I did it on my 54 Vic and I'm very happy with the final result!! Parts I used: Originally, my Vic was equipped with a Fordomatic so I had to found a used factory bellhousing and starter plate on ebay. T5 from a 87 s-10 from the s**** ward. Speedway bell adapter # 91628914. Speedway fork and bearing kit # 91629510. Speedway flywheel # 91015629. Pilot bearing LR202NPP from ebay item # 360738419359. Clutch and pressure plate, AMS 04-054 (at the local autoparts store) If you have an automatic trans, don't forget to find a starter for a manual trans!!! It is not a perfect bolt on job, I had to do some mods on the flywheel, but nothing major... A lot of work with a touch of kustomizing and voila! Hope that help you!
Speedway has the whole enchilada, HRP http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Chevy-T-5-Transmission-to-Flathead-Adapter-Kit,35584.html
Do all '54 Ford Victoria's have the stainless trim on the dash and door or is this just something that is only seen on Canadian Victoria's? HRP
If you are talking about the thin horizontal strip, then I don't know about the 54's, but my 52 has them. Looking at some pics of various interiors, I think all 52-54 Crestlines had them.
Actually this will be going (if it goes this way) in a 42 Ford truck original 3sp but looking for a 4sp to go behind the flattie. However the adapting of T5 to it is the same no matter the vehicle and part choices identical. Figured someone here had done it and the info will come in handy as the final decisions are worked out.
If you haven't any experience with the 3-speed overdrive, I will tell you that once they are set up and functioning as originally designed, are very nice ******s. Kinda of a mix between a 4-speed and an automatic. You only shift from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd, but once in overdrive(simply letting off the throttle and it shifts into OD), it kicks down to standard 3rd as quickly as an auto kicks down. I got my OD working last year and I went from 12mpg@60mph to 17+mpg@65mph, it runs cooler and is much quieter. The hardest thing may be a finding a good overdrive ******, but whats nice is that in the end, it's all original style setup, as opposed to adapting in modern parts.
I've had several 50s era car with functioning ODs, yes they're great, but in this case we are hoping to maintain within budget as you say a ''all original style setup'' but if it becomes undoable its nice to have an alternate solution in the wings. And how this thread morphed into a question about a manual ****** swap into the merits of overdrives baffles me. And besides that we are not locked into a RESTORER type mentality. Years ago I happened by chance upon a Studebaker National Meet and I was pleasantly surprised that even a**** Studie purists they welcomed cars and owners who had modified their cars. It was then and now about keeping their/our cars on the road. And old and stock isn't always best. In this case the owner does want to stay stock with his drive train and that is all that matters. but just in case a bit of knowledge never hurts. Anyway enough of this rant, time to p*** the keys of this RAMBLEr on.
Well, if you would have Googled "ford flathead to t5 transmission", this http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Tech/how-to-adapt-flathead-ford-V8-to-t5.html would have been near the top of the results and you wouldn't have had to worry about a thread going off focus.
If you knew anything about me you'd know ''worry'' is not in my persona. A little SE Asia hellhole took care of that in 1972. Now the real problem is that what you had to add to this thread has merits of its own, but wrong place. You might just as well told us what color is right for a dashboard, yes useful but not to anyone wanting to also know what I was asking about. My guess is that it would go unread by many who aren't interested in the ****** swap. And yes I could have Googled and found your link but its been my experience that I'd rather hear about a product from an actual user than from an ad writer.
The Jalopy Journal
