Starting my T-5 swap, finally.

nugget68 · Jul 11, 2010

thanks...i think i might just have the fox 50oz refinished and rebalanced...i can have this done for $100, this way i know the flywheel and clutch will work together...

bdepedro · Jul 22, 2010

Well, finally got the garage cleaned out and got the Stang into it. Put it up on ramps and pulled the exhaust and drive shaft yesterday. I'll unhook the speedo cable and get everything ready to pull the trans either tomorrow or Sun. Feels good to see some progress!

PoppyMod · Jul 22, 2010

bdepedro said:
Well, finally got the garage cleaned out and got the Stang into it. Put it up on ramps and pulled the exhaust and drive shaft yesterday. I'll unhook the speedo cable and get everything ready to pull the trans either tomorrow or Sun. Feels good to see some progress!

Does feel better making progress. By this time next week, barring gremlins, you should be shifting gears.
Good Luck!

bdepedro · Jul 22, 2010

Got everything ready to put the trans now. A good friend of mine who is much more knowledgable than I am is helping me this weekend. I wish I could get things done that quick but I'll probably just have the trans, bell, clutch and flywheel out this weekend and I need to see if I need to order a new flywheel and/or clutch. I'll order whatever I need on Mon and should be here for install the following weekend. I don't mind if it takes a couple of weeks but I MUST get done before Aug. 22. My local club is renting the local strip and I've always wanted to see what me and my car can do. No great expectations, just fun.

Pony66 · Jul 23, 2010

If you go with a 50 oz flywheel, you have to get a 50oz harmonic balancer. IIRC the late model clutch uses a hydraulic PP?
I have a T-5 behind a warm 289. It works great. I have all original linkages. It is much more pleasant running down the highway. Ive never been on a track, except in the stands. I know you will love it.

bdepedro · Jul 23, 2010

Sounds like you have a similar set as mine Pony. Reasonably modified 289 and I'm staying with the mechanical linkage as well. I have an early 28oz flywheel and balancer now but will be using a late model 10.5" clutch and I think my flywheel needs replacing anyway. Mustangs Unlimited has a Ford Racing billet steel 157 tooth 28.2oz flywheel that fits a 10.5" clutch but not sure if the .2oz is compatable with what I have.

bdepedro · Jul 25, 2010

Got the trans out today. Problem was broken fulcrum bolts. I suspect the bolts that were in there were not a high enough grade.

Flywheel had some bad teeth and the surface had some hot spots. I think I'm going to replace it with basically a stock flywheel. 157 tooth, 28oz, compatable w/ a 10.5" clutch. I'm sure Jegs has one. Hopefully get that and a new throwout bearing and pilot bearing by the end of the week.

tx65coupe · Jul 26, 2010

68stang351 said:
My clutch is a stock replacement set for a fox mustang, like 87-93. My flywheel is billet steel unit I bought from Dallas Mustang for a 10.5 clutch.

I've never heard of billet steel. Do you mean billet aluminum or some other type of steel?

bdepedro · Jul 26, 2010

Nope, billet steel. But I've told that the difference in performance between cast and billet isn't noticable unless you are running upwards of 7rpm or so. So, I'll save the $ and get a cast iron piece.

Here's the billet steel flywheel from Mustangs Unlimited, fyi
Mustangs Unlimited - The Premier Source for Mustang, Shelby and Cougar Parts and Accessories

Pony66 · Jul 27, 2010

Im using my stock iron flywheel and a spec clutch.
If you run on the track, they require a billit steel flywheel.
They have to have SFI certification if you run under 13 sec.
or something like that

tx65coupe · Jul 28, 2010

bdepedro said:
Nope, billet steel. But I've told that the difference in performance between cast and billet isn't noticable unless you are running upwards of 7rpm or so. So, I'll save the $ and get a cast iron piece.

Here's the billet steel flywheel from Mustangs Unlimited, fyi
Mustangs Unlimited - The Premier Source for Mustang, Shelby and Cougar Parts and Accessories

That pretty cool. You learn something new everyday.

bdepedro · Jul 28, 2010

I decided to order the rest of the parts I needed from Modern Driveline (just to make sure I got the right stuff). Ordered a 157 tooth, 28oz imbalance, steel flywheel that will accept a 10 1/2" clutch. Also ordered a new throwout bearing and pilot bearing. Should arrive early next week.

