Hot Rods Manual Trans Ideas For an 8BA?

I've got an 8BA and was wondering what manual trans would go well behind it and ahead of a 40 rear? Something fairly easy to come by in the local wrecking yards and not exotic enough to need a high dollar adapter either. Would a 5 speed be useless or would it be recommended for a driver? I plan on using it on a near daily basis. Thanks for any input and suggestions.

 

Our 8BA is really a happy camper with the T-5 behind it. At 65 mph on the freeway in 5th gear that litlle flatty will run all day long without protest. Flower says it made the car ALOT more fun to drive. I vote for a T-5 Warner. The Offy adapter is cheap.

 

Sorry for the ignorance, but what yr/make does a T5 usually come from?

 

90s era S-10, need an open drive rear too.

 

T-98

 

my vote is also for the T-5....requires you to convert the old ford banjo rear to an open drive or change rearends to something more modern. The 40 wishbone won't handle the engines torque [now that the old torquetube is gone] so you'll need to either reinforce the bones or make up a separate torque arm to control rear axle twist.

 

You don't have to go with open drive line.
Read this:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=256226

.

 

Read the tech link in my sig line - should answer most questions.

There's also another thread in the tech archives somewhere - I think started by kilroy - the be all end all flathead transmission article (or something like that) - gotta run or I'd find the link for ya.

 

Thanks a million Ernie and everyone else. Looks as if the T-5 is indeed the way to go. Off to the wrecking yard I go!

 

or you could simply use the correct 3 speed.. heck of alot easier and a heck of alot cooler..

 

Cooler until you try to keep up with freeway traffic, that is. One other thing on the T5 is it's something you can actually find in a wrecking yard, that hasn't been buried in the dirt for 40 years either.

 

What is the correct 3 speed? Year and make please??

 

37-39 if you want the shifter on the floor.
Lars

 

A little more exotic but by no means impossible to find: I'm gonna run a shoebox 3spd overdrive behind my 8ba. They can be had in useable shape for around the $200 mark. And you can still say your car has no modern concessions! (if that type of thing is a big deal to you)

 

60's ford toploaders are good there should be some articals on here. my dad did it on his you get the FACTORY stamped bell and it bolts right up NO ADAPTER

And the cool thing is, grind a notch in the case for a shift arm clearance and a Jeep topshift cover BOLTS on

Really a slick easy setup

 

I'd like the idea of keeping it as cl***ic as possible but not gonna paint myself into a corner for the sake of. The truck I'm building is sort of along your avatar pic but is being built as an extra cab using a cut down Murray sedan body as the cab and throwing in a dirt track flavor. Cowl steering, quarter elipticals, dirt track rears and ribbed fronts, hoping to convert the rearend to a quick change/open drive.

Thanks for the input as to something that will help keep it more along the originally intended lines.

 

I've got a 318 Mopar mill in my '34 backed with a 5-speed Toyota trans(very little fab work needed) & also running a '47 Ford pick-up rear-end(go check out my album on it)
Further more,I've got a '65 Dodge pick-up(slant 6) with the same trans,using it as a daily & a work truck,fuel consump. is fairly good on it.
Thinking of running a 5-speed Toyota trans on my '39 ford pick-up aswell(flathead)

 

Found Kilroy's thread:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65870

 

Thanks another million, Ernie! Really appreciate you remembering my query and addressing it further.

 

I like the early ford/mercury 3 spd overdrives, I think 49-53 ish.
Some need the half-bellhousing and others need the large stamped steel bellhousing.
Both are sideshifters though, good or bad depending on your shifter choice.
Some are found in Y-block cars but they seem alot longer and don't know if the bolt-pattern is the same.

TP

 

Challenges with the early OD are primarily solenoid placement - this varied by year & model. But they're decent ******s.

Ford transmission bolt pattern remained largely unchanged from '49-64, so they all bolt up. (I think some small cars like very early Falcons might be different)

 

Hey - somebody post a pic of one... I think I may have one in the ba*****t!

~Jason

 

I probably have two or three Ford/Lincoln/Mercury 6-volt overdrive trannies too. I wish that more info would become available to HAMBers on hooking them up so the overdrive works, and how to get them into and out of overdrive, while driving.

I understand that some guys use a toggle switch on the dash byp***ing the governor or some such but am not sure why this is done or how to do it. I also understand that some rodders put manual levers on the overdrive ****** to go into and out of overdrive. These old-school tricks would make a great Tech topic for somebody.

 

I have one of those things, too. Got it cheap at an auction, then saw them going on the bay for $300 a pop - and mine came with the bell, clutch and flywheel too.

 

This has been discussed here a couple of times - a search may turn it up.

 

Yeah that overdrive switch has pages of threads.

Anyway a friend has a t-5/flathead and it really wakes up the engine with the tight ratio's.
The flathead is torky enough to skip shifts if you wind it out a little too,
but downshifting on turns etc. with the new synchro technology makes it a fun car.

Also since it is a natural top-loader the shifter is direct, not sloppy like a hurst/sideshifter conversion CAN be.

My RPU has the early OD ****** with a homemade double shifter.
I love it cause the shifts are crisp, and the ****** is made for the engine,
maybe not the weight of the car but its a fun car to drive,
especially with a 75% od it can keep up with the faster cars on the freeway.

Well maybe the engine not the suspension all the time!

tp

 

This is exactly what type of input I was hoping for! Can't say thanks enough.
Feel free to add anything else to the list. The T-5 is certainly looking to be the one though.

http://moderndriveline.com/Technical_Bits/t5_history.htm

Another tid-bit I wanted to p*** along to anyone else considering this transmission, that I'd been turned on to regarding this question. I hope someone else can find it helpful as well.

 

I just put a T-5 up against an 8ba with a 40 rear. Owner wanted to lay wheels, it does... great choice if your not concerned with tradition. Easy installation...

 

Since you're not really building a purebred traditional truck, but a modern intrepretation of one...... definitely do not build it around an antique, weak, & hard to find locally transmission. Nobody sees the transmission from outside the car, only the shifter. Run the T5 and drive it like a HOT ROD instead of driving like it's got a gl*** transmission.

 

Thanks DD and SS. I think I am going to go with the T5 and even hoping to score the T5-Z as I've learned about from the above mentioned thread I'd found. I think the ratios would be a good link to be stout without worry and as mentioned not be hard on the motor. I think it'll even make up for it's lacking in performance parts too.

What are the opinions of a Muncie? I've got one at our shop that a customer is probably just let it go for nothing as he's having us install another trans into his jeep. I know I obviously have to change the tail shaft/housing because of the transfer case. Would these be recommended? With the cost of the ****** being free and only the expense of the changing to two wheel drive, it sounds appealing and have heard it as pretty popular with the muscle car crowd. I'm not willing to put a turd into my project, though, for the sake of saving a few bucks. Inputs??