Over at my buddy's house today trying to see if the 5-spd he got would fit in stock frame with Heidts Mustang 2 front end, SBC motor mounts and the trans wont fit without major surgery on the frame. what transmissions have you all been used on a '35-'36 Ford Coupe?
Most everything has been squeezed into those frames. Some require more surgery than others. If he has a T5 it would probably be less cutting than any of the earlier style 4 speeds. Most ****** swaps in fat fender Fords involve removing all the center cradle rivets and bolting in a new cradle. Check Ch***is Engineering.
Moe: Be sure and read ALL the info here about a great transmission swap into a 36 Ford. FINALLY…T5 WITH Torque Tube in a ‘35-’40 Ford...The WHOLE STORY! - The Ford Barn
I installed a T5 with a 59 A flathead in a 36 a few yrs ago .You have to remove the saddle. I used CE mount and split the wishbone. It was a tight fit. Oh I also replaced the banjo rear with a 59 Ford wagon 9 inch and CE parallel spring kit. I later pulled the Flarhead and installed a 350 in its place. It depends at what location your SBC is located.
I think this is the X member kit that Gary referred to in the prior post: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/35_40-ford-trans-mount-tunnel-stiffner.1300847/
One comment, if you do plan on using the T5, this reference is invaluable if you rebuild it. While there is a lot of info online, this explains some of the procedures in getting things back together. https://www.tremec.com/anexos/TRSM-T5-0510-R1_173.pdf
If that has OD it's a 4 speed. Chevy had 3 speed and 4 speed transmissions going back to '37 I believe, possibly longer. The 4 speed was more like a granny gear 1st with a 1:1 4th gear, so no OD. Anything with OD will get below 1:1 which is the point if you have enough power. Hard to beat the T5 for smoothness, quality and overall performance. Possibly the most swapped in transmission than any other manual OD transmission to date!
Thanks everyone for your comments. I don't remember which Tremec trans it is, but remember hearing it was a 5 speed out of a Camaro... his rear end is a 9" (so no torque tubes), but still running the stock rear suspension from my knowledge.
LGKustoms shows a T5 swap into a '41 Ford pickup with a flathead on Youtube. Same ch***is so it is worth a look.
Did he remove the center portion in the x member, where the wishbone connected? Cut the rivets, knock it out and replace with a bolted in top and bottom plate? A turbo 350 or T5 will fit with no cutting. A number of places sell premade plates such as Ch***is Engineering (Heidts).
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