Hello guys, Can some of you who have done a T5 swap give me some detailed information about the swap. My car is a 72 four speed car it still has the welded four speed crossmemeber and clutch pedal inside the car, the rest of the linkage is missing. The car currently has a late model 305 roller motor and TH350 trans. I have a 400sb I want to install with a Mustang T-5. The 400 will be very mild only about 300hp and the car will only occasionally go to track. I have done searches but have not found enough detailed information to determine if the swap is doable for me. Please tell me what parts I will need and what modifications will be needed to make it work. Your help would be greatly appreciated

 

I believe I sent you an e-mail but is your 400 a chevy or a pontiac? You have the hardest part done since you have you clutch pedal already. The solid crossmember can be modified to accept the T5 trannyJust cut it on both sides, weld brackets to the stubs left on the car. Fab up a center section to match the tranny support with brackets that match the ones you welded on the stubs, mate them, drill holes thru both and bolt them together. The T5 is a great tranny, you will be astonished with the finished product! Buy a master clutch and slave clutch cylinder to fit an 85 one ton chevy. The master clutch fits perfectly with the right angle to match the throw of the clutch pedal. You will need a chevy pressure plate, a ford clutch disc, a ford throw out bearing and I used a chevy pilot bushing that I had the inside diameter milled to the diameter of the T5 input shaft. If you are using a chevy bellhousing you will need a 1/2 inch thick by 12 inches square piece of aluminum plate to make an adapter. The 1/2 inch is exactly how much longer the T5 input shaft is than the chevy; it also makes it possible to mate the tranny to the bellhousing. I used an 18 inch long steel brake line that I coiled around a small can to attach the master to the slave. The coil allows for flex between them. You will need to buy fittings for the cylinders to adapt the brake line to the cylinders which NAPA or other auto stores should have. I used a hyd. clutch resevoire from a Honda civic I found used for $5.00, and a piece of rubber hose to connect it to the master cyl. I bought a used T5 tranny from a salvage yard for $500.00 from a '91 mustang 5.0. Be sure to get the T5 yoke as it uses the same u-joint as your car. I made an adapter to relocate my shifter to the left 1 1/2 inch and back 1 inch and it fit the original shifter location. If this is what you want to do I can supply you with a diagram of the adapter you need to make for the tranny.
Bernie

 

I know how much they improved on the later T-5's but I would check for a torque rating. The SB 400 may be too much for it

I had an 84' Z/28 with a whopping 165 HP and It ate two T-5's within a year..... Terrible transmission.

Changing the transmission with the solid crossmember is no picnic.

 

Thanks Bernie, The 400 is a small block chevy and I plan on doing the swap largely myself (cant afford to have someone else do it!). With the adapter plate you mentioned, the purpose is to mate the ford T5 to the chevy pattern bellhousing and make up the difference of the Ford T5 input shaft, right? Also if I were to purchase all the original corvette clutch linkage could I just use the mechanical linkage with the T5 parts you described. Please feel free to e-mail or pm me with any diagrams for the shift adapter. Also if you have any pictures of your install please post them. Is it possible to use the original 4 speed crossmember and just weld on a mount to the front or rear of the crossmember as needed. I think the T5 will live fine behind my 400 my 400 has stock heads and will be installed with a mild cam, Q jet and headers I doubt it will make more than 300hp. I have a T5 in my 94 Cobra that has 115K miles and I beat on it regularly (no powershifting), I love the T5. Thanks again for taking the time to explain the swap

 

You can use the stock clutch linkage with your swap, although hyd is simpler and easier to use. I have pics and will post them after I review them. You probably can use your stock crossmember, leaving it in place but it would be much easier to cut it and fab up a center section that would bolt in. I will post more later. Bernie

 

Here are some pics I have handy.

This is the chevy flywheel, chevy pressure plate and ford clutch plate installed.I used a chevy pilot bearing that I had the inside diameter milled to the size of the larger T5 input shaft.


These are pics of the Honda Civic hyd. clutch resevoire I bought used for $5.00, works great.
















The rest of the pics show the parts I used to complete the swap.

