T-5 swap questions

the gm's t5 shifter still doesnt sit far back enough to come out the stock hole.
i had a much easier time finding a ford t5 than the gm, i got a rebuilt one for 500 bucks with a pro 5.0 shifter and the yoke off a mustang forum lol

and it was a '92 so it holds 300ft/lbs. any thing before '90 was still world class but only holds 265ft/lbs. anything before '85 is non-wc which has the 2.95 1st but not as strong.

if you can find a '93 cobra t5 it has 330ft/lbs and over 400hp with a 2.95 1st. or any rebuilt t5 since they were bought out by tremc will have the z gears.

from what i read the gm only made wc gears from like '87- '89. anything else was non-wc and uses heavy gear oil.



i got this adapter from kaplhenke but it only works on a ford t5

It looks like this kaplhenke adapter would make everything much easier, and work for me since I am going the ford route anyway. I am surprised I dont see this on their website, im sure it would be very popular with T-5 740 people. This should be mentioned to anyone doing the ford t-5 install as long as it works well. (what extends the shift arm?) I really dont understand how all these t-5 adapter kits available aren't really complete. I am happy with my bellhousing kit, dont get me wrong but its not really complete. This adapter along with the bellhousing plates & pieces, with some crossmember T-5 mounts would be what i consider a complete kit.

Waldo said:

It looks like this kaplhenke adapter would make everything much easier, and work for me since I am going the ford route anyway. I am surprised I dont see this on their website, im sure it would be very popular with T-5 740 people. This should be mentioned to anyone doing the ford t-5 install as long as it works well. (what extends the shift arm?) I really dont understand how all these t-5 adapter kits available aren't really complete. I am happy with my bellhousing kit, dont get me wrong but its not really complete. This adapter along with the bellhousing plates & pieces, with some crossmember T-5 mounts would be what i consider a complete kit.

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costs....someone else would want the driveshaft also included in the kit

got to draw the line someplace....of course it wouldn't be that much more work to include drawings/instructions for the non-included parts.....the less guess work, the better...

haha, yeah i forgot bout the driveshaft mod, someone else would want that included.

I've been trying to research others installs to get a plan on the crossmember mounting, everyone seems to bolt it directly, not really necessary to use some sort of poly bushing?

The easiest ive seen is a simple plate welded to the bottom face of the crossmember, bolting right up to the T-5 mounts.

John V said:

Re: using flat flywheel.
A half clever person could drill a few holes and use the auto-tragique stamped ring that they harvested by grinding the heads off just a few rivets.
Dead simple, Soooooper Cheap.
Hell you even have the ring as a template.

That's thinking!

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Could you give me more details on your idea, i still have the auto trans, and it sounds like its within my budget. Im open to good ideas before buying parts

thanks

i used the bell housing adapter from dale at avalanche performance. it requires no machining of the bell housing but it cost more.

i was lucky enough that my x member had 3 sets of holes in the chassis so i could actually move it closer to the engine and closer to the t5 mount. its now directly under the t5 mount so i can just throw a bushing inbetween. you should check under your car.
but i might make something like this.

Waldo said:

The easiest ive seen is a simple plate welded to the bottom face of the crossmember, bolting right up to the T-5 mounts.

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Mine was even easier, no welding, about 10 minutes of time with an angle grinder and drill.

It uses the little bracked off the back end of the dead M47 and a piece of angle iron.

Cut to length with an angle iron (to suit the T5 trans mount). Drill holes to bolt to the trans. With the trans installed, bolt the M47 bracket to the motor mount on the crossmember, bolt the crossmember in, and scoot the trans around until it's centered in the tunnel properly, then mark the holes for the bracket (since it's not quite symmetrical). Drill, and you're done.

The GM shifter location is 1" further back. Yes ONE inch. I have had them both on the bench right next to each other, and Tremec also used to have a dimension sheet on their site where they had exact numbers on it.

Again... ONE inch. Not a "hands-width". The 740 shifter is 4" further back than the 240 so even with the GM shifter position you still have 3" to go. I used the GM tail housing and the extra inch was very handy getting the shifter to work but it definitely does not come up in the "center of the hole". You still have to cut about .5" off the front of the shifter hole for it to work.

From my notes:
740 M46, 24.25" front case edge to shifter
Ford T5, 19.5"
GM T5, 21.25"


James

John V - Are those new adapter bellhousings the same height as the standard volvo ones or are you adding more material? Looks like they are the same height after machining.

If you factor in the adapter plate (.75") with the ford T5's that would mean the shifter position would basically be a wash. Not knockin' the product but the shifter position is still going to be an issue on the 740's. Wouldn't want somebody to bolt it all up and then have a nasty surprise when the shifter was sitting in the fusebox...


James