Borg Warner wc parts in zx trans?

[vega]

As we all know the turbo 280zx had a 5 speed borg warner transmission in it. As years went by ford in particular did a lot of upgrades to the transmission. What I would like to know is of the following;

 

1. Can one use the zx bell housing (or the 280z bell housing) to swap over to the newer non jap t5?

 

2. If the bell housings do not swap over do the newer wc (world class) parts - which are stronger, able to work with the older case to make an even stronger bwt5 for the l28 series?

 

(I have a free wc t5 sitting in my garage that I got from a friend who wanted an auto trans)

[ezzzzzzz]

I'm in the process of building a Ford WC T5 for my L28 project. You need a NWC T5 from a 280ZX to make this easy. What I have determined so far is the NWC T5 bearing retainer will fit the WC T5 casing. Both bearing retainers use the same bearing cup. The WC T5 10 spline input shaft is about .006 larger in diameter than the ID of the Nissan bearing retainer. You'll have to open that up with a die grinder and a coarse sandpaper porting cylinder or similar so the input shaft will pass through. The stock Nissan NWC T5 bellhousing will bolt right up. The top cover and linkage of the NWC T5 will be swapped over to the WC T5 case. The NWC T5 tailhousing has to be moved over too. There is a small plastic funnel stuck in the back of the countershaft on both transmissions. These funnels need to be be swapped. Another issue is the speedo drive gear location. The WC T5 has this gear located closer to the case. You'll need to relocate that gear further outboard to align with the speedo gear output of the Nissan tailhousing. That area of the mainshaft is not raised up and machined for the gear. You can epoxy a piece of .0026" shim stock in the proper location holding it tightly with hose clamps. A hole is drilled for the retaining clip of the gear. I plan to clean the area well and apply some 'Lab Metal' around the circumference. I'll get that cut down on a lathe to the required OD (since my lathe is broken) and drill the hole for the clip. I'm using a 240mm flywheel and the 280Z 2+2 pressure plate. The clutch rag will be a 10 spline 9.5" Ford piece. It is actually very close to 240mm (ideal). This will allow me to use the stock clutch fork and tall throw out bearing. My WC T5 has the Mustang 3.37 1st gear. I'm am considering swapping it over to the close ratio 2.95 gear set since I'm using a 3.90:1 R&P and a stroker SC'd L28. Only that cost is putting me off.

Edited December 2, 2010 by ezzzzzzz