need help cant bolt up my c4 to my 289

Well it seems I have an earlier 289 then what the seller told me. It has an auto 5 bolt trans that's slipping. Got a small block c4 for it and went to bolt it up and the bell housing is too big. I am totally screwed here or is there an adapter made for this? C4 I bought measures 5 1/8 between the top bolts and the old 5 bolt is 5 3/4. I put the c4 in but like I said the bell housing was way to big to bolt up.


Thanks

 

I never heard of a 5-bolt to 6-bolt adapter.

 

Can you swap the bell housings? From your old tranny to the new one?

 

The Ford-0-matic bellhousing is cast with the transmission case and doesn't come off

 

I was figuring the old one was a C4

 

Yup, I believe unless the C4 is a pan fill the bells should swap


Possibly may need to use your original converter, but those don't all swap...

OOPs late on this one...

If the the trans is a old cast iron piece, the bells should unbolt, but it won't fit a C4...

 

Probably before the C4 was invented

 

Old bellhousing is a part of the tranny no getting it off.

Ok another questions since it looks like I'm stuck with the crap trans......

So its a ford-o-matic???
where can I get a dipstick tube for one? its a pan fill with a huge nut holding on the dipstick tube.

Mine kind of got cut off somehow during removal

 

There were were a couple Ford-O-Matic versions, guessing you have the two speed alum version that was used from '59 into '64...

Early ones('50s) were cast iron three speed units, but only had 1st gear if Lo was manually selected... This trans became the Cruse-O-Matic in '58 when a dual range(D1, D2) valve body was added... Versions of this trans lasted through the '70s as MX & FMX(Pop had one in a '79 Cougar)...

BTW a pan fill C4 is basically a truck trans, I dunno if there are five bolt bells for it... Would be a hassle to change at the least as the bell is part of the front pump, not a separate part like the case fill units..

 

Not understanding the last part of your comment.

But basically I can't convert to use a standard c4. So I need to either rebuild the trans or get another motor lol.

 

No that's not the case, you need a case fill C4 with the five bolt bellhousing... Those were used in '64 model cars and the early '65(64½) Mustangs... Still, to someone restoring a early Stang that engine could be worth money...

One question, are you sure it's a 289??? The 260 was common in '63-'65 & used five bolt bell as well... Also there was a 221 but the bolt spacing for the motor mount to block is narrower on those...

 

I'm pretty sure its a 289. Has 289 heads. Are the I takes the same for them cause I have a 289 performer intake on it. Looks like a 289 to me lol. So I need to find a pan filled c4 with a 5 bolt bell housing.

They really should make an adapter lol.

 

I have a question as well.......... I originally swapped trans because of a slip under hard acceleration. Could that be a band adjustment or modulator valve adjustment?

 

No you need a CASE fill C4 & five bolt bellhousing, may be easier to buy the bell separate... Be careful though and do a bit of research, not all converters swap due to input shaft spline count differing...


I dunno enough about the alum Cruse-O-Matics to say if it even has a band adj, don't have any service info handy(I can check with a friend I'll see tomorrow to see what he has)... The modulator generally causes late/firm shifts or pukes fluid into the engine if it has issues...

Most parts interchange between a 289 & 260 but with 289 heads it probably is one...

 

Also forgot to ask. From what u said before.....I can find a bell housing to fit the c4 with a 5 bolt pattern? If so what years and what kind of vehicles should I be looking for to steal this bell housing from lol.

Thanks a lot.