1980 mustang tranny crossmember

[Adams91LX]

so I'm in the middle of a large project... swapping the guts of a wrecked 1991 mustang lx 5.0 into the shell of an 1980 mustang ghia (straight 6)... but the trans cross-member from my 91 wont fit into the 80.

my understanding is the trans-crossmember was different from 1979-1982 than 83-93...

so my question is what cross-member will work? what will fit? any help is appreciated!

thanks SN

 

[Adams91LX]

bumpity bump bump

 

[Adams91LX]

bump bump bump

 

[Adams91LX]

new info i got... there's an adjustable cross-member from frpp... that can be modified to fit 79-81 models.... any more info on that?

someone, anyone?

 

[jerryD]

far as i know, ford made two cross members. from 79 -85. then 86-93. the only difference between the two is that the 86 and up is made for dual exhaust. they have the same width and everything aside from the dual hump. the 'adjustable' is just the spot welds on the cross tubes not being welded up yet so that the cross member can be slid back and forth to accommodate different tranny lengths. if your donor cross member can bolt into your car, then just carefully grind the spot welds away and it will slide back and forth. mine was so rusted, i had to buy another cross member from summit.

 

[Adams91LX]

far as i know, ford made two cross members. from 79 -85. then 86-93. the only difference between the two is that the 86 and up is made for dual exhaust. they have the same width and everything aside from the dual hump. the 'adjustable' is just the spot welds on the cross tubes not being welded up yet so that the cross member can be slid back and forth to accommodate different tranny lengths. if your donor cross member can bolt into your car, then just carefully grind the spot welds away and it will slide back and forth. mine was so rusted, i had to buy another cross member from summit.

The double hump will fit models from 82-93 the same... the only difference between 82-86 is the single vs. double hump... however the 79-81 isn't the same as the 82...

82-93 Crossmember, Transmission, Oe, Adjustable at LRS - Same Day Shipping!
"The adjustable transmission crossmember is required when installing a 1986-93 exhaust system on a 1982-1986 Mustang or Capri. Will fit 1979-81 models with slight modifications."

I was just hoping that someone would know what "slight modifications" are required...

anyone else... surely I'm not the first to swap a 79-81 mustang ghia (straight 6) to v8?

 

[Chrome_Rust]

well you are also going to have to change the front susension K-member to the one from the donor car. If you cant find a cross member to fit your needs, just make one. use the stock and the newer one and make something that will fot your needs. But you are going to have to change the K-member....

 

[Adams91LX]

i already swapped the k-member... no biggie there... that was cake.

the cross-member is really the only hang-up... bummer.

thanks tho.

 

[82_GT]

the trans crossmember for 79-81 is located further forward. You will need to remove the side brackets that hold the crossmember and weld them into the correct location. I'm not 100% certain but, i believe the correct spot is directly behind the old one