Guys how about a little input. I am running a 53' flat in my "A" and considering going to a T-5. My problem is that almost everything in my ride is right out of the late fourties and early fifties. Would it be considered disgracful to pull a working 39' box and replace with a T-5 if you were building a traditional rod?
Do you want to drive it or just sit and look at it? I'd go with the t5 and adapt an early looking shift lever for it. Just my opinion though. jerry
Hey Man, I'm in the same position, almost esactly the same rides and I have my 5spd waiting to go... Danny
if I were looking at it at a car show and realized it was a T-5, yeah it'd disappoint me a little bit, but I could understand it if there's a lot of miles being put on...I'd love to see the original being used, but it's much more practical these days to swap in a late model 5 spd...
if it aint junk, im puttin the 62 390's auto trans in mine..i dont care what folks think..im wantin it to go!!! im 6/3 and i dont know with my chop i might not be able to use a stick!!
I have a Buddy with a old style Deuce with a Richmond 6 speed in it that he adapted a Hurst truck 3 speed stick to. It has a round white knob that looks 50's until you notice it's got a pattern for 6 gears! He also put staggered pattern Vette valvecovers on his Trickflow aluminum heads, that are painted engine color. It looks like a car from '62 until you look real close.
I've got t a T-5 in my 28 roadster, but I drive it everywhere. Dependable, pretty durable ( I've hammered the shit out of it )and great gas mileage. Hell yes I'd go with the T-5 No one can see it unless there standing on thier head anyway and what difference would it make it's your car. Gary
I'm currently running a 39 truck box and driving my roadster to work every day. Traffic sux with a half knackered clutch, 2:7 diff gears and a clunky feeling box. Sure is taking its toll on the box! I wouldn't even think twice about a 5 speed. In fact its on my list of mods. I've ridden in 2 flatty powered 32's running 5 speeds and its just soooo much better. Not to mention the torque of a flatty works well with the ratio's in a 5 speed better than it ever will with a 3 speed.....
Jerry is right!. Put in the T5, use a period shifter and drive it. I put a T5 in my 56 Victoria and it is 2X better.
I love that car.... I would go with the t-5. Better usablity, shorter throws, and less revs. What's not to love........slim
Maybe it's just me but I don't get the whole idea of 5 speeds, I drive a few different cars with 39 boxes in them and don't see any trouble at all besides the fact they are weak but my newest build will have a 37 Buick "3 speed" just because they don't come apart so easy, if you have a nice car with all the right stuff why fuck with it, if anything put 3:54's in the rear.
When I bought my Model A it had a running banger and three speed. It was cool and fun as hell to drive around town.....But thats as far as I could go. (just around town) So when it came to collecting parts and drivetrain peices I chose the T-5 right away. I didnt want to be driveing 45 mph's nor did I want to be stuck in town. This is my setup.... '53 255" Mercury S-10 T-5
Did you leave it 6 volt? Are the brakes mechanical? I think your allowed a better transmission to go along with the other creature comforts. Craig
its all crap and bull shit if you use a 5 speed. I dont car how much you drive it or where you go. it was not used in 1955 and neither was mig welding or box tubing. if your calling your car a period hot rod it does not belong. my car is half way period correct in parts and style but i will cal it a street rod due to late model drive train parts . fuck playing pretend and either drive it and enjoy or make it old time and bitch about it
the only 32 I've had the honor to drive has a side shift early trans and a quickchange rearend.....and the car goes down the highway at 75 pretty nice
5 speed eh? While your at it swap in some faux Oldsmobile V/C's. Just messing around. I dont have a problem with it. Get a good looking shifter and a knob off a 3 speed and I wouldnt know the difference. Unless you put little mirrors under it and a crybaby doll leaning on/or under the tire.
use the 5 speed .no one will know unless you run 'em over anyway.just like everyone said already change the shifter.
ya its not 1950 any more, you can do what you want. If they had 5 speeds in 1950 they would have used them, so we do now, so why not? No different then when they put 1950 Olds motors in back then, it was the hot new thing in that time. Now we can take advantage of some of the cool stuff of today for driveability sake..well thats my opinion. Im running a T-5 behind a 1950 Olds 303....well its sitting next to it in the shop anyway
i doubt anyone would nit pick it that much to where you regret the driveability. i got a 400 chev with the 700r4. i might not be diehard on that particular car, but i am building them to be driven. cant usually tell til i pop the hood. mine still looks just as shitty driving by at 12mpg as it does at 16mpg. hopefully i squeeze out more when i get the stiffer spring in the secondaries and a brick under the pedal
Man I got a 5 speed behind my blown 8BA as does another mate of mine and another friend is in the process of dropping a 5 speed in his A bone. All previously had 3 speeds - let me tell you the difference b/w the two is like night and day. Mileage on long trips, ease of use, better accleration with stiffer rear gears and overrive. Hi speed use is better and no one can tell hehe. Mine is topped by a 39 shifter and apart from sitting back a tad more than the 39 trans, looks the piece. I wouldnt swap it for anythin, well maybe a QC hehe Rat
my opinion is, if you want a the reliability and ease of use of the later trans. go a little later period of the car. build an early 60's rod and put a buick, olds, chevy, ford overhead with a 4spd behind it. you can't tell me you are worried about speed and reliability when you are running a flathead. you get neither speed nor reliability from them. i've got a 28 with a flatmotor and a 39 tranny that I'm driving and a 32 with a 283 and a 39 tranny that is in the works. JMO but T5=street rod.
I side with the majority. If you want to DRIVE it....T5 it. But then, what do YOU want to do, who cares what anyone else thinks? J
Do what is right for you and how you are going to use the car. Life aint black and white. I'm one of the biggest old parts elitists here, but I'm changing the P/U over to a T-5. I enjoy driving the old Ford 3pd. as a diversion but, I'm looking forward to the "click-click" shifts I expect from the T-5. I don't think I could bring myself to put one in the roadster. I have to remain true to it's roots. it's a different shade of gray. If you are doing it because someone told you you can't drive an old Ford across country with a stock trans and banjo rear, then I'm here to tell you I've done it. BTW I've never broken a Ford trans or rear. (I'm not a racer)
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