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Old 05-08-2020, 01:02 PM   #2
rotorwrench
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,371
Default Re: 54Merc Transmission Mystery

Not enough information for accurate results. We would need to know if it has the original Merc-O-Matic transmission or something else. The 54 should have the 256 CID Y-block but it's been a lot of years and the fact that the engine & trans were removed previously leaves a big question mark. From what I can find on that kit number, it's listed as a 63 to 67 Ford-O-Matic but it would have been a Cruise-O-Matic in those years which is a diffrent transmission. The 54 would have had the small case, air cooled transmission that is a 3-speed but it operates differently that the later cruise-o-matic too. All the early ones started in neutral and only used two of the three speeds for normal driving. Low gear had to be either manually selected or you have to floor it to get it to go into 1st. Normal driving was single range 2nd to high gear. These transmissions were controlled by a throttle linkage interaction to a throttle valve in the transmission to get the proper shift pressures.

The later 1961 and up cruise-o-matics had a vacuum modulator to control shift pressures and the were true dual range 3-speeds. Early cruise-o-matics starting in 1958 were still like the old For-O-Matics with TV control but they at least were oil cooled instead of air cooled plus they were also dual range units. Ford-O-Matics weren't oil cooled till 1956 but they still had air cooled ones for light duty applications till some time in 1959.

We would need to know what transmission you have. Ford-O-Matics and Merc-O-Matics were the same basic design transmission in 1954 with only minor variation.
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