Formatic Trans Info

[Scott Liggett]

Those of you that are old enough or crazy enough to work on one of these, I could use some info. The '56 Ford Fairlane I'm working on has it's factory Fordmatic that has been rebuilt. It always starts off in second gear, not first. To get it to start off from a stop in first, I have to manually shift into that gear.

Is this the way it's supposed to work? I've had one competent tranny shop say Yes, but they also admit they stopped working on such old stuff years ago. They won't touch it now.

[squirrel]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

that's how they work. I have an extra trans taking up room if you need it ;)

[mrocketscience]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

Yup, that's correct... Sometime in the next few months I'll have a 57 312 4barrel and fordomatic combo for sale, just incase you're interested.....

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

thats is the fmx ? or the 2 speed ?

[squirrel]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

Neither, it's the Fordomatic. predecessor to the Cruisomatic and FMX.

[DanStokes]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

If I have the story right, the FMX is the daddy of the AOD. The Fordomatic is all by it's lonesome - a dead branch on the Ford auto family tree.

Dan

[SpiderGearsMan]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

sounds icky

[Huskinhano]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

Wasn't the FMX made by Borg Warner? I know the Flashomatic from AMC was the BW unit.

[squirrel]

Re: Formatic Trans Info

It was based on the Borg Warner trans, but it was made by Ford....

from wiki:

Ford-O-Matic was the first automatic transmission used by Ford Motor Company, designed by Borg Warner Corporation. Introduced in 1950, the 3-speed Ford-O-Matic evolved into the Cruise-O-Matic in 1958 (and a 2-speed Ford-O-Matic in 1959) and the FMX in 1968. This line continued in production until 1980, when the AOD was introduced.