5 Speed Conversion

[Phil Brown]

Very nice clean kit and installation. The first thing you'll notice is how quiet the car becomes without straight cut gears in the trans.

[redmodelt]

Friend of mine did the conversion, really nice to drive in city traffic!

[petew]

Originally Posted by Gene F

Pete, one of the guys in our club put in a S-10 trans, and he was on tour and stepped on it, and he heard his snap. He told me he likes his, but you gotta have that front wishbone re-enforced.

Maybe I'm just being "over kill", but I sure hate calling for a tow truck.

I'll ask the gentleman that made the kit .
Sounds like he may have had a bind of some sort that caused him an issue .
I know of a half dozen of these conversions personally and have never heard of any problem with the front wishbone .

[Gene F]

Let us know what he says, please.

[AL in NY]

Nice looking install, but I still prefer the F150 4-speed because there are no modifications to the car chassis itself, you just need to shorten the driveshaft, torque tube and radius rods.

[Pete]

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Originally Posted by petew

I'll ask the gentleman that made the kit .
Sounds like he may have had a bind of some sort that caused him an issue .
I know of a half dozen of these conversions personally and have never heard of any problem with the front wishbone .

What you have will probably last forever with a stock engine.
Up the hp and you will be redesigning everything.

You will be amazed at how much wishbone is required for even 100 hp.

[gary678*]

I've had a T-5 for 7 years; great transmission with never a problem. Based on the transmission's code it is a world class transmission from a Camaro, Firebird, or Blazer. Recently a fellow club member rode with me and remarked that at 50 MPH in 5th gear the engine sounded like it was idling. Several very accurate gas mileage checks showed the MPG's were consistently in the 21-22 MPG range. An additional benefit when compared to the Mitchell is that there is only one gear shift. This is not a knock on the Mitchell as I know some people with the Mitchell and they are very happy with the performance.

[johnneilson]

Originally Posted by Pete

What you have will probably last forever with a stock engine.
Up the hp and you will be redesigning everything.

You will be amazed at how much wishbone is required for even 100 hp.

I can attest to that, running about 125 hp for the moment.

After breaking a radius arm, bending the other and ripping out the top link, I replaced the rearend with a '35 QC.

Reinforced radius rods from '36 and tied to the trans.

John

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by gary678*

An additional benefit when compared to the Mitchell is that there is only one gear shift.

Haha, that is one of the reasons I enjoy the Mitchell. Having "3" gear shift levers is a great conversation starter...

[jack backer]

Bunch of hotrodders, the lot of ya.. sure, it starts out slowly, you rationalize it by saying you’ll drive it more.. then you find yourself spending and doing more and more,chasing that dragon..

[petew]

Got the floorboards modified and then cut the Snyders floor mat to fit.
New engine pans go in tomorrow and then perhaps a ride…

[Gene F]

Looks nice n tidy

[MickyD]

I talked to Steve Mitchell last week. He is out sourcing some of the work but his prices are still about the same. Possibly may go up a hundred. He had 1 person retire 2 weeks ago. That gentleman is in his 70's. Steve is hoping to get him back for 1 or 2 days a week. I received my Mitchell overdrive in May of this year and it cost me a little over $3000. Granted they were less in the past 2 years, but the economy has not been kind to anyone.

[imtb]

I wanted to see if you had any follow up on how the transmission and kit worked out. I am considering this kit and wanted to see if any issues you had. Seems like it is puts together pretty well. Did you use the Model A bell housing?

Thanks,

[imtb]

I was also wanted to ask about the floating brakes setup.

[petew]

Originally Posted by imtb

I wanted to see if you had any follow up on how the transmission and kit worked out. I am considering this kit and wanted to see if any issues you had. Seems like it is puts together pretty well. Did you use the Model A bell housing?

Thanks,

It is spectacular absolutely nothing bad to report , I love driving the car .
I really wanted the Mitchell overdrive but in retrospect I think this is better.
The gearing in the 5 speed matches very well with the 3.78 rear gear .
4 speeds around town and I can run 60 mph in 5th at about 2000 rpm .
Also the car is very smooth shifting and driving, no driveline vibration.
Yes I used the version of the kit that uses the original model A bellhousing.

The brakes are great as well .I did two major mods at once , the cast iron drums and the front and rear floaters so between the two mods it stops like a car with hydraulic brakes . The difference from what it was to what I have now is remarkable.
Only issue with the brakes is if you apply the brakes hard while backing I sometimes get a big clunk from one of the rear wheels but going forward no issues.

Pete

[petew]

Also I adapted a 66 mustang shift knob with the 5 speed pattern to the handle in case someone else should need to move or drive the car .
It’s a Scott Drake reproduction part .

[denis4x4]

I installed my T-5 at least 15 years ago. Ran a 1/4" X 1" flat metal bar the length of the wishbone seam. Made the cross member reinforcement plate prior to actually cutting it. Engine is a B with a CRAGAR, headers, FS ignition and a Weber 32/36 carb. Yet to have an issue with the front wishbones. 70HP at the rear wheels on the dyno in Lincoln.

[imtb]

Pete,

Thanks for the follow up. I was thinking about the mitchel and talked with Steve yesterday, and it would be 9 months for the over drive and then would still need to deal with the non sycro trans or buy a new syncro. trans. from mitchel. After reading your post and pics, and researching other info. I placed with order with Eddie and Model A 5 speed Conversion. His kit seems the most complete and your review pretty straight forward.
Thanks for all the pics and info.

[petew]

Originally Posted by imtb

Pete,

Thanks for the follow up. I was thinking about the mitchel and talked with Steve yesterday, and it would be 9 months for the over drive and then would still need to deal with the non sycro trans or buy a new syncro. trans. from mitchel. After reading your post and pics, and researching other info. I placed with order with Eddie and Model A 5 speed Conversion. His kit seems the most complete and your review pretty straight forward.
Thanks for all the pics and info.

You won't be sorry and if there are any further questions that I can answer I would be happy to help.

Pete