Pinto 2.0L bell to Mustang T5 trans adapter

[Mechtrpr]

FORD 2.3L T5 TRANSMISSION

To

PINTO 2.0L BELLHOUSING

 

  I’ve been wanting to build a Lotus 7 style car for some years now, but life hasn’t let me get started on the project as much as I would like.  I have acquired an engine and transmission for the project, and I am in the process of a rebuild/refresh on both.  It’s kind of a backwards way to start with the engine and transmission first but I happened to come across them at good prices.   Hopefully in the near future I will be able to get started on a chassis or find one for sale if anyone has or knows of one.

 

Engine.

The engine I chose is the Ford OHC 2.0L 4cyl from a 1973 Pinto.  Also called the 2.0L EAO engine from Ford of Germany.  This engine was only used in the USA from 71-73 in the Ford Pinto.  After that Ford only used it in Europe for a few decades more.   Why this engine when there a many different and more modern engines to choose from?  Its unique, kind of iconic for use in the Lotus 7 type cars, especially in the UK and it rolled off the assembly line the same year I was born.    There is lots of info on the internet about this engine, so I won’t go into too much detail.   I will however state that the 2.0L OHC is not the same and does not share parts with the later 2.3Lima and 2.0 that was used in ford rangers or mustangs.   Particularly the bellhousing bolt pattern.  The only manual transmission available for this engine was a 4 speed. 

 

Transmission.

After 73 Ford went with the 2.3 Lima engines for the go to 4cyl.  I believe because there was a big supply of 4spd transmissions, the 2.3 engines were made with a dual bolt pattern on later blocks, so the 4spd that was used in the early 2.0L will bolt up to 2.3 engines.  There are differences in flywheels and clutches.  I believe there are a few different 4spds used in the Pintos and Mustang IIs.  For a transmission I knew I wanted something a little more modern, so I came across a deal for a T5 5spd from an 84 SVO Mustang. It’s a big upgrade from the old 4spds used in Pintos and Mustang IIs plus parts and spare transmissions are everywhere.  The T5 from a Foxbody 2.3 will physically bolt up to the 2.0 block but only 4 of the 6 bellhousing bolts line up due to the different pattern. The top 2 bolt holes are much higher on a 2.3 bellhousing.    The spacing of the input shaft length and the pilot bearing diameter all are the same and fit perfectly.   

 

 

2.3l T5 :  Uses a 9” clutch disc   1-1/16 x 10t spline. 

2.0 Pinto 4spd:  Uses 8.5” clutch disc  1” x 23t spline. There is aftermarket 8.5” clutches available with the same spline size as the T5.   Throw-out bearing has a smaller I.D. than the T5 but the OD is identical and a T5 throw-out bearing fits the clutch fork of the 4spd.

 

Since the T5 was never mated to the 4spd bellhousings and I wanted to have all 6 bolt holes mate up I looked at what was possible.    There are a few different 5spd transmissions available and there are a few companies that make custom bellhousings, but everything must come from Europe and is quite costly.   I think there is a company out of Australia that makes an adapter plate, but they do not ship out of Australia or New Zealand.    After lots of thinking and searching I decided I would attempt to build my own adapter.  

 

After a few measurements I found the T5 bell to be about .440” taller than the 4spd bell.

 

With that measurement I decided to use 12x12x 1/2” thick 6061 aluminum plate purchased from Amazon.  This would mean that I’m adding .060 of distance from the engine when the transmission is mounted to the bellhousing.  A non-issue

The bellhousings are a registered fit from the bearing retainer so this first step is critical and must be held to a perfect tolerance.  For this part I had access to a metal lathe and used a boring bar to get a precision fit to the T5 bearing retainer.

 

I mounted the plate to the front of the transmission and used c-clamps to hold it in place.  I then used a transfer punch to mark the holes to bolt it to the transmission.

 

 

After the holes were marked I used a drill press to pilot drill then drill to size and tap for the M16x1.75 bolts used in the transmission.

     

     

 

 

After the plate was mounted to transmission this is the way I came up with to register and mount the 4spd bellhousing.   I used a scrap 2” 150#class pipe flange to make a stepped bushing.  Again this was made using a metal lathe and the tolerance was held tightly.   I turned the bushing to match the bore of the T5 bell and the bore of the 4spd bell.  It was also clearanced to fit over the bearing retainer of the T5. This bushing remains in place with the adapter plate.

 

 

     

I used the bushing to hold the 4spd bell in alignment with the plate.   The T5 trans as installed in a mustang has about a 5deg cant towards the driver side.  I chose to orient the 4spd bell to have zero cant in the transmission and then used a transfer punch to mark holes.  The holes were drilled and tapped to M16x1.75

 

After the holes were tapped I mounted the plate back to the transmission and outlined where to cut.   I used a jig saw with blades made specifically aluminum.  It is helpful to take your time and go slow to prevent the blades from clogging up.   Aluminum gets sticky when it gets hot. Also buy at least a 5 pack of blades.   I used my oscillating belt sander to dress up the edges after cutting.

 

Finished product with 4spd bell attached to a T5.

[JohnCh]

Great first post; welcome to the forum!

[Croc]

Brilliant first post as John noted above. 

 

I have a question - would this work with other versions of the T5, say the World Class Motorsports WCM T5? 

[Mechtrpr]

Croc,

 

It should physically bolt to any T5 however, there are differences that could affect the fitment.   You would have to take in consideration  the bearing retainer diameter, length, and what bell-housing you want to adapt to.   I fabricated this adapter on using a Ford version T5 from a Mustang that had the 2.3 Lima engine.    
Hope this helps.