[Mac VP]

If you read the last paragraph in that old article, you will note that the t-Bird gears' ratio is nearly identical to the 26T LZ gears. I'll grant that the 55 Bird gears are a bit stouter than the LZ gears, but you don't have to line bore the case to make them fit the gearbox. Plus (and I am not in my office to check this right now) I think the Bird input shaft is longer than the Ford or LZ input shaft....requiring some remachining of the shaft to shorten and extend the clutch hub splines to the rear.

No question that a fire breathing hemi will most likely chew up the modest Ford gearbox and spit it out in hot oily pieces. Probably a better idea to figure out another transmission that is beefy in every component.

The comments about using the LZ gears or any other high (close ratio) gears are spot on when taking into consideration the weight and power of the vehicle. These will not necessarily deliver the kind of performance the driver was hoping for.

Allow me to step back up on my soapbox once more for a moment. We all drive late model cars (even if not as your daily driver). What happens when you climb in behind the wheel of that old flathead Ford? For a few minutes or hours, you are your father....or your grandfather.....just driving the cool old car as they did. It's a time machine with all it's unique quirks, it's special sounds, and the smell of warm oil slowly burning off that drip on the engine. So the trans isn't fully synchronized? So it has only three forward speeds? Learn to love it for what it was....and is now. Pull your fedora down over your brow and head on down the road....