Adapter with ball bearing is done.
400 flywheel CNC drilled & tapped to except the 460 ZF5 clutch kit.
A little more mock up and working with the starter and we should be about done.
So far this is proto type, so it may no be the "prettiest"

 

The pics look better here than on Facebook. As for pretty, yours already looks great. I'm impressed.

 

Looking good! Will this be able to work on a ZF from any year or is there a specific range?

 

Should be any ZF5 that came from a 460.

 

Thanks Gary!

 

Hey my name is steve I have a 79 1 ton 400 with the grany 4. With pto for the winch I was interested in the zf because of highway use and pto any info would be apreciated. I already aquired a zf but have read all rhe clutch problems any way I xould buy an adapter like yours? And do I need to keep the 400 fly wheel and use a 460 clutch or just the clutch disk. Anything you can tell me would be greatly apreaciated

 

Steve - Welcome to FTE! I see that you've found Tim Meyers, Inc. Tim is the only place to get the adapter and the 400 flywheel drilled to take a 460's clutch. So you just need to call him and buy the stuff. And, you will need the proper starter, but Tim will tell you about that as well.

Another thing you may need is a modified transmission cover, meaning the thing that bolts to the floor. I don't know about the earlier trucks, but the 80's trucks didn't have enough clearance between the tranny and floor so Ford came out with a taller cover.

And, I couldn't get to the bottom bolt where the exhaust pipe bolts to the exhaust manifold in order to install a nut. So I had to pull the stud from the manifold, grind a groove in the ZF, and use a socket-headed cap screw to button up the exhaust.

But, that work was well worth it for the OD tranny. Enjoy!

 

I think that with the cost of all the components required to add an OD transmission in my situation, a '79 Bronco with a 400, this ZF route is by far the cheapest.

 

How close to a "bolt-in" is this for a

78' f150, standard cab, long-bed (2-piece driveshft.)
351m
ford 4-speed overdrive
( not a BorgWerner or likes. The one that came out in 78')
9" diff.?

 

I had the NP435, so don't know what length your tranny is. However, if it is the same length as the NP then your driveshaft should work. In that case, beyond Tim's kit you will need a clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing. And the ZF is ~1" longer so you may have to drill the frame to move the transmission crossmember back. And, it is taller so you may have to mod the existing transmission cover to get clearance. (On an 80+ truck the later tall cover works, but I don't know if it fits the 79 and earlier trucks.)

Also, the lower exhaust pipe-to-manifold stud on the passenger's side was basically impossible to put a nut on for me. So, I pulled the stud and used a socket-headed cap screw. And, I to grind a groove in the bell housing to have a path to tighten the screw.

Last, the ZF used an external slave cylinder for clutch action. If your truck has a mechanical linkage you can either convert to hydraulic or modify the ZF release lever to work. I did that by melding a the ZF lever with the NP lever so I had the right mechanical advantage.

 

So far it looks more or less like a bolt-on affair. The clutch pedals are not easy to find for a '79 Bronco and they basically have to come from a 1979 model Bronco or F-150 to guarantee a fit with your existing brake booster. The ZF I have has an external slave cylinder with mounting bracket, so that part is bolt-on. We're going to have to modify the OEM pedal assembly to depress the master cylinder and mount it as well.

I chose a Luk Gold Pro clutch and from what it looks like the transmission mated to the NP205 is going to be a drop-in affair... it appears that the C6/205 combo is the same length. The transmission cover plate doesn't appear to have any interference issues with the ZF, but I'm going to have to cut out an opening for the shifter.

 

Good info. The 1980 and later trucks are quite different, so my experience doesn't help.

 

Not true, it's good info. The main difference between and 80+ vs the earlier Bronco is simply going to be the pedal assembly, trans tunnel clearance (including the cover plate), and perhaps the t-case. Not sure what t-cases were used in the 80+ Broncos. The '78-79 came with only 203 or 205 units.

 

I have the mechanical clutch linkage.
But I have considered going to hydraulic slave cyl.
Any recommendations on aftermarket ones?

 

I don't see why you couldn't just run an OEM unit listed for an '89 F-350 with 460/ZF5 combo.