Working on a T5 behind a flathead in a Model A. Does anyone make a kit that extends the gearshift further forward to where it should be in an A? This is in OZ and is an early commodore T5. Or if anyone has made their own shifter extension , pics would be great .
Are you using a s10 or a camaro style? I'v always heard the short S10 syle t5 work pretty good. Thats what I'm in the middle of putting in my 47 fleetline and it landed nicely.
This isn't my creation but I've thought about maybe recreating at some point. This was built by a retired mechanical engineer for his 52 Ford truck. He built it so the gearshift would be in the stock location. Looking at it I think the main thing is making your pivot points all on the same plane so the linkage doesn't fight itself. This is very smooth and you'd never know what was going on if you didn't see it. This is a Mustang T5 WC from a 1990 5.0L. I don't think I have any other pictures of it.
Corsa, that looks like my box, thanks for pics. The dip down of the shaft may save me from a bigger floor hump .
The linkage can be bent into any shape you need. It is just an "imaginary straight line between 2 pivot points. In the above example the front pivot is very clever how it is moved up the shift lever [under the boot] Attached is how the shifter was done by Ford in my factory built FR500C Race Car when they used a T56R transmission [the bottom of the lever is a spherical bearing]
Top pic is standard T5. Second pic is a T5 with an S10 tailshaft housing. Note the difference in shifter placement.
Scroll down through this thread and Mark T posted several photos of linkage setups he had saved https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/y-block-to-t5.933964/
In the above example the front pivot is very clever how it is moved up the shift lever [under the boot] Yes, I thought so too, not only does it lower the shift rod, if the stick base hole was slotted , it could be easily adjustable for gearstick throw fore and aft.
That's a good thread on this subject Mr48chev. I missed that one. I like the the idea of a kit that relocates the shifter for the obvious reasons. You can have the stronger WC transmission or even a Z. What that's worth is up to the individual's needs. The shifter will be in the same location as the stock transmission. Clearance for the linkage may be an issue or not. I think in most cases this could also be addressed and hidden during a build if required. I think the Mustang T5 has a cable speedometer if I remember correctly. One less headache if you want vintage gauges and don't want a GPS speedometer. In my area the Mustang T5 is also more common than the s10 T5.
Here in Oz, with our commodore T5, which is an electronic speedo, we can buy a pass thru cable adapter , that also sends the correct signals to the computer if you are running the same engine. The great thing I found was the commodore adapter allowed a stock Model A cable to screw on and the Oval Model A speedo read correctly.
Not wanting to side track this but you could go the electronic route or there's a member on the HAMB with the username Kato Kings who also converts S10 tail housings to take a mechanical speedo.
Not a whole lot. Just make sure you get the shifter plate and shifter with the S10 tailshaft housing. Remove and replace. IIRC you have to jiggle some things to get it all lined up correctly but thats basically it! Just stuck the tranny nose first into my garbage can and went to work!
Someone already mentioned modern driveline: http://www.moderndriveline.com/Technical_Bits/front-shift-T5-tailhousing.htm I did a Google image search and found these:
Pillow blocks, spherical rod ends, etc. are all available, and generally used for that reason... But a rack & pinion inner tie rod? Now, THAT's thinking outside the box! Great idea, shift rod is already attached...Ball end is 'friendly' for plate mounting... good hard stuff, too.
All great ideas so far. I blew up the pic in post3 and I think maybe this guy has a tie rod jambed under the plate for a ball joint. That gave me the idea to maybe use a tie rod end, but vertically, so the shifter rod can screw on, and by adjusting it up or down, the throw fore and aft will be easily adjustable. A rough sketch....
I just fought my way through the snow to my parts tent to take some other pictures. This is actually super simple. Very crudely finished probably because the builder wasn't expecting to see it again. This could easily be made much nicer looking. It's about as low profile as I think it could be. I've seen the pivot before but I can't place where. I know one of you will remember. I thought this might be info others might find helpful even if it only gets their own minds thinking of a better way. Here's a quick a dirty video I just took too. It's kind of hard to shift it while holding and looking through the camera.
Been there with the rack inner control arm,shifts beautifully ,just need to get it down a bit more.Machined up an 8mm disc,cut out the centre and welded to the shaft then fit fibre washers in between.Went the disc way so I could use a swan neck shaped shifter and that took care of any twist while shifting 2nd-3rd,and pulling reverse.I used the lower hole in the original shifter arm and cut the top off.I had the ali arms lying around and they worked out prefect. Just my take on it a couple of years ago,I like the other ideas about also.
Tomorrow, I start building the shifter. Fore and aft movement is easy to make adjustable. But sideways gate movement is another thing. I guess a shifter for my bench seat A pickup will be over 2 times the height of the piddly T5 shifter, so this means a huge sideways gate at the gear knob to go across gears. A mate just fitted a T5 to a 41 truck and he almost needs a longer arm to reach from first to fifth. Does the brains trust here have any ideas how to make this large movement at the top into a smaller movement?
Yes! you need to move the shifter ball up on the gearbox so it need less degrees of lateral movement to move the same distance. [shifter throw modification] This is done by re-drilling the pin further up, and adding an equivalent spacer block under the shifter For and Aft movement can easily be adjusted by altering the pivot height on the lever
Hello, I have been viewing you post on this shifter relocation idea, I was wondering after several years what your thoughts were on this today. thanks
There is a bloke called Mal Wood in Warwick Qld. Google his business. He is a T5 guru and sells stuff all around Australia and overseas. Steve
To be perfectly honest, it didn’t get of the ground, I couldn’t handle the g/box tunnel needing to be so high to clear it and bit the bullet and went for an S10 rear housing.
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