Hello! Was not entirely sure where to put this, could've gone either here or under the slant six section, but being primarily related to the trans, this felt appropriate. If not, I apologize. So, I (at least at this moment) have a 1974 Dart Sport as my daily driver. I had built the slant in it, and wanting more performance, an axle that won't break, bigger brakes, and the big bolt pattern, I installed an 8.25 with a 3.55 SureGrip. Fantastic decision. But! Being the car was a three on the tree, highway driving was quite.....bad. To say the least. Being most of my 50 mile commute is done at 60+mph, that had to change. Fuel mileage wasn't horrible, but with the dual Flowmasters, it was not a fun drive. So yes, I know, A833. But I wanted performance and economy, so five gears it was. From a friend, I acquired a rebuilt T5 from an 80s Mustang and the chore began. All part numbers for things I purchased, and even the driveshaft measurement will be included. So if you're an idiot like me that wants a T5 behind the hopped up slant six in their Dart Sport/Duster with an 8.25, you'll kinda know what to do.
The parts list:
Fox body Mustang T5
Resurfaced, stock, 122 tooth flywheel
Gill Welding T5 adapter plate and pilot bearing adapter. Unsure if I could reuse the three speed clutch fork on a four speed bellhousing (can't) I had them drill the plate for the three speed pattern.
10" pressure plate #MU15251. Yes, it's a whole clutch kit, but there was not an easy/cheap way to get just a pressure plate.
McLeod #16061 Throwout bearing for a 440 car
McLeod #8606 Ford pilot bearing
Centerforce 10" clutch disc #280490
Hooker Blackheart transmission crossmember/hoop #BHS578
Silver Sport transmission crossmember #XMM-00400
Ford Maverick transmission mount #2253
Unknown Hurst shifter and T-handle found at a swap meet
Mancini Racing steering column collar for floor shift car (not yet installed)
Driveshaft measured at 52" from the transmission seal to the diff yoke, 51 3/8" from output shaft to yoke. Measurement was taken with the car on the ground and jacked up at the center of the diff. If you do this, measure for your driveshaft just to be 100%.
The Ford to Mopar speedometer cable and transmission tunnel patch are part of a kit from American Powertrain and can be purchased separately if you call in.
I tried to cut as little metal out of the car as possible, but it turned out I had to cut a lot more than expected. The transmission tunnel patch is currently just held down with two self-tapping screws; I don't do metal work or weld. That will be the job of whoever I have replace the floor pans in this car. In the pictures, you will see two different crossmembers. I at first ordered the wrong one and had to overnight the correct one; the zinc plated one is the correct one. It did require some trimming on the end, as did the trans mount, but it bolted together and works; also had to widen the holes a bit for the mount to work. All in, from start to finish (once I had all of the correct parts), this took about a weekend's worth of work and then a couple days waiting on the driveshaft. The Gill Welding adapter is for the overdrive bellhousing, but if you call them, they will drill it for the three speed bellhousing as well for a small additional charge. I did this because, although I have a later overdrive bellhousing, I did not know if I could use my original three speed fork with it. Turns out, I couldn't. The overdrive bellhousing uses a ball stud, where the three speed bellhousing has.... well, I'm not sure how to describe what it is, but it's not a ball stud. I did have to enlarge the opening in the bellhousing to clear the bolts on the transmission input bearing retainer, but otherwise it was a bolt together affair. As you will see, I retained the bench seat that was in the car. If I were to do this again, I would probably try to find a Chevy S10 T5 instead; they have the shifter further forward. The car does drive very well, but I have the seat set back one click from where I would prefer it to be and it is a little uncomfortable. So I will eventually get the seat notched for clearance. Although I did cut a substantial amount of the torsion bar crossmember out, I cut it in a way that the bolt in replacement had to be hammered in, and I then I had welded in place after everything was bolted together. There is a picture of a hole I drilled in the floor; that hole is the rear most portion of the transmission that comes through the floor. If I drive the car nicely, it gets 25mpg. 70mph is now 2000rpm. I have not run the car at the local track yet, so I don't know what it will do given everything else that's been done to the engine.
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