Bernie

 

Bernie You are the man!!! that is an amazing set up I will certainly go hydraulic, it does appear to be cleaner and easier then the mechanical linkage. Do you know what year civic so I can get the exact one out of a junk yard. Also on the adapter plate did you use studs or did you use countersunk bolts to mount the tranny to the adapter plate. I hope I am not pushing my luck but do you have a drawing for the adapter plate. If not I will measure it up when I get all the parts. Thanks Again

 

Bernie what was the application for the bellhousing you used. Thanks

 

The bellhousing was out of a one ton '85 chevy truck. Call your local salvage yards to find one. They get bought up pretty quick. If you can't find one with a bracket, you can make a bracket to fit any chevy bellhousing. I have the drawing for the adapter at work and will post it tomorrow. It has the exact locations for the holes. It has been passed down from forum member to forum member. There are three holes for the bolts that bolt the adapter to the bellhousing. The top left one needs to be countersunk. There are four holes that need to be drilled and tapped for studs the tranny will slide on to. Any Honda Civic remote resevoire should work; I think mine was off a '98 model. Coleman Racing makes a very nice resevoire too. It is in the $60.00 range.Go to [therangerstation.com] they have a list of the serial #'s for T5s with the gear ratios and max torque specs. I went with one that has 300 ft lbs torque, a 3:35 first gear and a .68 overdrive gear. It works great with my 3:55 diff gears. Go to [ddperformance.com] they also have a list of T5 serial #s and I believe they can supply you with the correct speedometer cable gear to match the C3 cable to the T5. They will need your diff ratio and tire size. I will post the adapter tomorrow! Good luck finding your parts, it is part of the fun!
Bernie

 

I wrote up a paper on the Ford T5 swap I did on my car. See attached.

I have pics, but I need to get them hosted somewhere.

 

ddecart,
Excellent paper!
Bernie

 

Thanks. but oops. That's not the proofread/spellchecked version
Ok. Fixed it.

 

Directions to make adapter:
I used a 12 inch square piece of aluminum plate 1/2 inch thick. Find the exact verticle center and mark it. Next measure down each side 3 1/4 inches and mark a horizontal line. Where these two lines intersect is the center point for a hole 4.905 inches in diameter. This hole is for the bearing retainer on the tranny to fit thru. It is also the reference point for the next three holes needed to bolt the plate to the bellhousing. From the center point, measure to the left 4.2435 inches and up 2.0015 inches. This hole needs to be countersunk. For the next hole, again measure left from the center point 4.2435 inches and down 2.8750 for the left bottom hole. For the top right hole measure from the center point 4.1255 inches right and 1.9770 inches up. I believe these are 7/16ths holes but check the size of the bolts needed on the bell housing to be sure.
To find the location to drill the holes for the studs to attach the tranny to the adapter plate take the T5 and sit it on a bench. Take a short piece of a 4 by 4 post and lay it under the rear support of the tranny with the rear rubber mount removed. You will notice that the tranny leans to the left about 15 degrees with the rear support laying flat on the 4 X 4. With the tranny leaning in this position, place the adapter plate over the input shaft and slide it on the bearing retainer all the way on. Take a small level and level the plate and clamp it to the ears of the tranny. Mark the four holes on the adapter plate where the studs will go. You will see that the correct position of the tranny is tilted to the left but the adapter plate will be level with the bellhousing. Find suitable studs that fit the openings in the ears of the tranny and drill and tap those 4 holes for the studs.
This will get you to the point where you need to center the adapter plate to the crankshaft and I will post how to do this later.
Bernie

 

Bernie and ddecart, You guys have a wealth of knowledge. I assume I should use the clutch fork from the 85 1-ton chevy truck.

 

The bellhousing I bought from the salvage yard already had the clutch fork with it so I would use it. You will have to trim the ears on the fork just a little with a file to make it work with the ford throwout bearing as it is just a little bigger round than the chevy.
Bernie

 

Check the thread on down the page titled "454 to 502 and Hydraulic Clutch Info". It has a web site listed on Novak belhousing slave cylinder brackets you might be interested in.
Bernie

 

I saw that thread, good to know. It does seem the truck bellhousings are getting expensive, I just saw one on e-bay for over $100.00

 

A parts list and prices for the remote resovior from Grisdale racing

 

This gives you the dimensions of the big hole and the addresses of the 4 other mounting holes using the center of the big hole as address 0,0

 

Norval,
Thanks for posting. I couldn't find these pics you sent me last year. I will save them as more people want to know your secret!
Bernie