5 Speed For My Tbird

[petew]

Just completed the conversion on my 55 Thunderbird from Fordomatic to a 5 speed. Couldn't find anything on the internet so I made it up as I went along. I've attached some pictures , not a tough swap but it was time consuming . It's going to be nice to have that 5th gear overdrive and to shed a ton of weight by removing that cast iron Fordo.

Pete

[petew]

More pictures.

[petew]

And a couple more....

[hiball3985]

Very nice! What throw out bearing did you use? Is the adapter plate from a manufacturer or home made?

[petew]

Stock Y block throw out bearing adapter plate is from John Mummert .

[Ford Blue blood]

Very nice!

[JPotter57]

Mummerts adapter is the best one out there.  Aside from adapting the T5 to the old bells, it also rotates it so the mount and shifter are in the right place.  I bought one for a later bell, and it works the same way, but the T5 are still oriented the way they came from Ford, rotated about 10-15* or so.  Not that big a deal, just puts the shifter at an awkward angle, unles you bend the stick to compensate.