The $589 T5 swap in a 59 F100


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By badnewsdan - 15 Years Ago
So the original 3 speed in my daily driver work truck was pretty thrashed and after searching a 300 mile radius and driving to NY for the wrong part this was my only option. I looked on craigslist and had my pick of about 5. One mustang had been totaled and was being parted out. An 88 gt with a new clutch. I picked it up for $350 with the trans, clutch disk, and rear yoke.

Im not going to go into all the details of the swap because its been discussed in detail here already. Just the things I did differently.

As I said before this is my daily driver so the 3 week turn around for the bellhousing mods was too long.

When I first mated the trans and the bell I noticed that the front bearing support on the t5 was too large for the stock hole in the bell. With no way to accurately hog it out I decided to turn down the bearing carrier made of soft aluminum. Now I dont have a lathe either so I used my "poor mans lathe" a belt sander in the vice. I turned on the sander and sanded about 3/32 off while turning slowley and taking frequent brakes to cool the part in the snow and check fit. This took about 30 min. Now that it was fitting together nicely I bolted the trans back together and bolted it to the bell with the stock bottom two holes.

Next I marked the spots for the slugs to be welded in the bell and drilled them out to 1"



Then I took some 1" stock and drilled and tapped it out to 7/16 14 for the stock bolts. Then I put the bolts through the trans and in the freshly tapped stock tight. Next I tacked the slugs on the inside with special cast iron rods called softweld, there a 99% nickel rod made for repairing casting defects before machining. Following that I unbolted the trans and welded the rest on both sides. I welded a 1/2" at a time allowing to cool for 3 min between passes to prevent cracking of the cast iron. This also helped dissipate the heat into the casting. This took a long time, Just be patient!







After that I lightly filed the new surface to "deck" it even with the rest of the mounting surface



all back together



I had some reservations about the shifter location but after spending an entire day at 5 wreckers and 200 miles im convinced every s10 tailshaft has been picked clean.

This took some thought, I went to the parts bin and found some old jap bike handlebars. They already had some nice bends and was chrome to boot. I welded this to the 5.0 power tower that came with the trans and cut and sectioned it until I was happy. Welded on a 1/2" bolt to the top and put on the t handle



1st gear



2nd Gear

Now I put it in the truck using Mummerts pressure plate and TO bearing.

Only thing left was the driveshaft, I had to shorten it 11 3/4" for the added length of the trans. I woulnt go into detail about it its well explained over on the H.A.M.B. It was all done at home with my chop saw and mig.

The last thing I havent seen addressed anywhere else is your going to need to get a conversion 1310-1330 u-joint to mate the yoke to the shaft.

Thanks for reading and Merry Christmass



Total Cost Breakdown

Trans ect $350

nickel rods $36

conversion u joint $17

7/16 14 tap $6

Pressure plate and TO bearing $180

$589
By charliemccraney - 15 Years Ago
Good Job! I love the shifter.
By Unibodyguy - 15 Years Ago
Your not the only one Charlie, I think the shifter is cool as heck too.

                                      

By badnewsdan - 15 Years Ago
Thanks Guys, Had to make it so it would clear those car seats,lol

Charlie your swap and detailed photos made it possible.
By John Mummert - 15 Years Ago
Good job Dan! We do bore the bellhousing opening and have found that using a needle scaler on the bellhousing between welds helps stress relieve the cast iron. Less chance of a crack. Noisy beyond belief! Other than that, that's the baisc idea.

I wish there was a simple cure for the shifter location. A vendor swears he is making a new tailhousing with S-10 shifter location, but still not finished. Until then it looks like you have it worked out pretty well.

By badnewsdan - 15 Years Ago
Thanks John, everything from your end worked flawlessly, was even able to stab the trans in first shot without the alignment tool,Lucky. Ive got about 200 miles on it and this transformed my truck. Its a pleasure to drive now. On a side note I peened the welds while cooling with my hammer.
By gritsngumbo - 15 Years Ago
Nice job! You make it look easy :-). Wish I had your welding/machinest skills. I don't so I'll have John modify my bell.