I got the O rings yesterday and put them on the bolts between the plate and door frame. WOW! what a difference. Thanks for the tip, it worked like a charm. 

55 F100  Summerville, SC

I may go with 3.54's to start. That would be a compromise between the 3.92's I have and the 3.08's I was thinking about. If that does not give me the reduction I am looking for then I may have to bite the bullet and come up with the money for the overdrive tranny and put the 3.92's back in. I found a site someone had listed on here for ring-pinion.com and they have the gears listed for around $135. (anybody ever bought from there before)

Ol'ford nut, thanks for the tip on the O rings on the striker plate bolts. I plan to get some tomorrow and see if I can get the same luck!

55 F100  Summerville, SC

I think a 9 inch from a 57 to 60 p/u will fit the 53 to 56s and there is alot more gears available for the 9 inch.

Butchering up everything I can get my hands on in Dayton Ohio

Steve, you'll find overdrive transmissions at swap meets, ebay has them sometimes. Shipping would be a factor. If possible you would want to see the sun and planetary gears inside the tranny before buying, to make sure they are not damaged. I bought one that was damaged that way.

  Dennis in Lititz PA

Are overdrives plentiful out there or will I be hunting for awhile? I checked the classified in this forum for R10 and didn't see any for sale. I only mentioned the T5 earlier because I've read so much about them on this site. I'm trying not to repeat too many questions that others have asked but usually when I see something close to what I need to know, it's usually referring to a car instead of a truck. I like the idea of the 3:08's lowering the rpms but I do not want to give up the ability to pull/haul with my truck.

55 F100  Summerville, SC

Steve, I'm doing it for racing and parades. I have the borg warner R10 overdrive so going the other way doesn't hurt. With the 3.92 and overdrive it gives me about a 2.43 rear. With the 4.27, I'll be at 3.00. If you can go the overdrive route, that would be the best.

  Dennis in Lititz PA

Steve- I had the same problem with my stricker plate moving no matter how tight I was able to get it. How I finally fixed the problem was putting o rings over the bolts between the plate and the body. Never had another problem with movement. Cheap fix!

Ol'ford nutCentral Iowa

56 Vic w/292 & 4 spd.

It will be noticeable. That change will shift your RPM down by about 750rpm at cruise speed. Make sure you don't want to haul anything if you go that route.


Lawrenceville, GA

I have considered the overdrive/T-5 route and may need to go that way if the gearing change doesn't give me enough relief. I found a website from another post on the forum and they carry a set of 3:08's for my truck. My wife said Santa will bring it for me if that's what I want. I am really new to a lot of this and I certainly appreciate all of y'all advise. Is there a noticable difference in 3:08's from 3:92's? As far as the door noise goes, that striker plate just will not stay adjusted right. Even with a new plate and screws it still works loose.

55 F100  Summerville, SC

An overdrive transmisson would solve your problem without really changing originality.

-Gary Burnette-