MG Sports Cars

engine swaps and other performance upgrades, plus "factory" and Costello V8s

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danielruhe
Daniel Ruhe

(27 posts)

Registered:
05/23/2019 12:44PM

Main British Car:


fitting ford t5
Posted by: danielruhe
Date: December 07, 2020 08:52PM

Hi Everyone,
After a 6 month delay on my mgb 302/t5 conversion I am getting back to it. Life just always tends to get in the way of project cars. I have a 1974 mgb with a fast cars independent front suspension kit with the 302 mounts. I modified all the engine bay clearances needed to fit the engine and now have the t5 in as well with a bracket that goes straight across the frame rails. I used a stock mustang transmission mount in now and it seems like its in a good position except the top of the transmission is very close to the top of the trans tunnel. I also received a shorter transmission mount (approx. 1.5 inches shorter) from fast cars that came with their kit supposedly. I bought the kit second hand so I do not know this to be fact or not. My question is have any of you guys had to modify the transmission tunnel other than below the heater shelf slightly to fit the 302 and t5? Also, What is the appropriate height for the transmission to be in the car? I don't want to go too low or too high and affect pinion angle or driveline characteristics.
Thank you,
Daniel


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: rficalora
Date: December 07, 2020 10:58PM

Back when I got mine, the Ford option included a transmission cross member and a transmission mount. The the trans mount is about 1-1/2" thick, but there's also a steel plate and the trans cross member is not straight. Rather, it's made to be flat to the floors and then drops down below the trans a bit. This picture may help.
.
RobFicalora-CX.jpeg

If you didn't get the trans cross member, it wouldn't be hard to make (assuming you can cut and weld the metal. The fast cars IFS only uses the two forward motor mount holes so the trans tail height will determine the motor angle. Use a jack to raise it until a level shows the carb flange to be level. This picture is from the project I'm doing with my son and we were leveling side to side, but the same idea applies front to back. Harbor Freight sells the digital angle gauges for a reasonable price.

Hope this info helps.

IMG_20201202_074643.jpg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2020 11:00PM by rficalora.


ex-tyke
Graham Creswick
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
(1165 posts)

Registered:
10/25/2007 11:17AM

Main British Car:
1976 MGB Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: ex-tyke
Date: December 08, 2020 01:35PM

Quote:
My question is have any of you guys had to modify the transmission tunnel other than below the heater shelf slightly to fit the 302 and t5?
The short answer is No!
For a general dimensional check, the clearance from the fixed chassis crossmember to the bottom of T5 should be on the order of 1” to 1-1/4”.


danielruhe
Daniel Ruhe

(27 posts)

Registered:
05/23/2019 12:44PM

Main British Car:


Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: danielruhe
Date: December 08, 2020 02:41PM

Rob, I the person I bought the kit from had the fast cars crossmember and cut off the sides of it for some reason, cannot think of why he would have. I just decided to bend up a piece of 3/8th stainless into a nice form to contour the frame rails. I like the idea of using the carburetor platform to ensure its completely level and ensure correct angle, but is this not also dependent on suspension setup as well? or do you ensure the body was somehow level before the engine can be leveled?


danielruhe
Daniel Ruhe

(27 posts)

Registered:
05/23/2019 12:44PM

Main British Car:


Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: danielruhe
Date: December 08, 2020 02:48PM

Graham, so you only used a trans mount that is an inch to and inch and a half tall off the crossmember? wow mine from the mustang is about 2 3/4 tall


ex-tyke
Graham Creswick
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
(1165 posts)

Registered:
10/25/2007 11:17AM

Main British Car:
1976 MGB Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: ex-tyke
Date: December 08, 2020 03:40PM

Quote:
Graham, so you only used a trans mount that is an inch to and inch and a half tall off the crossmember?
As a general reference dimension, with your engine and xsmn mounted as normal, there should be 1 to 1-1/4: clearance between the tailstock of the xsmn and the fixed xmbr.
Wish I could take a photo but I have my xsmn out at the moment.


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: rficalora
Date: December 08, 2020 08:33PM

What Graham's talking about can be seen in the 1st picture I posted above. It's the square, non-removeable cross member where my battery cables cross from one side to the other. It's a fixed reference point.
Quote:
or do you ensure the body was somehow level before the engine can be leveled?

Yes. Within reason. Without a flat frame table, we're using a couple of measurements to get as close as we can - chrome strip ledge to center of the front hubs, bottom of frame rails to the floor. Neither is perfect but getting those two close will be within a degree or two - plenty close.



danielruhe
Daniel Ruhe

(27 posts)

Registered:
05/23/2019 12:44PM

Main British Car:


Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: danielruhe
Date: December 10, 2020 04:44PM

thanks for the help guys! I will go off of having the engine leveled based off the crossmember and that should have me roughly within 1"-1.25" of the crossmember. keep you guys updated how it works out.


ex-tyke
Graham Creswick
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
(1165 posts)

Registered:
10/25/2007 11:17AM

Main British Car:
1976 MGB Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: fitting ford t5
Posted by: ex-tyke
Date: December 10, 2020 07:01PM

Quote:
have any of you guys had to modify the transmission tunnel other than below the heater shelf slightly to fit the 302 and t5?
I'd forgotten the possibility of having a couple of reliefs required for a lh lower bellhousing boss and for the shift cable anchor 'ear'. It may depend on you specific engine location to determine if you need any relief in these areas.

tunnel bellhousing relief (c).jpg


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