66 Delta 88 - What tranny was stock?

[ijasond]

What transmission came on the 66 Delta 88 with the 425 High Compression engine? And is this transmission sufficent for a car that will only be street driven with an occasional traffic light race?

[rocketraider]

Automatics were a Turbo 400 with Switch-Pitch converter. Stick cars had a Ford-built toploader 3-speed or heavy duty Muncie 4-speed. Any of these transmissions should be able to handle a 425.

[ijasond]

Thanks! I have two transmissions. Both automatics, one original to the 66 Delta 88, one from a donor car which had apparently had a heart transplant at some point. As soon as I find out what they are and which one I am going to use, I'd be glad to give the other one away to anyone willing to pick it up or pay to ship it. I'm in Atlanta.

[ijasond]

Thanks for your help. They are both TH400's. I'll be parting with one of them soon. If anyone wants it, just let me know.

[frdmftr]

Post a few pics of your 88 when you can.

http://madmax.smugmug.com/photos/130989481_f79aZ-M.jpg

[Olds64]

That is a pretty car. Got any pictures of the front?

[frdmftr]

Lots of pics. I had quite a few posted in the 'previous' gallery until the 'Big Crash' of 2007 (the gallery, not the car, LOL).

Here's an album link:
http://www.madmax.smugmug.com/Cars

Enjoy, only 35 degrees but sunny.

[ijasond]

I certainly will. Right now it's completely gutted out. We just got the engine & tranny back in, and they look GOOD. After that It's going to be in my shop for a while to finish the prep & paint work. I won't be one of these guys that asks everyone for help & then doesn't even give them a chance to see what they were helping with. Pics will be coming soon.

[88 coupe]

Originally Posted by rocketraider

........ or heavy duty Muncie 4-speed ........

Heavy duty? M22? Close ratio in a big car?

Norm

[Mister]

Although we've established that the transmission in question is an automatic, here's a small clipping from the 1966 Service Manual that shows what manual transmission goes where:



So although you could get a "Heavy Duty" or a "4-speed", you couldn't get both.
Later, it states that the close ratio version was not available on the big cars.

[ijasond]

more to come very soon.

[frdmftr]

Do you plan to punch through the hood?

My 67 has a Performer carb and manifold. I have to use the freeflow (top filter w/screen) air filter due to the low hood clearance. I've even toy'd with installing a supercharger, if I could find one. I have a line locally on a good hood that I would modify for this installation.

Looks good!

[ijasond]

As you can see, i've not gotten fat enough along to deal with the hood clearance issue, but I'm fairly certain it's not going to work with that big filter. We'll see...

[ijasond]

How can I tell for sure that this is a switch pitch? If it is a switch pitch & it's not connected, could this cause sluggish starts?

(The hood clears, barely)

[joe_padavano]

Originally Posted by ijasond

How can I tell for sure that this is a switch pitch? If it is a switch pitch & it's not connected, could this cause sluggish starts?

(The hood clears, barely)

Look at the electrical connector on the trans. I single terminal on the connector indicates that it is a standard TH400. Two terminals in a "T" configuration indicates either 1) it is the original switch pitch or 2) it is a replacement from the 1970s with the pressure sensor for the transmission controlled spark system.