fl327 Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 i think the t5 is stronger for drag racing, has a deeper first gear. less of those around than na trans, and the na trans holds up well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 i think the t5 is overrated.the ratios are good by sports car standards and they dont shift as smooth a datsun trans filled with redline mtf.the 82/83 trans has best ratios for what i use my car for.close 1to 4 and best 5th for freeway.will cruise 100 in 5th easy.the t5 has ratios like early 75 to 78 z 5 speed -low 1st,2nd,big jump to 3rd.not good at sears point between turns 2to 4.if i was going to builds a drag turbo car i would run auto-you can keep boost up.just stab & steer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy 77zt Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 correction -not good ratios.i run a 3.7 lsd with a 81zxt motor with 83 na trans-i like it and have run car at laguna,sears,thunderhill.would like to put a world class t5 in my car-not oem stang tranny.i have t5 bellhousing-input bearing carrier bigger on mustang trans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAMIE T Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 As most of you have noticed, I'm about to do a ZXT conversion in my '73. The donor car is an automatic . I have a '83 ZX 2+2 5spd(so it will have the bigger flywheel and clutch assembley). I'm wondering how much HP the NA trans can handle. That is until I re-coupe from the spending spree of the motor and Stand-alone ECU, and finally score a T5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 The input shaft is also different on the Mustang trans. If it is too long, it might be able to be shortened and have the splines turned dowm so that it fits the Nissan pilot bearing. You cannot use the Nissan input shaft on the Ford trans becasue the gear ratio is different. The Nissan is a 3.5 first gear and all WC trans are 2.95. You could always open up the Nissan bellhousing to fit the Ford bearing retainer, but you will then have to worry about throwout bearing adaptation, best bet then would be a hydraulic throwout bearing and elliminate the sleeve and to bearing and fork that Nissan uses. I like the gear ratios of the T5, almost the same as the early 4 speed which works great in a mild cammed L6. If you are building a road racer and need close ratio and cannot afford the NIsmo trans, run the 82-83. If you are building a drag racer, use the early 4 speed, and if you are building a street car, the T5 is the way to go IMO to get a decent first gear and decent OD with either the 3.54 or 3.70 LSD. The T5 can also be used with the 3.90 without too many rpms on the highway, but with the 3.5 first gear, really doesn't need them. Funny, but in V8 land, the T5 is known as a smooth shifting easy to live with manual trans. If you have one, replace the blankety blank Nissan shifter with an aftermarket one with adjustable stops and a bolt on shifter handle. It changes the entire personality of the trans, making shifts like a rifle bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAMIE T Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Being of a Mustang back ground. I have seen T5's come and go. I just got rid of a WC that had a fresh rebuild. I had one in my Mustang coupe. I bought the car from a guy who owned a trans shop. He had done a bunch of mods done to it. It sat for years before I bought it, so the brass dog rings had gotten flat spots in them. It would grind when shifting to 5th. He told me to bring it back when I had time and he would fix it for free. It had been a very smooth shifting trans until the rebuild. When I got it back, it was very notchy. After about a week of full throttle upshifts(power shifting), it was back to its old self, shifting smooth, and no more grinding in 5th. I have driven a '82 ZX, and liked the feel of the trans. I'm gonna go with the NA trans and see how it holds up to my abuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Was the WC you got rid of and the one in your Mustang the same? WC boxes should have paper cone synchros and not brass synchronizer rings. WC boxes also have roller bearings on the speed gears while non-WC boxes have bushings. Non-WC boxes also have needle bearings on the countershaft while the WC boxes have tapered roller bearings. The non-WC Mustang box had a 3.25 (Or something close by...) while the WC boxes have the same 2.95 first gear that all of the GM V8 T5s had, whether WC or not. The Nissan will use the Mustang shifter, but the GM is COMPLETELY different, almost a square mounting plate rather than the rectangle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JAMIE T Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 The guy that I got the car from(owned a tranny shop) called it a WC. Whether he was full of stuff, or just didn't know the diff., I don't know. I know I ABUSED that trans for 3 years SUPERCHARGED!!! Never missed a shift, that was with the classic Hurst, not the fuddy-duddy fancy billet unit. It had a "Motorsport Clutch". Ran it on slicks, lifting the tires a foot, and charging hard(felt like being rearend by a semi-truck). I later replaced it with a Tremec TKO. I never broke the T5, it developed a whine. Thats why it was rebuilt. What ever it was that made it grind in 5th was cuased by it setting for a long time(that is according to the trans shop guy). BTW, it is my understanding that ALL 4th gen F-bodie with the V6 has a WC T5 in them. A Ford type unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I have heard same story. I have NOT verified it yet..., but if it is true, should increase the number of T5 available for V8 swaps! (But it might require a scattershield with Ford pattern and adapter pilot bearing for GM applications, and same problems exist trying to adapt it to an L6) If you get the code from a T5, a metal tag on older diffs, or a bar coded sticker (Will end in 3 digits like 003 for a Nissan T5, or 070, 068, 084 etc. for other cars. www.gearzone.net has a T5 decoder, just type in the 3 digits and it will tell you year and whether WC or not.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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