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I used the standard gearbox in my '52 but you'll probably have to change the arm too. On '52 at least, it was longer on the PS car, so you'll ultimately find it not only steers better but will also have a slightly tighter turning radius..

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4 hoses actually. Long pressure and return hoses and two short pressure hoses between the control valve and power cylinder.

You might also check out plate 128. There is a clamp that bolts to the frame to hold the two long hoses. If he has one it might be nice to get to save the trouble of fabrication.

Thanks Howard, looking at it now.

Ross, did you happen to look at those bellhousings?

I wonder if having those extra passages milled is going to be the answer.

kev,

I have a Bendix too, no pump, got it out of a 56 clipper,

I have Monroe, thought the Bendix was better, but ,, I guess its depends, on person, ..what they want,

if you want another, I don't want anything for it, I will have to dig it out! lol

spent all day working on income tax stuff. Will try to do my Ultra-research today. Have your jumper tubes, btw.

Thanks Ross, just let me know what your recommended path forward is with the Bellshousing.

OK, got it.

Referring to your post with the colored arrows:

Green arrow is for the old style feed to the direct drive clutch. Even after they went to the new style, they must not have changed the casting right away because the two 56 bell housings I looked at still had it. On the 56 style pump there is nothing to communicate with it as the direct clutch is fed from the gap in the front pump bushing. In other words, when you install the 56 front pump, that passage does nothing.

Yellow arrow is for the drain between the front seal and the bell housing bushing. This insures that the front seal does not see any pressure. When your 56 pump is bolted to the 54 bell housing, you need to make sure that has a way for that passage to drain into the case. I am imagining that the 54 front pump had a hole drilled for that, in 55 and 56 they just extended the passage a bit so it would whiz around the edge of the pump. You can easily extend it with a Dremel.

Red arrow is a drain passage for any fluid that gets trapped between the front band pivot pin and the bell housing to case bolt that is directly in line with it. I don't view it as helpful, but again, you could make a little notch there with a Dremel. The fact that this bolt is not into a blind hole is why it does not get a toothed washer, but rather a self locking bolt. A little sealer is a good idea.

I don't know the reason for the notch by the blue arrow as it does not communicate with anything within the pump. It may have been added for better lubrication at the pump to convertor stub shaft interface. Again, you can just grind in a small divot with your Dremel and call it a day.

Whilst you are doing all of this you might consider one of my favorite mods which is ventilate the bell housing. This does wonders for heat control. I use a 1 1/4" hole saw to make a pattern of holes out near the outer rim. Will try to find a photo later.

Ross, thanks for the info. I believe this is a later '56 transmission after that made most of the running factory changed were done, based on the serial number.

So sounds like just some minor changes are needed. I'll pop down to home depot and pick up a Tungsten Carbide bit to make those changes to the '54 housing.

So, no danger leaving the "Green Arrow" channel as it? Doesnt need to be blocked off in any way?

I think you will find there is no port on your 56 pump that communicates with that channel, thus it has no effect.