'78-81 Guys, You Need To Know About This Tranny Mount!

Want to put a newer drivetrain in your car? As and example, my car is a '79 and I have a '90 5.0L and T-5.



This is what I had to do to mount the T-5 using a standard Ford Racing double-hump crossmember in the factory brackets using a regular straight '78 to '98 transmission mount.





I even had to slot the holes in the crossmember further to get the studs into them.




I took the car for a more extended drive and i was getting this horrendous snapping noise coming from the drivetrain. I think this is why. So what's the solution?

On the right is the more common straight mount, but on the left is a '96 to '98 4.6L Mustang GT manual transmission mount.



Here it is installed. Sweeeet, eh?!

Sweet Idea ! Hmmmmm.....

Great idea! I never heard of that mount, but one will find its' way into my '80 with a 5.0 and T-5.

-MJS

did you have to relocate the crossmember or just change the mount, i see what looks like some other mount bracket near the crossmember.

You don't have to relocate the crossmember. That other bracket you see is my previous solution to this problem. If you use the offset mount, you can use the stock brackets.

UPDATE: I found another solution to this problem for the early Fox too. if you have a little more money to spend. A company called Stiffler's make a tubular crossmember for the early Fox with the narrow brackets! I was shocked! Late Model Restoration carries these too!

this is what I like to see, using stock parts to build the old Fairmont's. some people may have taken the easy way out and used an X-factor cross member from American powertrain. I like using stock parts for so many reasons, cheap, reliable and they fit. I don't like dropping tons of cash in my car because I'm always changing things around so often, and resale value of aftermarket parts is horrible. as an example, I bought a maximum motorsport shock tower brace for $20 the other day, I don't know if it will fit my car, but at that price it's worth a try, if it don't fit I'll flip it or swap it for something else.
how are you getting on with your braided brake lines, I was wondering if they feel more positive, I was hoping you would have posted some technical feedback or likes/dislikes.
it's a shame we don't all live closer together we could share a lot of parts and info.
I believe mike is going to go 5.0 with his Zephyr, so I'm sure he will have a lot of support from the group, this could be something he is interested in.
from what he has said, he's going to do it in stages, he's going to keep the 4 lugs for a while.

Honestly, I'm not that impressed with how the braided lines changed the feel of the brake pedal. It's okay, but it still feels nothing like the pedal in my '12 Focus. I have a feeling I could do better in the master cylinder department, but after what a pain it was to put that HUGE booster in on the '94 V6 Mustang master cylinder I have now, no way I'm changing it now, haha. I guess I'll just say I swapped to braided lines for the durability. haha. I'll make another thread with the tech though.

Another thing I probably wouldn't do if I was starting over is the 5-lug swap. Slap some 10-holes or Ponies on there and call it good. Maybe swap to the '87-93 front brakes and Turbo Coupe rear discs. Maybe not even that because ANY rear disc swap done correctly widens the rear and screws up your fender clearance.

come on man; every mod to these old cars comes with an oh-shit or two. you should be proud, at least yours is running.
I just hope that when they bring the Fairmont back into production they keep the same exact body style, that way I wont have to wait for the paint to fade!

running poorly, but running, yes. haha!

I'm trying to unload some stock stuff locally, and not getting much action on that either. I usually end up giving the stuff away. I don't have a lot of room for storage, so I don't have a lot of patience for sitting on things until I get a better price. But I don't get good money for aftermarket stuff either. I sold a pretty much new Steeda strut tower brace for 1/2 price this past spring.

I did stick almost exclusively to stock stuff until recently. I put an aftermarket muffler on my Lincoln Aviator last week. When I go to sell it, I won't even mention that in the ad. I know at least for me, I'd rather have something that hasn't been f'ed with.