Freeway driving

[KR Convertible]

Trans in 5th.

[KR Convertible]

Shifter from underneath.

[2112]

67 GT500

Thinking about options to stop running 4K RPMs on the freeway on a regular basis......."

In your shoes, this would be my preferred order of options:

1)  do nothing.  your car is not being damaged, or subject to accelerated wear by running it @ 4,000 rpm. If the trip requires it, your BB can run all day long at 4,000 rpm and then do it again day after day. It's not abuse, it's exercise. I like highway cruising at 3,500 to 4,200 rpm and have spent many full days traveling running those numbers. No need to downshift when passing, and the engine is making beautiful music in the midrange.

2)  change the rear end gearing to 3.50.  just buy a complete 3.50 pumpkin and in 2 hours  you will be done with the swap. That will drop the rpm down to 3,500 more or less, which may be less objectionable. Your low rpm torque will not dramatically be changed.

3)  a 5 or 6 speed swap is giving up too much of the 1960's character of the car for my liking. You might as well go al the way and just  put all  Shelby Mustang  sheet metal on top of modern underpinnings and be done with it.   However, many people love it.  IMO, driving modern cars has ruined their perspective.

In other words, they have gotten soft.

Z

A slightly taller tire maybe a fast and inexpensive alternative. Say, going to a 235/60-15" if you aren't already

A 225/70-15" is even taller, effectively dropping your rear end ratio even further

[KR Convertible]

Factory bell and z-bar.

[2112]

KR Convertible, is that a T-5 or a TKO?

Car model year?

What is the Un-used wire dongle for?

[KR Convertible]

T-5 in a 65 convertible 289.  The wire is for an ECM I think.  Probably for a neutral safety switch.  There is a separate back-up light switch further back on the trans, you can see the wires running under the neutral safety switch wire.

[Brandon]

If you're buying a new trans, go for the "Z" spec on the T5.  You could also go with a low profile TKO.  That'll handle the torque.  It all depends on how you want to drive and how much you want to spend.

I want to drive it on a regular basis (let's call it a daily driver), but also want to take it on the track here and there.  I'm concerned about the robustness of a T5/Tremec.  Let's assume money is no object.  Do I want an older one?

[Brandon]

Hone-O-Drive annouced they were gearing up to go back into production.

http://hone-o-drive.com/

Unfortunately, It appears it did not happen. Too bad, I would love to have one. They maintain their website tho???

Be gentle on your T-5. They are known to be fragile compared to a toploader.

I didn't know they were talking about ramping these back up.  I do see them on eBay from time to time.  This would certainly seem more period authentic than a GV given that it's got a manual/mechanical switch versus an electric one.  But you'd presumably need to cut a spot for it somewhere.

Do you think the hono-drives or GV's will hold up to the torque if I take it on the track occasionally?

[427heaven]

If you're buying a new trans, go for the "Z" spec on the T5.  You could also go with a low profile TKO.  That'll handle the torque.  It all depends on how you want to drive and how much you want to spend.

I want to drive it on a regular basis (let's call it a daily driver), but also want to take it on the track here and there.  I'm concerned about the robustness of a T5/Tremec.  Let's assume money is no object.  Do I want an older one?

You want the GT   COBRA   HO-5,0  version typically in late 80s to md 90s production maybe even a little newer. V8 specific not its little brother version.

[KR Convertible]

I'm not familiar with the Cobra T5.  Do you know the Tremec model number?  The most robust one they make now is the Z spec.  It's rated at 300 ft-lbs.

If you want to track the car, I would look at the low profile TKO 500 or TKO 600 rated at 500 and 600 ft-lbs respectively.  I have never put a TKO in an old Mustang myself, but the article I posted earlier says it can be done without floor mods.

A new T5 Z spec is around $1800 and the TKO is around $2600.

[Bob Gaines]

Hone-O-Drive annouced they were gearing up to go back into production.

http://hone-o-drive.com/

Unfortunately, It appears it did not happen. Too bad, I would love to have one. They maintain their website tho???

Be gentle on your T-5. They are known to be fragile compared to a toploader.

I didn't know they were talking about ramping these back up.  I do see them on eBay from time to time.  This would certainly seem more period authentic than a GV given that it's got a manual/mechanical switch versus an electric one.  But you'd presumably need to cut a spot for it somewhere.

Do you think the hono-drives or GV's will hold up to the torque if I take it on the track occasionally?

I never heard good things about the hone holding up well under high torque ,drag racing road racing conditions but then they were rare even back in the day so it is hard to gauge info input as typical or reliable.

[2112]

Gear Vendor rates their unit to 1000lbs right?

I think Randy G. has had some racing experience with the Hone. Baldwin Motors used them more than anyone it seems. When I see them on Ebay, they are the Camaro unit which is up by (or on) the transmission as opposed to the Ford unit being on the 3rd member.

I love the mechanical lever aspect as well.  I have only seen one. It was at the Portland Oregon swap meet in 1987. It was on a red '66 GT350 and the owner loved it. He autocrossed and road-raced the car. It had the lever next to the driver's seat.

I never asked if it was fragile tho.

[J_Speegle]

Do you think the hono-drives or GV's will hold up to the torque if I take it on the track occasionally?

Not sure that it's the torque or the shock from that sort of usage.  The one I have came out of a 1 ton or larger Ford truck.

Ran a F350 7.3 diesel for 250K with a Gear Vendor. Never a problem in those towing or pulling conditions

Can't say I've ever heard or seen one with the internals destroyed but as mentioned not allot of them around to have allot of experiences or stories about this use.

[Don Johnston]

The BW T-5 changed over the years.  I am using a 1994 World Class T-5 from a Cobra Mustang (previous owner switched to auto after only 100 miles because of heavy traffic in his area!), which is stronger than previous generations.

Info on the difference in T-5 over the years: http://www.moderndriveline.com/Technical_Bits/t5_history.htm

Also, the trans fluid is different for different series of T-5.

[Dan353]

I installed a Gear Vendors on my Toploader in my 69 GT350 I really like it. It works great
Dan