Column Change

The early Falcon came with a choice of automatic transmission even if only for the time while Ford was swapping from the 2-speed Ford-o-Matic to the Borg Warner S3 3-speed. There has been a popular trend to replace manual gearboxes and worn-out 2-speed automatic transmissions with the later Borg-Warner S3 on two counts, hard to get parts and ease of driving.

The two gearboxes are totally different and not interchangeable in any way. The Ford-o-Matic will only fit behind the narrow-end motor but the Borg-Warner will fit behind the wide-end motor and can be adapted to fit it to the narrow-end motor using an adapter plate. There are also a number of subtle differences too with the associated fittings supplied in the two ways these boxes are installed. The outer case of the steering column, the plastic gear-select indicator, the honey-pot, the primary shift-link plate that exits from the lower end of the steering column are a few of the difference.

The XM - XP ranges were fitted with a mix of the two automatic transmissions and when preparing to fit a Borg-Warner S3 into a vehicle for the first time a number of issues need to be addressed.

Will the S3 fit under the floor or will the gearbox tunnel require some bashing? If the vehicle is a late XM or XP, probably not but if it's an XK, XL or an early XM most likely it will. The telltale sign to lookout for when deciding whether you have a large or small tunnel is the location of the headlamp dipswitch. If it's on a small hump beside the tunnel it's the bigger tunnel. If it's on the floor beside the tunnel it's the smaller.

The exit point of the shift-link plate, at the end of the steering column, is in a totally different in the manual and 2-speed Ford-o-Matic to the exit point of the S3 and is not compatible, all three are different.

The gear selector tube housed in the steering column is also different to both the S3 and the manual but the 2-speed Ford-o-Matic tube can be used with the S3.

		The tube on the left is from an automatic and the one on the right is from a manual transmission. Note the differences in the position and type of keyway. There is also a tapered shoulder and tube size-reduction on the manual tube. The keyway on the manual tube incorporates a hole, that the end of the gearshift handle fits into. This action enables the tube to be lifted and dropped within the outer column when selecting between 1st - Reverse and 2nd -3rd. Quite obviously the manual honey pot will not fit on the auto tube and to a certain extent the same can be said for the reverse.
The Honey pot end of the inner selector tube, Auto Left, Manual Right.

The lower ends of the auto outer columns, Ford - o - Matic Left and Borg - Warner S3 Right The photo has been take to show the difference in exit points. The columns are aligned as they would be in the vehicle.		The lower ends of the auto and manual outer columns. The wider aperture to take the double plates of the manual gearbox can be seen Right. The orientation of the manual aperture is much the same as the Ford-o-Matic when in the vehicle.

The park / neutral ignition isolator switch is mounted on the inside selector tube but is not required as the park / neutral ignition isolator switch for the S3 is a part of the gearbox. How ever there will be needed to extend the cables from the point under the steering column to the Borg-Warner S3 if the vehicle was previously fitted with a 2-speed auto. Hint: do not be tempted to use the old 2-speed Ford-o-Matic ignition isolating switch with the Borg-Warner S3 they a very unreliable. If the prevoious gearbox was a manual, there is a connecter in a red and white wire near the firewall that comes from the coil, pull this apart and loop in the switch wire from the new S3 auto gearbox.

The middle sections of the auto outer columns, Borg - Warner S3 Left and Ford - o - Matic Right The wire on the BW is a simple grounding wire for the lamp on the selector indicator and the setup on the FoM is the ignition isolator switch.		The interior of the ignition isolator switch on the inner tube of the Ford-o-Matic setup and not required with Borg-Warner S3 as the isolator switch is part of the gearbox.

The linkage on the Ford-o-Matic is attached to the firewall and transfers movement from the end of the shift-link at the bottom of the steering column to the left side of the gearbox, the box being originally designed for the, LHD, USA market, none of which is required for the S3 box.

		The shift-link plate at the end of the steering column is also different between the two auto boxes and the bigger 2-speed Ford-o-Matic plate is not suitable for use with the S3 as the tube-keyway is in a totally different position. The linkage between the shift-link plate and the S3 is different to the Ford-o-Matic's shift-link plate to firewall linkage but the Ford-o-Matic linkage can be modified to fit The manual setup has 2 shift-link plates neither of which are suitable for use with the BW 3-speed auto.
The auto shift-link plates, Borg-Warner S3 Top and the 2-speed Ford-o-Matic Bottom.

The plastic gear selector indicator is also different as is the XP shifter-hub (honey-pot) having a housing and light to illuminate the selector indicator. There are after market shifter-hub available for the prior XP auto hub and some come in duel LHD - RHD configuration, two slots for the non-illuminated pointer.

The after market replacement auto shift selector-hub or Honey pot. Note the two slots for the plastic pointer, this unit can be used for RHD or LHD. This model also has a thickened collar for the shift handle, previously a weak point.		The original XP shift selector-hub with the two parts, the illuminated pointer and the main body. The shift handle collar is the standard thickness. A very rare piece in NOS condition.

The gearshift handle is also non-swapable between the auto and manual Honey pots as the end of the handle that fit inside the hub at very different.

The other part of interest in the swap from manual to auto is of course the brake / clutch pedal configuration. The section between the firewall and the dash that supports the steering column is the same, only the brake pedal and the shaft the pedals pivot on are different. The shaft and pedal can be removed from the donor vehicle leaving the main bracket behind.

Reassemble in revers order with the desired parts first by sliding the shift-link plate through the hole in the wall of the outer column then dropping the spring down the outer column followed by the inner selector tube. The shifter-hub and the pre-combined units of the boss and the indicator switch with the two retaining nuts and bolts already loosely fitted into the boss. Nuts on by 2 or 3 turns, enough to allow the bolt to move away from the outer column as it is pushed on the column. Hint: This is a three-handed job. Once the heads of the nuts are in the slots of the column they can be tightened. During this entire operation care must be exercised to make sure the cables from the indicator switch are safely out of harms way in their conduit inside the outer column.

Slide the completed outer column over the steering shaft, again being careful not to rip the headlining. Replace the steering wheel, springs, collars, nuts and horn-ring etc. and connect the wiring. Before tightening the two under-dash bolts slide the column up or down to achieve the correct spacing between the steering wheel and the indicator boss.

The motor and gearbox will be in most cases be fitted as one unit with old manual or 2-speed box parts being discarded. The speedo cables are common to all boxes as are the propshafts in XM - XP. The above procedures also work for the coupling of the column shift to operate a C4 auto gearbox.

© BigH 2006

DISCLAIMER While this method has been tried and works, NO responsibility will be excepted by the Author, the Club or any of its Members.