Tech Request: The Be-All/End-All Flatty/Transmision Combo post...

I have one...

I'm not running it right now but I'm holding on to it for a back-up...

It's pretty straight forward. If you are dealing with an 8BA, get the cast bellhousing, mount the housing to the block, line the trans shaft up with the flywheel/clutch, then mark and drill some extra wholes in the trans mount ears to mount it to the housing....

They are pretty bulletproof trannys. Not much you're going to do them with a flatty...

 

As much as I would LIKE to have "three on the floor"; as someone mentioned up stream - when yer left leg don't work, (accident) a C4 is one of the next best choices!

 

You bet. I've been running 1 behind a 276 incher in my 39 for 11 years now. Shifter comes out about 1/2" from the stock location. Adapt a 39 shift lever and it looks stock. I'm running a Bronco rear with 3.70 gears and with 225 - 15s am turning 2500 rpm at 73 mph. Absolutely a great combo and no adapters needed.

 

Actually you can run either the cast or steel bellhousing. Need to open the hole a little because the bearing retainer is a little larger. 3 of the 4 mounting holes line up, you just need to fab a tab for the top left bolt. The other nice thing is like on my 39, you don't have to butcher the X member. I just took off the top plate and then turned it over to form tunnel for the tailshaft and made a crossmember for the mount.

 

I run a '39 with Zephyr gears behind my '50 Merc flathead, Isky Cam, Navarro Heads, Offy 3x2 97's with a torque tub and Halibrand CC QC. I'm sort of a purist and I like challenges, so cutting a tube and shortening a drive shaft is fine with me. Engineering your car the right way is part of the fun, bolt-on catalogue stuff is boring.

 

lets face it joe, any flatty can blow a 39 trans, even that slug you run in that roadster. thats why your going late model ( (top loader) in that station wagon your building, oh, im going to get in trouble. did you send my trans and mount?

 

I also run a C4 behind a flathead. And before anybody jumps on me, all of our other cars, daily drivers and late models, are sticks. I prefer driving with a clutch and resisted putting an auto in the roadster but the truth is my wife and I are both in the 6' range and there would be no place to put my left foot when I'm not working the clutch. And a late model trans would put the shifter somewhere in the middle of the seat. Soooo, we went with a C4 and an adapter from Speedway and I do like it.

I have 3.00 gears in the rear and with 30 inch tires it's very lazy off the line, but I can cruise 65 mph @ 2,000 rpm all day long.

It wasn't my first choice but it worked out pretty well.

 

Quite a few flatties getting around here now using a Toyota 4 speed auto. Flatattack racing makes the adaptor (as well as for a few other tans as well, there's a website). It's an OD tranny and no computer, plus it's narrow. Works great with 3:7/ 4:11ish diff gears and the usual 29+ inch rear rubber.

 

We also be running a T-5 (from a S10 banger) behind a '49 flattie in a roadster. Not on the road yet but hope to be in time for the Street Rod Nats here in Okie City in April. Here is another idea: with the flattie came a 4 speed truck tranny. What a tank! Thought about some kind of updating of the guts on this "hay hauler" to have a road friendly cruzer. But may not be practical? Hate to waste this thing if it is usable. Any body ever updated one of these ? Any ideas?

 

Can anyone show a picture of a T5/flathead combo fitted into a stock k member`d deuce frame.I`d like to see whats involved cutting and remaking wise?

 

this thread should be renamed "The Be-All/End-All Flatty to T-5 transmission thread"

just a thought,

what if someone wanted a traditional (or modern) transmission behind a built flatty
and wanted to keep their column shift?

 

Amen! Nothing wrong with the t5's I suppose, they seem to do the trick just fine for a floor shift. How about the 3spd overdrive shoebox trans? I just talked to a guy who has one in his crestliner and loves it. I'm considering using one with a '40 column shift in my new '34 build. Any drawbacks to these, assuming you have all the parts to make them work?

 

I'm pretty sure those same 3 speed ford toploaders, if left side-shift could provide a good, basically bulletproof, column shift trans for an early column. If you could find a 4spd column, you're options are greatly improved, I'd bet. It's just a matter of matching the linkages to the arms on the column. But if I'm not mistaken, 4spd columns would have 3 arms instead of 2?

 

Have been reading everything i could on this subject. Have a 1949 Flathead that has original 4 speed with hogshead. I just picked up a T5 that i believe is from a 93 s10. That is unclear so how would i know if it had Ford or chevy bolt pattern ? what is the best way to go about joining the two? do you use the s10 clutch?

