So, I've procured one of the group buy bell housings from ebay. I'd been planning to do the A500 swap, but never had any luck finding the bellhousing adapter for that - so on to the T5 swap in the quest for overdrive. A 5 speed seems like it'd be more fun for the slant anyhow. I will be converting the car from auto to manual, so I will have a fair share of parts to track down.

The parts I've accumulated so far are:
-Group buy t5-to-/6 bellhousing
-122 tooth flywheel from a truck (came w/ motor I built and BH is identical to the group buy BH, with the exception of the clutch fork pivot. I can't seem to find any stamped part numbers)
-Borg & Beck 10" pressure plate and clutch (used, came w/ above flywheel)

I'd like to not wantonly spend money, but I'm not at all limited to no-buck part-bin engineering, either (even though that approach can be fun)
So, The rest of the plan is as follows:
-brake/clutch pedal assembly from keisler (the cheapest i've come across a used stock assembly has been ~$110, I'd rather have a new piece)
-Mustang 10" clutch disc to go between the /6 flywheel and pressure plate
-Machined pilot bearing piece & mustang roller pilot bearing per Lou's specs
-McLeod hydraulic throwout bearing and master cylinder assembly
-Ford Racing Super Duty T-5 Transmission (the yards here seem to want around $700 for a well-abused transmission... may as well go whole hog. I like the Ford Motorsports gear ratios better, too. Unless I come across a stock transmission for a much better price)


The only questions I have are:
1) For those who have done this or anything similar, how has the hyraulic release bearing worked out for you? I've heard some griping about it, but I dunno if it's well founded or not.
2) Is the 10" Borg&Beck and stock cast iron flywheel up to the task? The build is a '83 hydraulic slant six with a mild port job, .030 over, comp 252 cam. Figuring on 3.73 or 3.90 rear gears and I don't expect to do more than 4500-5000rpm with this engine. Car is a '73 Swinger, so it's a little heavy.

I'm planning on putting a 1/4" steel plate in the floor next to my feet. This car won't be seriously drag raced (but it will see a little bit of track time and abusive street driving) and I really like having both feet & 10 toes.

I'm also hoping I can keep the split bench seat. I'm halfway figuring that I'll need to bend my own shifter handle. The t-5 has the shifter on top, so I expect to do minimal mods to the transmission tunnel.

Sorry to be long winded, but this topic seems to have generated a tremendous amount of information over the years. I think I have it pretty well figured out, but I'd like to hear opinions from those who have successfully done it.

Good to hear you got the BH and plan to use it. I can supply the crank/pilot adapter ring for $35 shipped as I have a couple of extras.

The 10" clutch will work just fine for your buildup. Make sure all bolt holes to the fly are not mangled/cracked and locktite those bolts and you should be fine. You need a 87-93 Mustang GT clutch disc.

I am trying to finally write up an article on this swap, so stay tuned...

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

If the shifter location is a problem for your bench seats and you do want to to with a new T-5z, www.moderndrivelines.com sells one converted to a S-10 tailshaft (front shift conversion) which moves the shifter up 8".

I"m going with one of these for my T-5z swap to avoid the transmission crossmember.

Price for a new T-5z (front shift conversion) = $1635 (shipped if I recall)

The Pro5.0 shifter option is $199 and is highly recommended because it has positive stops for the shift gates which prevents stressing/bending the shift-forks - a noted weakness in T-5s

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Socal_65DartGT
SuperSix BBD

I'm in the middle of this swap myself. If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I also went witht the ford racing T5.
I guess I'll have to change my handle to 64 5speed when I'm done