That was the Fordomatic, built by Borg Warner.  Most people thought they were 2 speeds because the shift quadrant showed Dr. and Lo.  But they were three speeds, and could be manually shifted as you described.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

I remember the Ford guys back in the '50's & the automatics they had was 3 speed. When they drag raced they'd go to low.... launch & when it got time to shift they'd go to D & back to Lo & it would shift & when they wound that gear out it was back to D. What kind of transmission was that? I was a Chevy guy back then & had a 3 0n the tree & all the Fords I ever messed with since had cruisomatics or C-6's or manuals..

Doing Fords for 45 years. '56 Customline Victoria

E.J. in Havana FL

Paul, not to doubt you, but I have never heard of a factory installed C4 behind a y block. I know that the COM had a alum bellhousing in 62 and the alum case two speed was used also.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

I have in my 59 2 speed in aluminium, the first tip i got from a guy who has 19 60 fords... Yes... that was do NOT get it in to reverse before stopping. it will vith some bad luch push out a piece of aluminum the size of a matchbox (swedish). Having had a Lot of american cars during the years, The Galaxie is actually my first 50:s car, and I have to learn some new things, bot about Y blocks, and about transmissions. One thing though it that the ford 2 speed behaves a lot better than a powerglide, I suspect that my trans has been rebuilt, it is not at all as slippy an slidy as the PG:s I have tried. Regards Per

In 1964, there were some C4s bolted to y-blocks, but the bellhousings are hard to find.



The FMX weighs 160, the C4 weighs 110. The FMX can be found behind 390s, so you know it has to be strong. You can find stock aluminum bellhousings for the Cruisomatic on a 292.

Best regards,



Paul Menten

Meridian, Idaho

Wow, I guess that cast-iron case really makes a difference for weight.  I bet the 2-speed alumunum unit weighs about the same as the c4 or a little less.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

I don't know about the two speed aluminum but, the ford-o-matic weighs about 225#. A C-4 is about 125# for comparison. Mike

1956 Fairlane Victoria (ORREO)

 

Overlooking Beautiful Rimrock AZ

As far as I know, the answer to the first part is yes. I don't know what the weight difference is.

54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Were the Ford-o-matic and Cruisomatic transmissions the only 3-speed automatic units mated to the Y-block from the factory?  If so, how much heavier are they than the aluminum-case 2-speed?

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive