Tremec Swap

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FASTBACK340

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I'm not sure if I want to do this or not, but supposed I wanted to swap in a T5 in my Barracuda, what would I need? I can *probably* locate the transmission, just need to know what else is involved. I know Quick-Time had bell housings at one time.

Can anyone list what's needed and who to contact? The Keisler swap is over $3K..... A wee-bit steep.
 
there are a few topics on this subject already on this site,, do a search tons of info,,,quick time has 2 different type bell housings for this swap,,,,

as fas as al what you will need all depends if you plan on using factory clutch linbkage or hyd stuff,, the T-5 isnt the strongest trany,,if you have a mild motor and dont drive like a wild man it will hold up,,, there are 2 type mustangs T5 boxes do your home work and read up on them,,,
 
Which is the better T5? I figured if I can score the box cheap by keeping my eyes & ears open I'll go for the swap if it's within reason. I'll do a search.

I like my 4:10's, but hate 3,200 RPM on the highway..... in the right lane.
 
FASTBACK340 said:
I'm not sure if I want to do this or not, but supposed I wanted to swap in a T5 in my Barracuda, what would I need? I can *probably* locate the transmission, just need to know what else is involved. I know Quick-Time had bell housings at one time.

Can anyone list what's needed and who to contact? The Keisler swap is over $3K..... A wee-bit steep.
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John, you might contact Brad Wedan here in Columbus, Indiana

He is building my 360 for the Barracuda. He is a TREMEC dealer.


If a lady answers the phone if you call it's my wife. She works
for him part time. He will be closed Monday....he's at the Nationals
in Indy. Will open back up on Tuesday.


Here's his TREMEC link:

http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/

Here's the Street and Performance link:

http://www.wedanperformance.com/
 
Hey John,

in my opinion do not waste your money with the keisler stuff...the t5 is not the strongest tranny out there, but i gurantee you that if you can find one in good condition that hasnt been abused and you actually know how to drive stick you will be fine (from what i know, your kick *** cuda only has street tires and the 4.10 gear will help the tranny live better too)...only thing i would avoid is powershifting, but then again your t5 may be fine with that (my buddy powershifts his t5 all day and no problems at all lol)...alot of guys are doing the swap with hyrdaulic stuff, and if you are cheap like me and have all the 4 speed clutch linkages, then you can use those with no problems with the quicktime bell...however there are some other things you need to know about the swap and if you want more info just pm me...ive done the whole swap except for one last thing...keep in mind though you will have to modify your tranny crossmember and tranny mount...in my opinion, if you have all the 4 speed linkage stuff, you can probably pull off the swap for not much more than 1k depending on where you get parts and for how much

like i said pm me if you want to know all the details about doing it this way....i have a t5 in mine for the same reason you want it in yours- low cruising rpms for a car you want to drive whereever you want
 
mshred said:
Hey John,

in my opinion do not waste your money with the keisler stuff...the t5 is not the strongest tranny out there, but i gurantee you that if you can find one in good condition that hasnt been abused and you actually know how to drive stick you will be fine (from what i know, your kick *** cuda only has street tires and the 4.10 gear will help the tranny live better too)...only thing i would avoid is powershifting, but then again your t5 may be fine with that (my buddy powershifts his t5 all day and no problems at all lol)...alot of guys are doing the swap with hyrdaulic stuff, and if you are cheap like me and have all the 4 speed clutch linkages, then you can use those with no problems with the quicktime bell...however there are some other things you need to know about the swap and if you want more info just pm me...ive done the whole swap except for one last thing...keep in mind though you will have to modify your tranny crossmember and tranny mount...in my opinion, if you have all the 4 speed linkage stuff, you can probably pull off the swap for not much more than 1k depending on where you get parts and for how much

like i said pm me if you want to know all the details about doing it this way....i have a t5 in mine for the same reason you want it in yours- low cruising rpms for a car you want to drive whereever you want
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This Person I So Right! They Are Not Strong Enought And When They Go They Normally Lock In 2nd Geat And Your Are Done...
 
KP said:
This Person I So Right! They Are Not Strong Enought And When They Go They Normally Lock In 2nd Geat And Your Are Done...
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this is what happened to my friends, several times......
 
Am I confusing transmissions? Isn't the T5 a TREMEC? And which transmission should I be looking for? If not the TREMEC, what AM I looking for? I know it's not going to be an afternoon bolt-in, but like I said, I just want to know what to keep my eyes open for. I run across, shall we say..... "All types" of people. It would be great to be in the right place, at right time, and score a trans.

And if I can use stock clutch linkage (especially after fighting with those bastard TTI's....) I'd be extremely happy. Can this happen? :-D
 
It would take some work. But from people I have talked to the kesler kit takes a lot of work to make fit too. I have been thinking about doing this swap too. Would need to fab a trany cross member mount and cut the trans tunnel out bigger and weld in a new panel.
 
SO far for mine I have a T-5 I bought used($100) a quicktime bellhousing($850) and a wilwood pedal assembly($400) next I need the hydraulic master cylinder, lines and slave cylinder to operate the clutch(~$200) then a clutch and flywheel(~$800) Then the custom tranny mount to mount the T-5
 
FASTBACK340 said:
Am I confusing transmissions? Isn't the T5 a TREMEC? And which transmission should I be looking for? If not the TREMEC, what AM I looking for? I know it's not going to be an afternoon bolt-in, but like I said, I just want to know what to keep my eyes open for. I run across, shall we say..... "All types" of people. It would be great to be in the right place, at right time, and score a trans.

And if I can use stock clutch linkage (especially after fighting with those bastard TTI's....) I'd be extremely happy. Can this happen? :-D
Click to expand...

The T5 is a Borg Warner trans that Ford used for many years. From what I`ve read and heard, the T5 won`t hold up to a lot of HP and speed shifting. I`ve heard good things about the Richmond trans but they`re more of a racing trans and much harder to find. If you go with a Tremec, pick at least the TKO-500, it should hold up to your smallblock.
 
Longgone said:
The T5 is a Borg Warner trans that Ford used for many years. From what I`ve read and heard, the T5 won`t hold up to a lot of HP and speed shifting. I`ve heard good things about the Richmond trans but they`re more of a racing trans and much harder to find. If you go with a Tremec, pick at least the TKO-500, it should hold up to your smallblock.
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Borg Warner=Tremec. If you look at the early T-5 it says Borg Warner if you look at some of the later ones(late 90's) they say tremec on them. The T-5 is more of a cruiser trans you need something beefier then that for a high hp car.
 
What about the trans they are putting into the new Challengers. Would that work/fit? Isent it a 6 speed too? Just thinking out loud.
 
Find an old school and take it to a good rebuild shop that has a rep in building racing trans and then you will have something that will last and hold up!
 
tremec bought borq warner,,,,


the T-5 is a basic factory 5 speed tranny,,orignaly offered in the 1980s mustangs and chevy s10..if you have a mild motor,,and not a lot of tire,, and dont drive like a fool it will hold up ( if in good condition ) to normal driving and offer you low RPM cruising because of over drive,,

if you plan on building a beefy motor or like driving like your john force,,you wil need the much bigger and expensive tremec TKO 500 or 600,,which both offer over drive and a selectio nof first gear ratios,,

any of the above talked about will require cutting at least the trans tunnel and modification to your trans cross member,,,quick time has a bell housing or scatter shield to make this tranny bolt to your small block mopar motor,,,the prices liste above are canadian prices,,not us prices,,

you can also get a mopar tranny with over drive requiring NO MODIFACATION TO YOUR CAR,,, from passion performance or out of a late 1970s early 1980s mopars,,,
 
the t5 is really hit or miss and here is how i see it...

