When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
i never thought about where the shifter would land inside of the cab. in the interest of weight distribution, we usually like to have the engine mounted as far back as possible. this obviously would work counter to the T5 shifter placement. good to know this. i am seriously thinking about a 4.6 DOHC motor with a manual transmission in my '66, but i might have to rethink this if shifter placement is a big issue.
i never thought about where the shifter would land inside of the cab. in the interest of weight distribution, we usually like to have the engine mounted as far back as possible. this obviously would work counter to the T5 shifter placement. good to know this. i am seriously thinking about a 4.6 DOHC motor with a manual transmission in my '66, but i might have to rethink this if shifter placement is a big issue.
Looking up measurements from the bell housing to the center of the shifter shows the T5 (mustang) at 26.4” and the M5od at 14”. The 99-03 F150 used its version of the M5od, I didn’t find measurements, but the shifter is close to the dash area of the truck. The T45 is the transmission that was put behind the 4.6 in the Mustang from 96-03. The chassis is the same as the 94-95 (which had the T5) so I’m taking a guess (that and both transmissions use the same shifter) that they are almost identical. I hope this helps you out.
I’ve slacked some on posting. The holidays, I injured myself slightly at work, and family has kept me off the interwebs😂. Well I got impatient from looking for the right dampener for my motor mounts. I decided to just slightly redo them. I found a kit that has a piece of 2” x 2” DOM tube, two poly bushings, and sleeve. I got two of them and started turning my brain power up!
The mount marked for cutting. I designed the mount to use two tabs and a 1/2” bolt/nut. Laid out my cut mark.
My tubing notcher was not available, so I grabbed my grinder and a wheel of death and started cutting. On the curved sides, I cut a V from the outside edge to the center on both sides. Then used a course sanding disc to smooth out my curve.once that was done I used a square to make sure everything lined up and the center of the sleeve was the correct distance Roughed out and ready to tack.
. Once I was happy I tacked it in place.
I kinda jumped ahead in the last photo, I bolted it to the CV cross member and the plate to the motor. I measured from the plate to the center of the mount. I then used a socket to draw a circle on cardboard. Using the center as my bolt through hole center. I then measured from the center to the measurement for my tab base and made a parallel line to my bolt center. I then just used an arbitrary dimension (1.5” in my case) and used that as my base width. A straight line from the curve to my base edge and I had a template.
Laying out my tabs on cardboard. Transferring to metal. I used 3/16 for my tabs.
I center punched the bolt center on one tab. Once cut out I clamped them together with the base even. Then from my center punch I drilled the required hole(s) for my bolt. Being that they are clamped the hole will be in the same place. With a bolt on the hole and them still clamped I ground down the overall shape that was drawn via the template. I tacked the tabs in place with a bolt in the mount and finishe welded. Here is the driver side.
I removed the drivetrain and got the transmission separated. I have heard so many good things of Super Clean. I grabbed some and some generic oven cleaner. I pushed the truck outside and dosed the frame, firewall, and CV crossmember. The truck had a bunch of oil, grease, road grime, and just filth on the firewall. I used the pressure washer……and after several rounds of super clean and water it is all cleaned up.
The oil, grime, and dirt! I sprayed the Super Clean on everything.
Cleaned up and ready for some paint. I’m planning on using Zero Rust on the frame and to treat rust on the cab. I have a question for everyone. I am unsure on colors yet. I have two ideas, firewall color is the same as the cab……..Or semigloss black on the firewall, inner fenders, and core support. The inner fenders and core support will be painted semigloss black regardless. Thanks for looking!
Looking up measurements from the bell housing to the center of the shifter shows the T5 (mustang) at 26.4” and the M5od at 14”............... I hope this helps you out.
it does help. thank you.
your dimensions sound right. i measured from the base of the firewall (inside of my truck) to the leading edge of my stock bench seat. its about 21". i figured at least 5 inches to the bell housing / motor attachment. i think that would allow a T5 to work....if i used bucket seats. yeah...my stock shifter is very close to the dash. that 14" sounds about right.
Well before I can paint the firewall I need to mount the brake and clutch master cylinders. Lucky for me I found a kit supposedly made for the 57-72 f100. Reviews were mostly positive and I thought what the hell. This kit is from summit and the biggest knock that I saw was that there are no instructions. I’m the kinda guy that starts putting things together and then go back to the instructions 😂. It really was a good kit and was actually easy to install……If you’ve been around vehicles and know how they work. This is how the kit mounts. It uses the existing bolts in the firewall, the brackets are meant to be mounted one way, but I had to flip them upside down for the pushrod to fit in the hole through the firewall correctly. Here is the kit The pushrod is threaded and I’d adjustable. I had it fully seated on both side to get it to work. A side view, it seems like it stands off of the firewall a bunch, but it will get sucked up by the big engine bay.
On to the clutch master cylinder. My transmission is from a 95 F150, so naturally I’d use the factory clutch master. I had planned on mounting this on the right side of the brake booster since there is so much room. When setting up the brakes I noticed the clutch pedal actuates a rod. I decided to uses that side to actuate the pushrod. I took the rod off and made a piece of cardboard to mimic the linkage. I marked the firewall and measured the center at full pedal up and down. I needed 2” of stroke to completely push the clutch. The hole is where the pushrod will enter. I had already made a bunch of measurements and committed.
I used my knock out set to make the hole for the master cylinder access. I then double and triple checked my measurements. Using a knock out to make my access hole. These make a perfect hole without really sharp edges. The hole that was made. An inside view of how it will attach. The mater cylinder mounted Mocked up ready for a metal one.
