single rail is very similar to Valiant type, not seen many so couldn't say exactly what the differences are, if any.
Repair kits should be the same, but you'd need to be a bit careful when its comes to extension housing output shaft seal.
As far as I know all Valiants had same 2.84 first gear ratio gear-set.

Falcons and Cortinas have quite a few gear-sets, I know of -
2.54 first gear (for 351s) also highest torque handing because of larger input gear.
2.84 first gear seen in Cortina six
3.06 first gear in 302s and six's until XE
3.54 first gear in later sixes.
One extension housing in Falcon with corresponding shifter position.
One extension housing in Cortinas with corresponding shifter position.
 
This is what I was able to find off the net, and from books in the local library, for the 0503 :-

Falcon XA & Leyland P76
2.78/1.93/1.36/1.00

Falcon XB & Charger E48
2.82/1.84/1.32/1.00

Falcon XC/XD/XE
3.06/1.84/1.32/1.00

Valiant VJ-CM
3.32/2.00/1.43/1.00

Falcon XE (4.1 carb only)
3.43/1.99/1.43/1.00

However, Ford used a 10-spline 1&1/16th" input shaft, but Chrysler and Leyland used a 23-spline 1&1/32nd" input shaft.

Other XE Falcons got the "new" 0506 4-speed, or it's relative the 0507 5-speed.
 
Single rails came in 4 variations depending what engine they were designed to be fitted behind. All are physically identical on the outside and are interchangable. To check which type you have, look at the small tag on the side of the box.
  74DA 7003 A (up to 11/74)
74DA 7003 AB (11/74 onwards)

0503-006 (3.3/4.1)
0503-003 (4.9)
0503-009 (4.9)
1st-3.06 2nd-1.84 3rd-1.32 4th-1.00
  74DA 7003 BA 
0503-008 (5.8 inc GT)
1st-2.46 2nd-1.78 3rd-1.27 4th-1.00  
 
 
 


 
https://www.boostcruising.com/advice/496483-Borg-Warner-Gearbox-0505.html
Falcons XD-XF come out with borg warner 0501, 0503, 0506 and 0507, but 0505 is not mentioned.
 
http://www.fordmods.com/ford-x-series-f29/mod-a-single-rail-5-speed-t56866.html