55 Fargo

After 25 views, guess those viewers don't have a T5 or don't know their gear ratios. Guess will have to assume not too many T5 transplants in the trucks.....LOL

I have a transmission thread on the car forum, and have not had a lot of feedback on the MWC T5 trans gear ratio issues. A bit of background a friend of mine has a 52 truck, and is determined to install a T5 in it, the trans is a very low geared type, but the question is will it work being geared so low in 1st? I am going to help him with the swap, he is not sure which way he wants to take this at this point. He is an older gent who does not do internet, so I told him I would gather any info I can. Okay had some time to investigate this T5 trans, its a 1983 NWC 033 series, so 4.03 1st gear, and .86 5th overdrive. Now this is quite the low gearing for 1st and 2nd somewhat, this 1st gear with a 3.73 or lower diff, would be useless, and .86 reduction in 5th ain't nothing to "walk in high cotton" about either. The later NWCs are 3.76 1st and .73 5th overdrive, might make a little more sense. I told my pal, I hope his diff is 3.55 or higher, I explained what gear ratios this is, and not sure where this is going yet. Any of you T5ers, running the older 4.03 geared trans, if so, tell us about them?

Make sure you have all 3 matching carbs, good luck with your project.. Keep us posted with your progress

It creates 2 leading shoes, and is far superior to a single wheel cyl Lockheed style brake. If these are big enough, in well maintained condition and adjust and arced correctly, fantastic brake systems. Years ago Guys would put on 11 or even 12 inch brakes on the 10 inch Plyms for super braking...

Love it , great car, great times, and I have driven all those roads you mention. At least you can drive on them, try that with a 1951 Chevrolet with a splash stovebolt 216 and 4.11 rearend. How are the brakes working for you, I love the stock brakes if they are in very well maintained shape. Thanx for sharing

In order for the semi-auto M5 trans to function correctly you will need to applicable car, for up shifts down shifts etc, kick down, it may work employing 1 carb to do this with the other 2 being regular carbs, I have no idea if that is possible. Seriously PM Tim Kingsbury, he can advise you on the prospects of this venture....good luck, and 3 carbs is still better balanced than 1 or 2......

My 47 Chrysler with stock 11 inch brakes I could put you into the windshield easily. I do think many drum brake systems stop great and a lot do not especially if worn or out of adjustment. Once locked up what's the difference, your car with drum brakes skid longer or what.....LOL I would like to see some actual data, comparing a well maintained stock drum brakes versus disc front and drum rear, that would be interesting. I remember, Normscoupe, would say when his P15 Coupe had drum brakes, if he took too long to stop he would miss his driveway, but once he added his front disc brakes, the stopping distance was shortened big time. I think his stock brakes were not good, but for what reason. Last night took my truck out, and at 55 mph I hit the brakes and lock em up, hands off the steering wheel and she remained straight as an arrow, same at 45 mph, stopping distance at 40 mph and lower is no worse than any disc brake I would imagine. The problem is heat, and gases built up in drums from repeated panic stops etc, once this happens fade begins. The way you guys talk like your driving 80 mph with 2 car lengths between you and disaster.....LOL an maybe that's what your doing My brakes, stock up front, but with the single wheel cyls and 10 inch, 11 inch modern bendix style drums in the rear, and Kevlar linings front and rear. Brake linings, sure can make a difference, for drum brakes, as well as disc. I am not down on discs, and they have been a part of all modern equipped vehicles for a while now, but this must convert to discs "bandwagon" as soon as someone joins this forum seems odd. Either a lot of guys cannot or will not set up the stock brakes, either too expensive to find say new drums, the rest is no more money than a disc conversion, and most disc conversion use the cheapest GM calipers going, a lot use Dakota rotors with it. Are drum brakes safe and reliable? This is not are drum brakes better than disc, but I do buy into the BS that drum brakes are no good, they are so unsafe (many of drove in death traps for years, along with no seat belts and the kids without bicycle helmets). I think drum brakes in good working and well maintained condition work great, and are safe, I do not immediately believe I need to absolutely have disc brakes to drive my Old Mopar. Single jug MCs versus dual MCs, well that's a different movie, and I have lost brakes with dual MCs twice, and it wasn't all that great in either case, but I was driving fairly slow....