 

Here is a flathead to Toploader bell wth a Ford T5 adapter.
The stronger -251 Aftermarket Ford T5 could be run or any 85-93 Mustang T5.

 

I would like to hear in more detail about your toploader in a 49 ford.
I am attempting to put a HEH-D (64 Galaxie) toploader in my 49 coupe.

Do I need to modify the crossmember ? How about the clutch setup.
Any info would be appriciated. Thanks

 

if I have and 8ba style what later style toploader trans should I pick 60's-80's four speed in a modle a

 

help?

 

I've just installed a speedway C4 behind my stock 8BA in my '53 f100 and I love it! The rear end is 3.91 (or 3.92) dana 40. I tried to do T5 with speedway adapter plate, but spacing just doesn't work out with '53 truck bellhousing. T5 is now moving to Chevy 3100 project.

 

???

What spacing?

 

for those of you who have made the upgrade from the 39 top loader to any of the more modern tranis, what did it take to mount the newer transmission to the older tranis frame mounts?

im currently building a 32 truck 8ba, 39 top loader(open drive), 32 frame with a 41 merc center x member and a quickchange. i have concerns that later in life i may want to do the swap to the OD 5 speed and curious to how much cutting and welding im going to have to do to my painted or powder coated frame.

thanks guys and pictures would be nice if you have any!

 

I know I'll get slammed HARD for this, but here goes anyway...(covers his head) I'm running a 700r4 AOD and have just added the 471 blower....the tranny is mounted with a Wilcap adapter and uses a Mopar starter. No issues so far.

 

If I recall correctly, the speedway adapter plate was 5/8" thick, and this set the T5 too far back from the motor. The clutch disk in engaged position would only catch 1/4" or so of the T5 input splines, and the T5 candle stick was only about a 1/4" into the polit bushing. The T5 need to move about 5/8" inch closer to motor for better engagement with pilot bushing and clutch disk.

This was with a '86 S10 T5 and the '53 truck 8BA bellhousing. My options where to modify the clutch disk hub to catch more of the input splines or to eliminate the adapter plate and modify the bellhousing to mate to the T5 directly. Both options required skills I don't have right now, so I abandoned the T5 and went with the C4.

 

Nothing ever surprises me with T5s anymore, but most folks have exactly the opposite problem using S10 T5. The S10 input shaft is 7/8" longer than standard GM/Chevy input shaft resulting in being too long for most of the adapters out there that are really meant to put something like a Muncie behind a Ford. I wonder if the input shaft has been changed on your T5...

 

I'm 99.99% sure my T5 is stock and I verified dimensions against this web site: http://www.flatheadv8.org/t5-swap.htm.

I'm pretty sure it's just a '53 truck bellhousing issue. The later bellhousing used on '54-56 truck y-blocks have the same issue and there's a guy that will modify it by welding new mount hole tabs for the top two bolts (the bottom two bolts line up). Here's his web site: http://ford-y-block.com/t5in-trucks.htm

 

Has anyone installed the toploader clone that was really a 3 speed with od? They used them in Granada's and some f150's. Just curious as I figure it could be an easy way to get od.

 

Not sure if this helps but I saw there are multiple adapters:

Offenhauser #5174 Original Ford bellhousing flange, standard depth, GM-type clutch fork and throwout bearing

Offenhauser #5174-A same as above but 5/8" shorter, for use with a spacer plate

Offenhauser #5272 Original Ford bellhousing flange, standard depth, Ford release shaft, fork & throwout bearing (this is the one that we are used to using)

Offenhauser #5272-A same as above but 5/8" shorter, for use with a spacer plate.

 

I currently have a Mercomatic behind my 8BA, but it's not in roadworthy condition yet. I'm interested in hearing more from guys running automatics behind their Flathead. In the future I may consider an upgrade. Besides a Mercomatic/Fordomatic and a C4 with a Speedway Trans Adapter, what other automatic options are there?

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Flathead-Ford-V8-to-C4-Transmission-Basic-Adapter-Kit,11051.html

 

Built 59a (276ci) with a 50's (76 case) 3 speed top loader w/open drive to a '39 banjo.

 

Model 59 block to Jeep case (with 67 Ford toploader 4 speed gears), jeep shifter to Gear Vendors O/D