I have 53 f100 with a 351w and Aod transmission. I am currently swapping the trans to a tremec tr3550 trans. Not much of an automatic trans guy so I'm finally gonna take out the slushbox to install the tremec. Here is what I have so far tremec tr3550 trans, SROD bellhousing from a 82 mustang, 157t 28oz flywheel, fox body mustang clutch kit, mustang starter, clutch fork, custom slave cylinder and bracket from Rosehill Performance, wilwood master cylinder and ARP flywheel bolts. Also have all the necessary fasteners from Rosehill performance. Anyways I'm starting on it this coming week. More updates soon. Here is some pics





Here's my cheap eBay Mr gasket Lever

 

welcome,thats a pretty nice looking truck.i hope you take lots pic of your install for us.i was just wondering ...do you have bucket seat in there?where is the shifter going to end up?I put a t5 in my 50 merc out of a s10 and the shifter came up very close to my seat.

 

Yes I have bucket seats. I do have the option if going with a mid shifter location on the trans. I would of loved to have a bench seat again. The original was not salvageable though.

 

I will get some pictures of the location if the shifter this week. It's gonna be far back really close if not under where the bench would be though.

 

yeh,even with buckets I had to heat and bend my shifter a fair bit.the one thing thats great is the so many options we have for seats that can fit or be made to fit our trucks.

 

The manual will make a good truck even better. Good luck with the install. I will be following your progress as I would like to install the same trans.

 

Thanks guys. I was worried about the shifter location too. But I'm even more worried about how to retain the original pedal assy to engage the wilwood master cylinder. I'm thinking about putting it in the wheelwell. I know it might be a little unorthodox but I think it might work.

 

This is a small update to the tremec swap. We got the truck on stands and we are currently removing the auto trans. After that we are going to address the brake booster. Below in one of the pics shows the booster installed but is all F'ed up the pushrod was not aligned with the brake pedal rod. Long story is I messed it up trying to weld an eyelet from the previous booster to connect. So i got to order a new booster because the nose is damaged.But I did add the 2lb residual valves front and rear. I did something right. Anyways I have pics below to show my current setup. Also below there is some pics of the 4link susp and various unrelated to the thread just to show you what i got to work with. Sorry it's ugly and dirty. More in a couple days.

 

So I have Been having a problem with pushrod angles associated with the brake pedal. Although the mustang II booster worked well with the fabricated mechanism it quite wasn't up to the task of the four wheel disc brake setup and it started seeping oil out if the master cylinder. The previous owner didn't even install residual valves and the correct master cylinder setup when he upgraded the rear to the disc brake camaro rearend. The old mustang II booster and master was removed and the universal Hot Rod setup took it's place. We removed the old mechanism. It looks similar to the "No Limit Engineering" booster setup. Since the pedal assy pushrod pivot is offset with the booster pushrod. My fabricator "Romy" made this mechanism with multiple pivots and a bracket. This setup is way better than previous and should have a better feel. I can't wait to have brakes again. Even though this is trans swap thread we had to address the brake problem. More updates as soon as I get more pics.

 

Finally have the clutch pedal in and installed the hydro clutch master cylinder. Also fabricated the pushrod with the pivot on the pedal. Here is some pics

Here is a picture of the clutch master cylinder bracket





Here is a view inside the factory floor access panel. Makes it easier to fill the clutch master cyl


Here is the booster bolted into place. You can see the linkage matches up to the booster and pedal assy clevis joints.


This the linkage on the other side of the framerail for the clutch pedal

This is another view from the drivers wheelwell. As you can see the pivot for the pedal and pushrod(pushbar) going to the clutch master


Here is what the clutch slave looks like installed on the transmission. We are going to use 3/16 brake line to connect slave to the master.