If its for the 25 inch engine the manifold will bolt on. Your 41 Chrysler, does it have the M5 semi-auto trans or fluid drive and 3 spd trans. If the latter, you need the special carb for the trans operation, if the 3 spd, no issues. You of course will need the correct linkage, and some type of choke system, as the scisson electric choke most likely will not work on this of course. Contact Tim Kingsbury on this website via PM for a lot more accurate info..... This is a C28 with a vacamatic trans, so if this be the case, not sure this set-up will work, as you need the carb kick down switch etc...

Hello all, went for a drive tonight, and bootin down the highway, traffic very light, on an older 2 lane, doing 65 ,ph all the way Thinking about "panic stops" and whatever might present itself rather fast on a highway, even thought about you poor saps that gotta drive on a multi lane mad motorway So starting to think in an objective way, would my brakes cut it, in those situations, probably not at super fast rates of speed, heck mine won't even keep up with the flow if its 70 plus mph, just not happening. My truck steers and handles well enough on a smooth highway at 65 mph, in fact rather nicely. So all the truck guys, and even you car guys, was your front disc brake so much improved, you felt very confident on a busy fast freeway?

At least if in multi lane roads, if they leave you alone in the slow lane would be okay. I don't care how good any Pilot House or Cseries truck is, ain't no 80 mph vehicle, whether it has a V8 disc brakes or an overdrive, those little suckers are not built for thaty speed, and any accident is gonna be a killer...

Here is another odd ball T/stat housing from a 1960s Massey harris Combine. You can use the external by pass T/stat housing on an internal bypass engine, but not the reverse, unless you have the correct head and drill a passage too. All or most were internal by pass water pups and engines after 1951

To what gear rattio? don't worry bout it, the last 2 are over rated..... lol

Well that's all great and I'm with yah Buddy. But would if we all gotta go to the big city... lol I'm driving home tonight from the big city traffic very light but lots doing 70 to 75 mph me at 65 with the Hemi Ramsey...

Yes Rob not sure what that's like. Traffic is nothing in my locale probably will be like that here for a very long time. A friend nearby has a 32 Chrysler 251 out of a 54 truck T5 He drives all over the country and the US. This summer he is going to Indiana from some car shindig. I would hate driving on somebody those busy fast roadways even with my Hemi....lol I like 65 and slower

Hey all just surfing around and cannot believe the speeds and traffic volumes of the US urban freeway systems. Atlantas I 285 LAs 710 to mention a few. I have currently created a few threads on Braking systems as well as Trans gearing for our flathead. I may not have a complete appreciation on this type of driving environment. I invite all of those both truck and car owners to share there "story " on there hairy scary freeway drives either their flathead powered cars and trucks. This is not a 1/4 mile time or 0 to 60 MPH or a top speed contest thread.

I think any of the 4.03 1st gear transmission it would not be so much fun with 3.73 to 4.11 gearing. .86 overdrive might not be so great for those diff gearing either. Another issue his engine is in the truck so 3 ways this transplant could be done. 1 pull engine 2 block engine and remove Belk housing flywheel etc been there it's not so fun 3 Or do the drilling and tapping in the truck and leave flywheel alone. I might be doing this work with him so we shall see.

How about you truck T5ers? That frightful nobody wants to comment....LOL

Why not do a bearing freshen up. Might get you a lot of use before a full rebuild. Some will tell you it's best to do the rebuild now and most likely that is the best. You and your pocket book can decide. How about the top end rings and valves? Whichever way you proceed please post your progress along the way. That will be a point of reference and info for others.

Hey all I started a transmission thread on the car board. It's not limited to anything specific A833 ,R 10 or R7 even T5s. I have a question to the T5 guys those of you with the older T5 conversions with a 4.03 1st gear and .86 5th how are you liking it? What diff gears are you running? Is it possible to use 1st gear how are the gear spreads. Im helping another Mopar flathead enthusiast with his conversion. He is determined to use this trans in spite of a low 1st gear and mild overdrive 5th gear.

Okay had some time to investigate this T5 trans, its a 1983 NWC 033 series, so 4.03 1st gear, and .86 5th overdrive. Now this is quite the low gearing for 1st and 2nd somewhat, this 1st gear with a 3.73 or lower diff, would be useless, and .86 reduction in 5th ain't nothing to "walk in high cotton" about either. The later NWCs are 3.76 1st and .73 5th overdrive, might make a little more sense. I told my pal, I hope his diff is 3.55 or higher, I explained what gear ratios this is, and not sure where this is going yet. Any of you T5ers, running the older 4.03 geared trans, if so, tell us about them?

