4 speed toploader info

[davidmij]

Hi everyone, I recently bought a tranny and was told it may be fairly rare. I was wondering if anyone could give me some info or sources for info.
The trans is 29 inches, 1 3/8 inch 31 spline output, 1 3/8 10 spline input.
The tag say's RUG AJ,
The body has C9AR 7006-D,
The tail piece has C80R-7A040-A W-1

The owner told me it was from a 1969 car.
From what I found at two different sources it is out of a 69 Torino 428 or a 69 Fairlane 428.

Is there any collectiblity on a trans like this? I.E. someone needing a numbers matching transmission for a rare car?

thx in advance for any input.

- Dave

[DKheld]

Weird - a Torino buddy and I were just talking about some of this stuff today. Here's a link.

http://www.davidkeetoploaders.com/

Be interesting to see the value - being a close ratio shift pattern bet it's worth more than just a standard 4 speed of that era. This guy is in Tx - might give them a shout and see what they would give you for it or how much one costs. They would probably quote with a core charge so that should give you an idea how much just the core goes for. The tail housing # is a bit strange otherwise the site shows:

RUG-AJ 1969 Fairlane 428 close 31-spline

Good luck on it - hope it's worth it's weight in gold.

Eric

[davidmij]

Hey, thanks Eric. That is one of the sites I found info on also. And I had already called the guy to see if he could give me any info, but their phone just goes to machine so I left a message to please call me.
The other site is here; http://www.5speeds.com/toploader.html
It says it's a 69 Fairlane 428.
Be nice if someone could use it to make a numbers matching car - that way I could sell it and get a wide ratio trans, and the new owner would get what they need too. These things are hard enough to find, and a number matching one must be even harder to locate.

-dave

[Guest]

If I'm not mistaken ...

The Torino is a Fairlane, and generally speaking the wide ratio unit is a better choice for street duty. Mike

[davidmij]

Yeah, that's kind of what I figured too Mike, especially with my 3.10 rear end.
This one I have is a close ratio with the large input and output, at 1 3/8 inches and 31 splines. From what I read that makes it more suitable for the Mach 1 or Cobra Jet cars they made back then. High performance track car as opposed to a strip car. Being that I'm building a Rat Rod type of T-bird I want it to have a lot of tire spinning low end torque - that translates to a wide ratio. I could always change out the pumpkin and get a 3.50 rear end that would help some. Maybe I should list it on E-bay with the numbers and see if anyone is looking for such a tranny.

thx, Dave
PS: did you get much snow up there in Steamboat? Here in Los Alamos NM were at 7000 feet, but the last little storm didn't quite make it's way this far south.

[scumdog]

The Torino is a Fairlane, and generally speaking the wide ratio unit is a better choice for street duty. Mike

I've got a close ratio big-input in my '37 Ford coupe hot-rod with 460 Ford motor.

However I've yet to get it on the road.(but being a light car I should be OK - I think!)

[davidmij]

From what I've read I believe you are exactly right Tom. Most people say that if your car is light (3300 pounds area) you'll be fine. Especially with a lot of cubic inches. My T-bird will be a little lighter because of the missing interior and newer seats. Plus I believe the automatic 3 sp weighed more than my toploader will. I've also removed some excess metal in a lot of places. Hopefully it'll be closer to 3500. I could always drop down to a 4.11(ish) rearend, but then it would be kind of crappy on the highway. I might have it on the highway every few years or so, but only for about 40 miles at a time.

I wish I could find someone who is looking for a numbers matching tranny like mine. I've looked at a few sites that service and sell rebuilt - I' also looked on E-bay, and I haven't seen one with the big in and out, 31 spline that is also 29 inches long. The ones I've found are all the shorter tail piece. How long is yours? I'll bet it was from a Mustang and is the shorter one.

thx, Dave J

[nocontrol]

toploader

Dave, If your going to beat on a transmission this is the one you want. rug aj was installed in 69 fairlane 428. The big shaft / 31 spine was only produced close ratio and for the 427,428,429. It's one tough tranny. You can put a 1 3/8 shaft in a wide ratio but why. I don't think the Cobra had trouble spinning tires. This is the trans I have in my 58 and I couldn't be more happy. It matches up with trans mount and driveshaft yoke, the shifter comes up right where you need it. Your lucky to have this unit. Here are sites you can get data close vs wide mph/rpm with various rear gears. mustangtek.com/transmissions and www.fordification.com/tech/transid-man htm

[davidmij]

Thx Nocontrol, after I bought it I measured my existing auto trans and bellhousing length and noticed just what you said - that they are the same length, and that the trannys mounting bar is located just right. I also measured and saw that the shifter will be perfectly placed. It really hadn't occur to me (until you just mentioned it) that this is exactly what I need fit wise. I'm putting a 1967 4 barrel 390 in it. The guy that sold me the tranny also had a pair of heads (C4AE-6090G) that had been reconditioned, so I bought those too. He said they were like the poorman's CJ's because they have the large intake ports. I don't know if that is true but they are good heads from what I've read. I'm going to add headers for now and hope to be close to 340 hp and 450 torque. It was 315hp and 427 lb. ft. stock. Eventually I'll add a good intake and carb to boost it a bit more, but that's about all I really want for a Ratrod car.

If I ever come across someone that needs a numbers matching tranny for a Torino or Fairlane 428 I can always sell it to them and replace it I get enough $ for it.

Thx again, I'm really glad you spoke up cuz I hadn't considered how lucky a purchase this turned out to be for what I need.

-Dave