 

Hey Slow53,
I'm following your build closely as we also have a 351W with an AOD.
What was your motivation to make the change back to a manual set up?
I do kick myself for going the automatic route on our truck. I did it so the girls in our group could drive it without having to learn stick shift. My wife won't touch "the old smelly thing" so I should have just gone with a nice 5 speed. Grrr....

My concerns with making the switch would be trying to shoehorn the clutch set up under the driver's side - It looks very tight already. It was a modern miracle to get the steering down to the No Limit front end.

I see you putting a lot of effort into the brake set up. Did you find any challenges in getting the clutch in that space?

Looking good over there in California.

Ben in Austin
1950 F1 351W/AOD.

 

Hey Ben,
What motivated me was that a lot of the guys on this site have done this swap with a t5. A lot of people I talked to warned me about the t5 not being able to handle the torque of the 351w and the weight of the truck. After doing research I found that the tremec 3550 is a great upgrade for the t5 and handles about 350lb/ft of torque. I'm not a drag racer but I do want something that can handle more power if I get aggressive with the throttle. This trans is discontinued and replaced with the tko500/600 but shares the same case essentially. But I think the T5 is probably way smoother at shifting. Anyways I found this trans used for 600 bucks on eBay and figured I'd give it a shot. Also from what I hear is that the mounts for the AOD are in the same location as the 3550 and the driveshaft will not need to be altered. I confirmed the driveshaft will be okay by measuring. I haven't got to the mounts yet though. The drive shaft yoke slips in the trans. I got a lot of ideas from this site and the internet on the hydraulic setup. Now I don't know if your frame is the same as mine. Are you trying to make a clutch mechanism inside the frame rails? Because my clutch master is on the outside. I wanted it next to the brake booster but like you said it is pretty tight there. I will be updating real soon. I can't wait to shift gears again. My wife hates my truck so that's why I'm converting to stickshift. She wouldn't drive it anyways. I miss my 68 f100 shortbed it had a big block and nv4500 5 speed. That was a blast to drive! I really missed the power and chirping the gears!

 

Well my truck is finished as far as the 5 speed swap goes. The driveshaft didn't need modifications. The yoke slipped in and was the correct spline count as aod. I am happy to say the clutch pedal is nice and soft but you can still feel engagement. It is close to the floor and very positive feeling. I am using 3/16 brake line with it coiled on both ends for movement changes. Any questions with the install I will try my best to answer. Pretty happy with my used transmission. It doesn't grind in any of the gears. The penzoil synchromesh fluid works really good so far. Here is a picture of the shifter location. The throw is long but I will be changing it to a pro5.0 shifter base. Now I have an exhaust leak so I gotta fix that next. More pics soon when I put my truck on a lift.

 

Hey Slow53,
You are killing me over there! Let me do my homework on the 3550.
What did you end up doing for the clutch? I'll also have to get rid of the bench seat which I'm not really excited about but it would kick me into gear to upgrade the interior - not a bad thing.

Did you stay with stock internals on the trans? or did you do some upgrades?

Ben in Austin
1950 F1

 

Hey Ben,

The trans is completely stock. 10 spline input shaft and 26 output. These trans were mostly aftermarket but can be found on the rare 1995 mustang cobra R 351w production model. They don't make it anymore. Tremec now makes the TKO500 and 600. The 500 has the same spline count and both 500 and 600 has the same size and shape essentially as the 3550. So for you I would try to get a 3550 or the TKO500. The 600 is overkill but if you have a really strong engine over 400 horse then go with 600. The 600 will need a special clutch though. The splines are different as well as the yoke. I forgot to tell you that I bought my truck with the 351w AOD setup. Never liked automatic and I thought my wife would also like to drive it but I was wrong. I had to change it to stick. Check on Ebay for the 3550 trans. It pops up once in awhile. If I had the money I would buy a new TKO 500 just to be sure. Also buy a good shifter base like a steeda triax or PRO5.0 shifter. Please keep your bench and just make a shifter lever with the proper bends or get get the mid shifter conversion for the tremec. Thanks