Throwback Thursday: Hot Rod Magazine T-5 Tech Talk
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We at California Pony Cars have been thankful enough to have been
featured in thousands of tech articles around the world for over the last 25
years. When it comes to tech talk, Hot Rod Magazine has always been a favorite.
This tech talk article was written in back in 2004, and like our products, it's
still at the top of the charts in todays day and age.
Article from Hot Rod Magazine:
My car is due for a frontend rebuild,
and Jeff Smith says one of the things he wants to put in Car Craft is more
canyon-carving handling stuff instead of just drag racing (around here, it's
two-lane blacktops heading into the Ozarks).
It is possible to mount a
"late-model" Mustang T5 in an early Mustang, but it's not a direct
bolt-in. The T5 will mate with your existing bellhousing, but only after you've
made a few modifications. The easiest way to accomplish this is by using the
swap kit offered by California Pony Cars (CPC) in Ontario, California. The CPC
kit includes an aluminum adapter plate that mounts to the stock four-speed
Top-Loader-style bellhousing, which serves to adapt the T5 gearbox as well as
providing the necessary spacing to accommodate the T5's longer input shaft. The
adapter plate mounts to the bellhousing using two of the existing
gearbox-mounting holes; two additional holes must be created. The plate is used
as a template to locate the other two holes, one of which must be tapped for
threads. Since the location of the adapter plate must be precise, CPC
recommends having an automotive machine shop handle the drilling and tapping of
the additional holes. The plate mounts to the bellhousing using countersunk
Allen-head bolts (included in the kit) so that its surface remains flush. The
T5 gearbox then bolts to the plate. Since the Top Loader uses the same
input-shaft spline arrangement as the T5, the same clutch can be used. The CPC
kit also includes a new driveshaft yoke and the driveshaft will also have to be
shortened approximately 1 inch. To bolt it all in, the CPC also includes a new
transmission crossmember and transmission mount, both of which bolt right in.
The final touch is a new shifter handle made to bolt to the T5 shifter but
modeled after the original early-Mustang four-speed shifters, complete with
faux reverse lock-out ring and stock-appearing shift knob inscribed with the T5
shift pattern.
Product featured:
MSRP: $584.80
Part #: TRA-000-012
Article link:
http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/additional-how-to/ccrp-0402-whats-your-problem/
