T5/TKO500 Gearbox Transplant

[John316m]

Hi All,

A bit of help and information from your learned Gents (and Ladies) please

I am planning to install either a Ford T5 or TKO 500 gearbox as part of my current V8 transplant (into a 1976 rubber bumber GT).

Has anyone out there fitted the TKO box ?

Question - How much work is need to the transmission tunnel to fit either of the above gearboxes ? Is as much as fitting the LT77 or R380 ?

Many thanks

John

[rkas3882]

I don't have any direct experiences with the t5 but I believe it fits in with less work than the lt77.
Randy

[Moderator]

How did I miss this thread? I probably thought someone more knowledgeable would give John a better answer than I can. LT77/R380 typically requires raising the top of the tunnel, and the most popular way to do it seems to be with a spliced in panel, as shown in this snapshot from Paul Schil's first How It Was Done article:



I haven't used the Ford version of a T5... just the Chevy (V8) version. My recollection is that the input shaft is a bit longer on the Ford boxes, thus spacing the transmission further back in the chassis by an inch or so.  I think most people manage to get their T5s in with just a few hammer blows at the front edge (under the heater.)  The important thing to remember is that we don't all put our engines in at exactly the same height and set-back... so results vary from conversion to conversion.

[RobertE]

I'm running the a rover/ford t5 setup in my '79 - I have the engine sitting slightly further back/lower than most.

To fit the T5 it required the use of a BFH - the amount of blows depends on how hard you want to swing.

[MGBV8]

This may give you some idea:

http://www.5speedtransmissions.com/dimensions.html