Your right you ain't an automotive engineer, but neither am I or most likely anyone else on this forum. I would almost guarantee, that safety and superiority of disc over drum, is not a limiting factor, but a whole lot more would be at stake, the latter would be the priority. Disc brakes, on modern roads, and in modern vehicles, but have they reduced, traffic fatalities, or vehicular damage? Most likely not, but a collective number or reasons would exacerbate the cause, busier roadways, more traffic, higher speeds the number 1 offender. The point of the matter is , while disc brakes are 1 system that are very good, it does not automatically assume, that drum brakes cannot also be very good. It have been quoted, that Big Trucks to this day, run "air drum" brakes, we are talking a lot of weight, and yes going down a mountain grade, any trucker better be geared down and ready. In all fairness, I have not driven a C series pickup with a front disc brake conversion to compare, my stock front drums and modern self energizing read drums brakes are pretty darn good. My 47 Chrysler I used to own, with the the stock brakes all rebuilt and set up correctly were darn good brakes too. The point or underlying element of this thread or any other pro- drum brakes, is not an analysis of disc versus drum , but rather a fact based discussion on drum brake performance when operating at peak efficiency, not old drum brakes, all worn, not adjusted or set up, so these suck so I gotta automatically have disc brakes for a decent braking system. If you want disc, go ahead, but those who may be researching and reading need not be dissuaded by conjecture, do your homework, and then come to an informed conclusion. Lockheed brakes, are not always easy to set-up, but do perform well, better than Fords and certainly better than GMs Huck brakes and whole lot of the bendix types too. Lets face it, panic stops are no fun, and a collision in any of these old cars/trucks, can be fatal or injurious while a modern vehicle it certainly may not. I actually feel fortunate that traffic and roadways are not crazy busy or super fast in my little ole area of North america, you guys in these huge urban areas with massive amounts of traffic can keep it.....

Don I like the Duster, the Buick not so much. When I was 19 YO I had a 72 Duster 340 4 spd, and believe you me, I had plenty of panic stops, and never once had brake fade, to be honest never experienced "brake fade" on any brake system to this day luckily. My dad had a 1968 Olds Vista Cruiser, with a Rocket 350-4bbl 310 hp, 4100 lbs, add a family of 7 total, holidays all over Canada and the USA, the LA and San Fran Bay area too. That car had fantastic brakes, they were all drum and power, so drum can be very good, disc on the front of this thing possibly could have been better. I would suggest you slow down Don, and let the rice rockets and cell phone toting soccer moms, take over the fast lanes and be safe, as your new Dodge most likely is not set up for the busy freeways...good luck

Don Coatney, I see you hit the "Like" button for every disc brake solution, should we all surmise you have disc brakes on your Dodge? What ever happened to your Plymouth with the Plydo front disc brakes, is it still for sale or is it sold, and is it still being driven lately? The new Dodge, is this the car you are keeping, will it get a dual MC and 4 wheel disc brakes too? Contrary to any speculation, I am not against installing disc brakes on the front of my Fargo, as the drums are at the outer limits, I could get others, but to date the brakes are more than adequate for my traffic environment. I do have some later Dodge drum stuff, too, but not sure how it may work to adpat on the fronts of my truck...

While disc are great and the manufacturers have adopted them fora lot of reasons, this does not mitigate the fact that well maintained and adjusted drum brakes are very good. Now your old GM, not sure why it was such a problem, did you ever change the shoes?...LOL I have had some 60s chevys, not so bad for braking, do not recall a big problem. Sister had a 1960 Pontiac wouldn't stop worth a crap, but with out of size drums and no brake lining what do you expect. The company up here, Quality Brake and Clutch relines shoes with a Kevlar, and it's not too hard, and they are great. Dale you like a diac brake conversion, no problem, maybe you could not or did not achieve decent drum brakes, no big deal. Some of you guys need to read Jeff Sunzeris post, this man lays it out on the line, with regard to disc brake conversions, and drum brakes not being a system thats hit and miss.....get hit hit and miss.......LOL

No I agree, and places like Winnipeg Manitoba, or Fort Wayne Indiana are cow towns....LOL compared to your metropolis. I know Tod Fitch used to live in your are, and drove his stock 33 Plymouth everywhere....