by Jon Mikelonis

Introduction
The aftermarket has made it easy for classic Mustang owners when it comes to 5-speed auto-to-manual conversions. On the other hand, ask the owner of those larger classic Fords (think Galaxie and Torino) about options beyond the three speed automatic and the list of possible solutions becomes very short. The first thought that comes to mind for any Ford enthusiast wishing to attempt an auto-to-manual conversion on a non-Mustang is how to obtain the original equipment (OE) parts that are a direct fit for their chassis.

	Only a Fordmuscle'r can appreciate this shot. That's a T5 shifter popping up conveniently through the OE floor pan cutout in the Torino used for this article. See how it was done on the following pages.

Unfortunately, the OE route for an auto-to-manual conversion means trying to locate extremely rare pedal assemblies and mechanical clutch linkage that ultimately leave you with a vintage transmission and a relatively outdated pedal feel. The barriers along the OE route are raised even higher when the enthusiast faces the extreme prices for these used and near obsolete parts. Driven up by the overall market value of well-restored American musclecars, factory musclecar parts like "Top Loader" transmissions and manual clutch/brake assemblies are no longer reasonable options for the do-it-yourselfer on a budget.

Taking on an auto-to-manual conversion today means making due with parts that are readily available new from the aftermarket or in abundant supply in used form. These conversions inherently include a fair amount of risk depending on what kind of Ford you are working on. In this article I will take you through the steps of installing a Borg Warner T5 into a 1972 Ford Gran Torino originally equipped with a floor shifted small block C6. Although the possibilities and the operation has been discussed often within FordMuscle's own forums, the FordMuscle staff has not seen the project documented nor have we seen a finished conversion. This article makes no promises as to final outcome due to its pioneering nature. However, at the time of completing Part One (Mockup) of the conversion the vehicle is proving to accommodate the T5 quite well.

Preparation
If you have been around FordMuscle long enough then you know I own a
couple Gran Torino's. These cars have been around the site for at least
ten years and have been the subject of many upgrades. For at least 5 years I have considered a manual conversion in my 351C/C6 car. With my ongoing 400 build at the machine shop, my renewed patience as a 37 year old father, and a little more confidence in the garage, I have finally
embarked on the conversion. Here's how I got started.

It's pretty rare that I get help in the garage (or the sideyard for that matter). So, when my brother was visiting one weekend in 2007, he lent a welcome hand in pulling the 351C and C6 out of my Torino.		There it is and there it goes, the heavy and bulky small block C6. These transmissions are still desirable to many but I was happy to see it exit my Torino for the final time.
Finally, I moved the Torino from the sideyard and into the garage where it belongs.		For the sake of snapping great pictures for you guys when it's time for creating a pedal assembly, I removed the dash to clear the way. Plus, my dash was falling apart so I knew this would be a way to guarantee a junkyard replacement.
Long ago, when I was about 19, my brother and I converted this column shift car to a factory floor shifter. That work would come in handy here since there was already a hole cut out of the floor and I had sourced the shifter cover (the brick colored piece) in 1990.		That's right, I chose a T5 for a couple of reasons which I'll discuss in the section below. I grabbed it off craigslist locally for $200 and a FordMuscle T-shirt. Although this T5 is the"World Class" variety the tranny is only rated to 265 ft lbs. Regardless, it would do for a trial fit.

Why We Chose the T5
Your concerns and my concerns about using a T5 behind a Ford 400 should be heightened by the fact that when I bought the transmission, the seller single-handedly picked the tranny out of his truck bed and put it in the back of my Ford Freestyle. I almost embarrassed myself by asking the seller if he needed help. I learned quickly that these units are lightweight!

	Borg Warner T5

Even the strongest factory Borg Warner T5 is only rated to 330 ft lbs of
torque. By the numbers, bolting a stock T5 behind a mild performance
351M/400 is just asking for trouble. There are enough stories on the web that testify to the destruction of T5's behind moderately built Cleveland motors. Conversely, there are an equal amount of car owners who claim T5's have been tenacious and reliable behind their Cleveland powered Fords.

Considering the added torque potential a Ford 400, why then did I opt for the T5 over the stronger Tremec TKO? Unfortunately, even used TKO transmissions are running $1000 on classified boards and I won't even discuss the price of a new TKO. Compared to the $200 I spent on my used T5, $1000 was simply too much to fork over for an auto-to-manual conversion that offered no guarantees with regard to clearance and fit. In this case, consider me your guinea pig. If I explode the T5 then you can tell me "I told you so". Soon after that, I'll have it rebuilt to the specifications outlined in the FordMuscle article... Swing Shift. Since my 400 build will probably come in right around 450hp and 400 ft lbs, the T5 in stock form will be an interesting experiment to say the least.

Bellhousing and T5 Adapter
Performing an auto-to-manual conversion from scratch meant that my garage wasn't full of the usual useful parts leftover from a drivetrain disassembly. As a result, I summoned the aftermarket to find a bellhousing to accommodate my 400's big block "bellhousing-to-block" bolt pattern and the T5's unique and offset "bellhousing-to-transmission" bolt pattern. Since stock T5's are not normally placed behind big blocks (or "mid" blocks with big block bolt patterns), I figured there was no one-piece off-the-shelf solution for connecting a T5 to a 400. This meant I needed to rally to make it work.

For the bellhousing I turned to Lakewood and ordered their
351M/400/429/460 to Top Loader/T10safety bellhousing also known as a scattershield. See sidebar for more information. Obviously, the
"bellhousing-to-block" bolt pattern was a perfect match. However, an
adapter was required to enable the T5 to bolt to the other side of the
bellhousing. California Pony Cars' T5 Spacer Adapter Plate (pictured at right) which is designed for 1965-1970 Mustang T5 conversions on OE bellhousings, suited this application just perfectly. In addition to being an "adapter" this part also serves as a "spacer" that accommodates the 1985-1993 T5's input shaft length. The spacer/adapter requires some machining so I took my situation down to Augie Steinert at Superior Machine in my home town of Sparks, NV. Incidentally, Superior Machine is the same shop that is handling my 400 build.

Out of the box, I expected the spacer/adapter to bolt straight to the "bellhousing-to-transmission" bolt pattern in the Lakewood bellhousing. This was not the case, for some reason the spacer/adapter requires the customer (or the customer's machinist) to mark and drill two holes into the bellhousing. According to the instructions, one of the two holes is also meant to be tapped.

In stock applications, the spacer/adapter is intended to be attached with three "socket flathead" screws from the outside of the bellhousing and one "hex head" bolt and nut from the inside of the bellhousing. Since I had an all-steel bellhousing that would accommodate welding, I went a different route as you will see on the following pages.

(Bellhousing and Spacer/Adapter continued, Dropping in the Assembly)