John-T-53

I have one ordered from Trans Dapt, got a tubular crossmember with a 6" drop. This will bolt onto the inside frame channels. Might have to do some minor exhaust pipe modification though, but won't know for sure until I can mock it up. I think a rear cross member is essential. It'll keep the rear of the trans vertically stable as the drive shaft constantly changes angles while driving. It'll take stress off the trans case mount tabs and bell housing holes.

Aluminized exhaust is the best for your buck. Had this done on my Chevy 16 years ago (and driven about 10k miles since) and still looks great...and no holes. A local shop did my truck a year ago for about $150, single pipe.

This isn't a very good pic, but shows the block in the background. Side port is to the master. front goes to the front right, top to the front left, and rear to the rear (naturally).

Looks great...this will be a nice upgrade to your truck. You could do solid lines all the way to the calipers. Just need a flare adapter fitting at the caliper. Then you wouldn't have to worry about replacing the rubber lines every so often...that's a tight bend in them!

This shows how the fuel and front brake lines are on mine. Each front wheel has a dedicated line all the way back to the junction block, which is fed directly from the master.

Do you machine it out of solid block? That sounds like a good way to go. Without any effort, I've already thought of a long list of stuff that could be made... Thanks,

Ditto!

The bracket is probably pot metal, originally cast in a reusable steel mold tree. I think pot metal's melting temp is pretty low. It might be easy to make a plaster mold from a prototype and cast it in a garage setting from melted down scraps.

It's because I originally chose the longer input shaft available from the mustang gearset that's in the Camaro WC case I got. In this case, the longer was too long and the short one worked out perfectly. The 87-93 Mustang V8 T5 input shaft measures 7.189 from the face of the maincase to the tip of the input shaft. The 94-95 measures 7.870 for a difference of .681.

Dang, I missed out on seeing that Spring Special, and all the other trucks. Hopefully it's there next year in the same original condition (and running)! I gotta remember not to start any more major truck projects the month before next year's get together.

Hank, You're lucky my truck is only about 15' feet from my computer. I popped out the side door, and: 14 3/8" total length 4 3/4" width Radii are about 1" The ones you got look like the'll clean up nice with some gentle means: paint stripper, wire wheel, or steel wool. They look like they were cad plated, which really comes to life (after the rough cleanin') with some CLR and very fine steel wool.

Thanks 48D. I'm sorry I missed the party yesterday, but it was a rough week at work and I just couldn't get motivated early Saturday morning. Next year for sure. But anyways, I worked on the project some more yesterday. More pix below. This documents changing out the input shaft. I had to go with a shorter one because, well, it was just too long (insert joke here). To avoid losing needle bearings inside the case, the tranny must be at a downward slant when pulling out the shaft. No problem. But it's a lot harder installing it. You gotta get the blocking ring, thrust bearing, and needle bearings to slip in there in one swoop. They didn't. And the needle bearings fell out and cascaded down into the case. After regaining composure, tried to get 'em out by turning and shaking the trans, and retreived all but two. Then took the T5 apart and went hunting. Turns out there's a magnet at the bottom of the case designed to hold loose parts like this. It was a lot easier installing the input with the case cover off.

Hank: This one's for you...north of S.L.O in lovely Gonzales, CA, during the event you mentioned. I tried to keep it under 50 after this incident with the rod bearings.

That's a good lookin' one ton!

Here's the latest installment of progress photos... 1. The bellhousing is back from the fab shop with new holes drilled and tapped. You can see the remains of the old holes which were filled with a nickel alloy rod, welded to the cast iron. The shop reported: "It was a bitch". 2. I wanted to make sure it bolted together before reinstalling the bellhousing, so here's the assembly. 3. The other side. The welded holes threaded easily. Socket head cap screws work great in tight clearences. 4. The new 10.5" mustang clutch on the left, the stock 11" mopar clutch on the right. 5. Checking the clearance between the clutch springs and the flywheel bolts. The straitedge is where the tips of the bolts would be, 2/10" from the springs. The friction mat'l is about 1/10" thick down to the rivet heads, so should be good.

I'm not sure I'll have my transmission project complete enough to drive the truck over there this Saturday....Would anyone be offended if I showed up in a....Chevrolet? It's my only other vehicle!!!

You could make one from a vinyl table cloth (with flower pattern) that would work well. I have seen similar covers on motorhomes at campgrounds. It's usually the camp host RV that's the most decked out with covers on the wheels too.

Looks very good! Where did you find the punch set?

Wow that's just across the bay from me. I've always wanted a panel....but need more parking spaces first!

Nope, it was installed as you show it here Don...with the raised center hub area facing the trans. I received the new clutch disc in the mail yesterday, and I picked up the T5 and bell housing from the shop. They did a great job pluggin' and drilling new holes. I'm heading out to the garage to put it all together now...

I have read somewhere that arc welding on the axle housing with the diff installed is not adviseable, since there's a chance the gears or bearings could be damaged, no matter where you put the ground lead. Is this true?

The 70s - 80s buick guages, column, and pedals are also an interesting add on to the truck. I'm not a fan of the 'spaghetti' exiting the column below the dash either...

I think the lined side is supposed to be the bottom, but looks good this way. I have the same in my truck, bumps up. It curled at the edges big time but gradually flattened out. It might help to set it in the sun for a while, or use a heat gun...gently.

Good info. I guess that explains why I pay a weight fee to the DMV in addition to the registration fee (both have gone up too). Anyways, I think that plate looks cool on the side of the bed.

Here's some more pics. These are of the mockup of the T5 in the truck before I took everything to the shop for machining/fabrication. 1. This is the top view looking down 2. Side view. 3. This shows how it looks inside the bellhousing. The trans is not flush with the rear of the bellhousing because the input shaft is too long. Another issue here is the location of the splines. With the long shaft the clutch disc won't be able to slide back far enough to disengage. I've already got a shorter shaft in hand and will install it this weekend....hopefully that'll work. Has anybody encountered this problem before? 4. I yanked the bellhousing and here it is with the trans on the workbench. 5. Here's the view from the rear. The poor engine has been robbed of its hind quarters and is being held up temporarily with some blocks of wood. More pics to come again soon!