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Transmission Swap

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transmission swap

Want A 5-Speed Crown Victoria?

We all thought transplanting the drivetrain from a Lightning F-150 into a 2000 Ford Crown Vic was pretty cool, but some Panther owners might want to take on a less ambitious project that still makes our cars a lot more fun to drive. Say, grabbing the T-45 transmission out of a Mustang and installing it in a Panther, for example. Ford never saw fit to put a manual in the Panther, so it's not a straight bolt-in; that's why it's great to have the scoop from someone who's already solved all the problems involved with such a project. We've seen a very good how-to for those wishing to de-slushbox-ize their GM G-bodies, and now dRock96Marquis has put together a comprehensively documented and illustrated guide to doing the same with a 2003 Crown Victoria. [CrownVic.net]

10:00 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,540 views, 27 comments

Latest by n/a: Why go to all that trouble and use the crap-tastic T-45? A T-56 would be much more capable. Higher torque capacity and six gears of fun. more »

24 hours of lemons

Real $500 Race Cars Have Manual Transmissions... And Inner-Tube Shifter Boots!

When we started out to build a V8-powered Volvo 244 for the May 10-11 24 Hours of LeMons race, most of the team members assumed we'd be using the good ol' C4 automatic transmission. You know, automatics are way easier to swap, with no troublesome clutch linkage to futz with. But Crew Chief Hellhammer (formerly known as Dave) pointed out that he's built plenty of manual-equipped rods, and then he directed our attention to several Ford V8-compatible T-5 5-speeds (and no C4s) sitting in the weeds behind his shop (he's been working on a '57 Ford project, so his stash-o-parts is heavy on Ford running gear). With our minds filled with images of slushboxes overheating and dying at last year's Altamont race, we decided to go with three pedals instead of two... then held our collective breath when it came time to make it happen for real.
More »

4:00 PM on Tue Apr 29 2008
By Murilee Martin
2,789 views, 52 comments

Latest by n/a: I know it's not the right year or model, but damn if this isn't a great name for a car: [m.assetbar.com] more »