ok, see, I think I saw one like that today at the yard and come to think of it, it had 94 Ford written on it with a paint pen, I think that the plate must have changed by 94 because that one was far different than all the other shields he had in the ford section, everything had the year written on it and that was the newest one by 4 years. Thanks again.

 

I just checked my stash and all the auto plates I have are aluminum. They are all early 80's...one is 3.8/C5, one is 5.8/C6 2wd and one is 5.8/C6 4x and all are flat with the cut-outs for the inspection plate and holes punched behind the block. The 5.0/T5 plate is also aluminum with an indentation on the lower half. The bb ones I have are steel though (351/400 C6) and if I recall correctly my 66 Mustang had a steel one with the 4 speed.

I guess in the vast scheme of things, as long as the bolt holes line up for the block and starter, something can be done about the lower half in regards to the bolt holes and inspection plate/cover.

 

In the next couple of days I'll be yanking out the 5.0 in my '90. It has what I think is the ZF tranny in it. I have a dust shield from a '91 Mustang 5.0/T5. I'll see what the difference in them is and get back to you. Not sure how much help it might be to you, but I'm rather interested in it myself.

 

I pulled the broken 5.0 out of my truck today. There is a big difference between the manual dust shield and the automatic dust shield. The manual dust shield covers the entire bell housing opening while the automatic shield is cut off at the bottom 1/3 for the T/C access. Thicknesses looked about the same but I didn't check that specifically yet.
I haven't checked how it fits on the ZF either.

 

Thanks I appreciate the info, I havent started on mine yet, cant seem to get an open bay at my dads shop..... Guess I cant complain though, it beats my driveway.....

 

Metal thickness is the same for both. The manual dust cover from my 302 fit the ZF perfectly.