Hey guys, i have a problem.... I recently got an '86 5.0 HO, so naturally i want to get it in the maverick... My question is what should i do about the transmission?? the car has a 170 with a 3 speed in it right now, i have a c4 out of a 75 ranchero, and would eventually like to get a t5 in it, but don't have the money (suprize!) and would like to get the 5.0 in it asap with little wasted investment. the car will be used for a street machine with a few track runs. the options i can guess are: find bell housing/flywheel/clutch/floor shifter and use 3-speed i have (modify for cable clutch?) get used flexplate, shifter for c4 What would be the best option, what could i reuse when (if) i get a T5, and what other parts do i need for each option?
Question: What engine was in the Ranchero? Do you have the bell housing, converter and flexplate? If so it wouls be a simple bolt-in as far as fittin. To make it stand up to your track useage you could install a TransGo 40-2 shift kit (do it yourself) and a cooler. This is probably the cheapest and quickest way to get the car on the road. The three speed in your Maverick should be a full synchro three speed and would take the torque from your 5.0 L. You will need a bell housing, clutch assembly, new Z- bar and flywheel to install it behind the 5.0. You may be able to use the linkage and shifter that you had before. The parts for the three speed will not work with the T5. You will need a new bell housing (or an adapter) and a cable clutch set-up. Depending on the T5 you may need to modify the driveline.
The ranchero had a 302 in it; still have the whole drive train. i don't have a 50oz flex plate or flywheel. so the bolt patterns to the bell housing are different for the 3speed and the t5? are the input splines the same on the two transmissions?
I can't remember if the input shaft is the same spline or not but the shaft is longer and the pilot is too. The bolt pattern is different as well.
There are two options for a bell for a T-5, one is use the stock 83-95 T-5 bell or use a Toploader style bell, used from 65 to 74 behind the small blocks and an adapter bolted to the rear of the bell (the classic Stang suppliers sell these adapters)Using the T-5 bell will complicate the install though as the clutch fork has a different pivot point. The fork is pulled to the front where the Toploader fork is pushed to the rear, so you'd have to at least move the pivot on a T-5 bell. Pretty sure the 170 bell won't work behind a 302. If it did then you could use the adapter. The T-5, SROD and Tremec bells are 1" deeper than the older Toploader style bells. The input shafts of these transmissions are 1" longer than the pre 78 transmissions.
well, i pulled the engine/trans out of my downer ranchero today. the car was a 73.... but the motor (and trans? haven't checked) was from a 79! it had all the smog stuff and lots of D8 and D9 part numbers... it doesn't matter much, i just thought it was weird.
Look at the block casting numbers, if it's a D8VE block, you've got a winner. Thast casting has ten more pounds of iron than most others. It's thicker like the Mexican blocks, just lacks the big main caps.
