56 Running gear in a 55


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By 43mike - 12 Years Ago
Hi guys,
I have a 55 Townsedan with a 272, three on the tree. I'm looking at putting an automatic in it so others in my family can enjoy the driving as much as I do. I came across a 56 Townsedan with what I think is a 292 in it, that has an automatic in it that I could transplanted into mine. It doesn't have a Ford-o-matic plate on the trunk, but I think that is what it is. It has the column, peddles, and everything I think I would need to to this. Do any of you see anything that wouls be a problem doing this, or do you think there is a better solution?
Thanks for any comments.
Mike
By Hoosier Hurricane - 12 Years Ago
It would all bolt in. If you didn't want to change to the '56 dished steering wheel, gearbox and column, you could hook your existing shift linkage to the transmission, but you wouldn't have the gear position indicator on the dash.
By 43mike - 12 Years Ago
i might be able to find a 55 gear indicator on ebay.
By Daniel Jessup - 12 Years Ago
FYI - the 56 column is a little bit shorter than the 55 column because of the dish steering wheel. You may want to get a dash plate for your indicator on the dash. The 56 dash plate is different from the 55.
By Lou - 12 Years Ago
Change the 56 Gen & starter as the 55 is 6 volts and the 56 is 12. I have a 56 dash indicator for an automatic if yoir interested.
By bn - 12 Years Ago
Are you planning on swapping the rear ends as well? The 56 standard transmission cars had a 3.78:1 rear end ratio whereas the 56 Fordomatic cars had a 3.22:1 ratio (with 272 & 292 engines) or 3.54:1 ratio (for station wagons and police interceptor cars). If you keep the original real end gas mileage would probably suffer significantly. However, acceleration response would be better. I'm assuming the 55 standard transmission rear end ratio is about the same as 56.