I decided to get an alum driveshaft from a Crown Vic Police Interceptor and have it cut and rebalanced. There are no shops where I live that can do this type of work so I'll go up to Virginia Beach, pick up a driveshaft and drop it at the shop. Then when I get the trans back in I'll measure and confirm the finished shaft length. I measured the difference between the toploader bell and the T-5 bell and found the T-5 bell to be 3/4" longer. The trans are both 24" long. My current drive shaft is 50 1/2" from joint to joint. If I reuse the yoke that I have now or if the Vic yoke is the same size then the new shaft should be 49 3/4" long. A friend of mine has a '69 w/ a T-5 and that is the same length as his so this may be accurate. I'll wait to measure just in case though.

196556 · Aug 1, 2010

ive used the z bar for about 5 years now with out any problems also i used the same spedo gear from my top loader and it runs + or - 3 mph depending who im following. I made my own exhaust connected to old school tri y headers used a h pipe and welded up 2 1/4 in pipe into holly aero chamber mufflers and dumped at the rear end cost about 200 bucks headers mufflers and all

bdepedro · Aug 2, 2010

I just pulled my z-bar out and ordered new bushings for it. Definitely a little sloppy. Also popped the pilot bearing out. Just waiting on my flywheel now.

bdepedro · Aug 3, 2010

Flywheel, throwout bearing and pilot bearing arrived today. Installed the pilot, flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. Have to go out of town for a couple of days but hopefully the z-bar bushings will come and I can rebuild and re-instal that Fri pm. Planning on getting the trans back in on Sun (we'll see).

PoppyMod · Aug 5, 2010

bdepedro said:
Flywheel, throwout bearing and pilot bearing arrived today. Installed the pilot, flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. Have to go out of town for a couple of days but hopefully the z-bar bushings will come and I can rebuild and re-instal that Fri pm. Planning on getting the trans back in on Sun (we'll see).

When I did my conversion (C4 to T5z) last spring, I purchased everything from Modern. It all works together, there's no guessing about compatibility. Like you, I wisely waited until the tranny was installed before diddling with the drive shaft length. In my case, my existing C4 drive shaft length was fine, no changes.
If you consider aluminum drive shafts, be aware they can have a larger dia. This can "muck" up other clearances.
Good Luck!

bdepedro · Aug 6, 2010

Thanks for the heads up. I went to get an alum shaft today but the local yard is a mess and I didn't feel like climbing under an Explorer in the mud to pull one so I just gave my original steel shaft to the driveshaft shop. I'll call them w/ an exact length on Mon and have them work on it next week. The Explorer shafts are larger in dia. but don't look like it would be problematic. I just didn't have time to deal with it now. I'll get the car back on the road and make that upgrade later if I feel the need. Didn't really need to spend the extra $ right now anyway.

bdepedro · Aug 8, 2010

Rebuilt the clutch linkage. Aside from being a pain in the ass to re-install, no real problems. Then I went to install the bell housing and found that the fulcrum adapter, which was supposed to have been installed, was not. So, I made a templete of the bolt holes on my early bell and drilled the holes in the T-5 bell and installed the fulcrum, throwout bearing, arm and bell housing. No sweat. Finally I was ready to install the trans. First, I made sure the trans was in gear so I could turn the tail shaft to engage the spline in the clutch and then brought the trans up and wiggled it in. Except, I couldn't get it to go any closer than 1/2" from the bell after quite a bit of moving and rotating, etc. The trans spline was still turning and I couldn't figure out how it wasn't engaged w/ the clutch at that point. I was getting concerned that I installed something wrong. Finally I had my wife get in the car and move the clutch linkage back and forth while we worked the trans in. It took a while but finally...success. Problem was that the tail housing output still turned and I was certain that it shouldn't be turning at that point. Then I went to double check that the car was still in gear. It wasn't!!! Duh but still I was glad that I hadn't screwed something up, at least that I know of yet, ha.

tx65coupe · Aug 8, 2010

Thats cool that your swap is moving along. It takes a little work but its worth it when your done.

bdepedro · Aug 8, 2010

What shifter are you using w/ your T-5? The trans I bought came w/ a B&M short throw shifter, very nice but I need to lean forward to reach it. I was hoping I could just change the lever but it is very different than a Hurst style lever attachment and doesn't look like it would be doable. Might have to get a different shifter that either has a longer reach lever or one that I could bolt my Hurst lever to.

Starting my T-5 swap, finally.

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