Refer to http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2002/09/transmissions/

The distance from the mounting face of the T5 trans to the centerline of the shifter is 19.5"  Get under the car and measure 19.5" plus the adapter plate thickness.  Mark the floor pan or trans tunnel with a paint pen, chalk, magic marker, etc.  Now look for something you can use as reference from the top, inside the car, a seat bolt, or specific feature of the floor pan or tunnel.  Measure between the mark you made and whatever you chose as your reference.  Use that dimension to measure from the reference inside the car to see approximately where the shifter will be.


Lawrenceville, GA

I'll be using my original bench seat. One of the guys in my car club is doing  the same swap in his 57 scruby Nomad right now. He told me about "Core Shifters". Google them, they're a division of Hurst shifters. They sell some decent looking T5 shifters for a good price and they offer a WIDE array of shift levers for them. Surely we can find a shift lever that'll fit with the bench seat. Thanks guys for the info! I'm going to look over the link now. If I encounter something different i'll let y'all know! Thanks again.
 

Hurst makes a bench seat shifter that in combination with a B&M Pro Ripper shifter will get you all the clearance you will need.

Durham Missouri

The customizability of the core shifters is awesome.  If I didn't already have a shifter, I'd give them a try.

I've heard great things about MGW shifters, but they have a unique design that don't lend themselves well to custom applications.

I have Pro 5.0 in my Firebird and Steeda in the truck.  I can't tell any difference between the two.  No complaints for either.  The Steeda has 3 mounting holes for the stick, so 2 positions.  That's useful for fine tuning the overall height.



Lawrenceville, GA

I am using a stock bench seat and used a B & M Ripper shifter on the T-5. I however welded a Hurst Stick to the shifter to clear my bench seat and give it the nostalgia look. If anyone wants a copy of my article, they can PM me.
P.S. I used a stock 65 Mustang 10"clutch, but you can also use  the Borg and Beck clutch. I also used the stock 56 trans cross member, just turned it upside down. Thanks  

I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning!

Cross member

I love the smell of burning rubber in the morning!

Canadian hot rodder, Your setup looks good! Thanks guys for the input. I'm hoping to start on my swap early Feb.

Fastbill: In a recent article in Y-Blk Magazine issue #137, J. Mummert posted a reminder, to ensure that the Pilot depth into the Y-Block engine is correct, when converting to a later transmission.  Apparently T-5 transmissions and others, have a longer pilot snout than any original Y-blk transmissions. Failure to trim it can result in excess pressure & binding of the engines thrust bearing & in some cases can cause a major engine failure!!..  Also, there can be trouble with T-5 aluminum front bearing retainers if worn. The later 1994 replacement style retainer can cause the throwout bearing to bind, resulting in clutch slippage... Also, care needs to be taken to get a correct clutch disc spline, as several different sized splines were used over the years. Apparently some 1-1/16" spline discs have been installed on the 1" shaft, for Y-Blks, but are too loose.. I'm just passing this info on, I don't have any personal experience with this subject..      


Paul

hi all. sorry for the delay. i have a lot on my plate and my projects go kinda slow sometimes. i started on my swap a week or so ago. i've just about got it wrapped up now. should be finished tomorrow. i've taken a few pics along the way of things and i made my own trans crossmember for the swap. i'm going to whip up a few of them and offer them up for sale if there's any interest in them. the crossmember i made uses the stock frame mounting holes and the stock fox body transmission mount. PF Arcand, i did definitely trim some off the end of my input shaft. i've got pics of all that to post soon too. i just wanted to finish it all up before i post. just checking in with you guys

That's fantastic "fastbill"!
Looks like the rain here in NorCal has ebbed at least for a while, so I will start my disk brake conversion and the T5 swap soon myself. I look forward to your pics and descriptions. I may be interested in one of your X members as well.

Rowen
55CV
Woodland, Ca