I myself am building a big tire car that i plan to beat the **** out of and drive like an animal...the saving grace for a t5 is not running drag radials, not getting wheel hop, making sure you dont have a hard hitting clutch, having a good shifter meaning adjustable stops (this is the easiest way to kill a t5 since you are overshifting and bending the forks without the stops) and not powershifting...however, there are many many guys who powershift their bone stock t5's, dumping the clutch at 5k with slicks pass after pass and end up in the 10's and still have no problems...not every t5 is like this, its really luck of the draw...so one may ask why someone like me would choose this tranny? there are a couple of reasons....first off i wanted 5th gear like you and i had the 4 speed linkages; second, the bellhousing that quicktime sells whether it is the non sfi or the sfi one is dual drilled for tko's as well....i figure that with t5's being as high in demand as they are and mustang goofs paying easily 500 bucks for one that works, i can run the t5 until i come across a good deal on a tko, scoop it up, and sell the t5 and clutch together to recoup the costs of the tko...hell i made money off the t5 that i have by pulling it from the junkyard with clutch, flywheel, fork, etc., selling all that, bringing in a core and by the time i was done i made 75 bucks off of it! lol I did open up the tranny though once i got it home to make sure it was all fine on the inside still....the throwout bearing, pilot bearing, flywheel and maybe even the pressure plate (not sure on this one) can be reused with the tko, as well as the speedometer cable from the t5....there is no floor cutting nescesary with a t5 at all, just putting a couple of dimples in the tranny tunnel (nothing a torch from above and a hammer from below cant accomplish)....like i said if you seriously want to know more just ask,the isnt very expensive but will take some time and patience...and yes, every single peice of your original 4 speed linkage will work with the swap...however, before you go and buy a bell from quicktime, if you do plan on using the 4 speed clutch stuff for the swap, pm me about an issue that i have been having with certain bells and what the remedy is...Ross at quicktime will fiz you up no problem, but ill need to tell you what you need first
 
CanadianGT said:
Borg Warner=Tremec. If you look at the early T-5 it says Borg Warner if you look at some of the later ones(late 90's) they say tremec on them. The T-5 is more of a cruiser trans you need something beefier then that for a high hp car.
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fstfish66 said:
tremec bought borq warner,,,,
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Oh, okay guys. Thanks for the edification.
 
FASTBACK340 said:
Am I confusing transmissions? Isn't the T5 a TREMEC? And which transmission should I be looking for? If not the TREMEC, what AM I looking for? I know it's not going to be an afternoon bolt-in, but like I said, I just want to know what to keep my eyes open for. I run across, shall we say..... "All types" of people. It would be great to be in the right place, at right time, and score a trans.

And if I can use stock clutch linkage (especially after fighting with those bastard TTI's....) I'd be extremely happy. Can this happen? :-D
Click to expand...

Sorry John, I guess (depending on the year) a T-5 is a Tremec........ or not. I should`ve figured somebody bought Borg-Warner by now. Are there any companies under original ownership nowadays?
 
I say save time and aggravation,drop down to a 3.55 0r 3.23.If your not happy with that?Then decide.If I were doing the swap,I think I,d go with hydraulic.My 2 cents
 
John, there are two versions of the T5; standard and World Class. The standard was used in S10s and 4/6 cyl Mustangs, Camaro and Firebirds. The World Class was used in V8 Camaros, Firebrids and Mustangs. The Camaro/Firebird tranny is further differentitated by the fact that the tranny mounts rotated 15 degrees off vertical. The Mustang GT version is the one you want. There was another tranny sold by Ford Motor Sports and was also in some Cobra Mustangs with beefed up internals.

If you go to the Tremec web page they have all the specs. The best T5 is rated in the mid 200's in ft-lbs verse the TKO500 at 500 ft-lbs or the TKO600 at 600 ft-lbs.

Considering the number of T5 Mustangs I see runing in the 11's and 12's I don't think it is as weak as the specs suggest. A buddy of mine want to show off the brand new 85 Trans Am he had just got. He was tearing up through the gears and shifted into reverse at about 70 mph. The rear of the car jumped at least two feet off the ground and I figured he had blown the rear and/or tranny. Neither and the tranny gave him many more years of trouble free service.

Another option is the A833OD. I have one in my car and for street use it gets the job down and would be less hassle and cost to swap in this tranny. BTW, I turn 2200ish rpm at 70 mph with 3.55 gears and a 27" tall tire.
 
the world class t5's were rated at 300torque in mustangs 86 and up, and went up to 330 in 1990 mustangs due to different bearing designs helping to increase strength...its torque that kills a tranny not the horsepower

and yes, as dave said the only ones worth taking are world class ones from mustangs as the shifter comes out in just the right place and the tranny is not rotated on an angle...plus, the quicktime bell wont work with anything but the mustang ones
 
John, There is a T5 out here in here in Jersey sitting on the workbench. I think its from a Mustang GT. It belongs to fellow member racerx and as far as I know he won't be using it. If you send a PM to him, I'm sure he can tell you more. Dave
 
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