1966 Thunderbird T45 5 SPEED conversion completed!

I completed the conversion to a 5 speed late in the month of feburary. Has been a blast to due. Took longer than planed due to finding some engine rebuilder issues. Please remember to have a ford engine rebuilder do yours, not a chevy builder. I learned that the hard way.

Had the heads redone with stainless steel valves and spring height adjusted correctly. Milled .010 off the heads to lower chamber cc volume. Installed NEW SET of adjustable rockers (shaft, stands and rockers!) I found at a ford swap meet. What a find!!!! $180 !!!!
Updated the pcv system to draw from valve covers instead of the intake. installed carb spacers and changed the air cleaner element to a larger one. Installed a edelbrock performer plus cam shaft and lifter kit. You probably are asking WHY?
Well a heavy car needs lots of TORQUE and this cam has it! Most people tend to over cam there engines and make it a bear to drive. The cam I had was a holman moody custom grind equal to the 1968 gt and SCJ 6250b oem cam. This would be great for a fairlane or mustang body weight car.
the engine would not like to run under 2000 rpms against the weight of the thunderbird. The new cam Really grunts even near 1000 rpms. Runs strong up to 5000 rpms. Ideal for street fun with this 5 speed and 4.11 gears. Engine has a great sound too.

Now comes the nuts and bolts to this conversion. I started with a t45 from a 2000 mustang cobra has 31 spline output shaft! Important!!!! THe engine adapter is from bendtsens transmissions located on the web. This converts a fe series engine to a small block aod auto.



Next you will need a flywheel. Well a 390 is neutrally balanced. 428's are externally balanced. You need a flywheel from a 1993-98 ford 4.9 liter inline 6. This is neutrally balanced. The ring gear will need to be removed and the shoulder cut about .100 to match the depth of the aod flywheel. Then press it back on.
Will continue later.








<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: casscomputers on 5/21/06 10:52am ]</font>

Some of you have asked about the clutch setup. Well here is how I did it.
First you have to remove the steering column, including the slide assembly. Remove the speedometer and gauge cluster. Remove the power booster assembly. Finally remove the pedal base
assembly.


I purchased a pedal and quadrant assembly fro a 2000 mustang GT on ebay for about $100. After some close measuring, I found the best location was just forward of the brake pedal shaft. The front cowl houses the wiper motor. This limits height for quadrant motion. See pics for location used. Simply cut shaft out of the 2000 assembly. Cut the clutch pedal arm about 3" from shaft.
Cut holes on 66 bracket in front of brake shaft and weld in the 2000 shaft. Make sure you remove the shaft and bushing!
Cut out the quadrant cable mount and relocate as shown. Reinforce using metal from 2000 bracket. Use an adjustable aftermarket quadrant so you have some room for Adjusting!
Temporarily install bracket and use vise grips to hold pedal in alignment, tack weld. bend and weld on nuts to accept new style chrome pedals from Summit Racing $40 each.
Drilled about 1" hole on right lower corner of firewall. This will allow the cable to reach the transmission easliy. Paint and install bracket. Install cable, booster etc,etc.
Please note I did these with the engine removed. THe conversion requires that the engine be removed.

No, this is not a bolt on conversion. They never make a pedal assembly for this car. fabrication a must!


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: casscomputers on 5/21/06 10:57am ]</font>

Eboxy putty works great on removing automatic indicator and shifter handle.
Do as much shaping as possible before it dries rock hard. Finally a lite coat of body filler and urathane primer
Semi gloss black paint and reassembly.




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: casscomputers on 5/13/06 9:55am ]</font>

The adapter, flywheel and trans pics

Note the output spline is 31 and the same size as the 1966 C6 automatic. This is the drive shaft on the T45 trans!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: casscomputers on 5/13/06 10:09am ]</font>

Some asked about the brakes I am using. The stock disk brakes are fine for me now. I do not road race this car. The brakes stop the car with no problems. I have a new booster, master cylinder, rebuilt calibers and wheel cylinders. New brake lines , shoes and pads.
If you jump on the brakes it will throw you through the windshield!
Road racing , I would consider replacing rear drums with disc brakes. Brake pressure ratio valve to adjust brake balance.

Sweet car !!!! You've done some great work.If I were there I'd give you a hand shake and a pat on the back.You deserve it.I've been complaing about swapping my shifter and shift cable.After the work you've done,I'll stop griping.

Saw your bird...really nice car. Just wandering what you used for exhaust manifolds? Did you have headers made? If so could you take pictures and send me any information.

Very cool! I just did a Tremec 3550 with TKO internals in my 390/tripower/aluminum head 390 stroker 64 Galaxie. Awesome job!

5th gear is so sweet!