All Small Six T5 Swap Build Diary

[John Ha]

Yeah exactly, those are the ones I meant. Do the bolts touch the transmission tunnel anywhere? Did you have to modify the tunnel at all or did it fit as-is?

No, no interference problem at all. I didn't have to change a thing on the tunnel either. The transmission shifter "portal" is just a tiny bit off to the right as it sits in the hole for it in the tunnel but not enough to have to remove any metal from the tunnel. I do have a 250 I6 though, not the 200, so am using a V8 bellhousing with no adapter. That may make a difference in where things sit.

 

[twentyover]

John-- are you using the bellhousing for the earlier 157 tooth flywheel or the later 164 tooth flywheel? My understanding is that the front bearing covers for earlier and T5 transmissions are different

 

[John Ha]

John-- are you using the bellhousing for the earlier 157 tooth flywheel or the later 164 tooth flywheel? My understanding is that the front bearing covers for earlier and T5 transmissions are different

I'm running a 157 tooth Ford Racing flywheel (M-6375D-302B) and (I think) a fox-body series bellhousing compatible with it. It's been a long time since I did the swap to the T5 and I don't recall much about the bellhousing other than it was used and it wasn't the one I used for the toploader.

I don't know anything about the bearing covers.

 

[funkaholik]

@fritschn I used the CPC adapter and crossmember. Everything installed so easily. I thought this was going to be a really involved project, but it's not at all. Best bang for your buck drivability mod there is, in my opinion. Completely transforms the driving experience.

 

[fritschn]

Hey guys,

I had actually planned to continue working on the car today and also tell you about the awesome Tremec Toolbox app, which you can download from the App Store. It lets you measure the angles of the transmission, driveshaft, and differential. Really neat tool—you can instantly see how much correction is needed. Pretty cool stuff!

But then this happened yesterday…

When I tried cranking the engine for a moment, it happened: a spark from the distributor… and suddenly the whole car was up in flames.

Lesson learned.

Everything happened so fast. Luckily, I immediately shut the engine off, and with the help of my neighbors we managed to get the fire under control within about two minutes. But wow, it still did quite a bit of damage. I’m afraid I might need two or three new hoses.

Jokes aside, it was honestly shocking how incredibly fast everything started burning. The night was very short—I spent a lot of time thinking “if only I had…” but it’s too late for that now.

In my opinion, the location of the mechanical fuel pump is just terrible. That’s probably going to be the first thing to go. I’m most likely going to replace it with an electric Holley Mighty Mite, and then we’ll see what else needs to be renewed. The distributor definitely isn’t looking too healthy anymore.

For now, I still have a 1969 distributor sitting on the shelf, and I should also have a Pertronix module somewhere. A few wires, hoses, and gaskets, maybe a carburetor rebuild, and hopefully she’ll be running again.

@bmbm40 , well… looks like we ended up with some drama after all.

Unfortunately, I have to wait for the moment. As soon as I get approval from the insurance company, I’ll start rebuilding her.

Cheers
Chris

 

[John Ha]

That's a bummer. I assume that the first thing you're going to "fix" is getting a fire extinguisher to keep in the car and have handy while you're working on it.

Most of the rest shouldn't be too much trouble, unless some of the body paint is scorched.

 

[fritschn]

Hey John, yeah, that didn’t exactly go according to plan.
Fortunately, I had a small fire extinguisher in the car and used that first. Then we grabbed a larger one from the neighbors. Without those two extinguishers, the outcome probably would have been a lot worse.
But yeah, I’m definitely buying another one.

And you’re right, it can be fixed. It’ll probably take a little longer than two hours, but I’ll be on vacation again soon anyway.

 

[powerband]

scary - and good caution to all ...
.
... parked the big K'bota mower in barn after @ hour mowing, decided to gas it up . With engine off , splashed a little gas lifting the can to tank and instantly all in flames causing me to jump away bumping and dropping gas can onto floor. Extinguisher was within reach but soon emptied it with fire somewhat contained. With a neighbors' second extinguisher was able to contain as Fire Dept' showed up. Fire guys gently bitched me out a little for fueling hot machine in the barn but credited me with at least having an extinguisher ready to use.
.
On the Falcon, one of those 'adjustable' ( Mr Gskt ?) fuel pressure regulators in front of carb ruptured - pumping fuel all over headers , distrib, plugs, until shut down .
Starting the Maverick after winter storage, fuel fitting to carb somehow loosened enough to spray a mist of fuel which from drivers seat could see coming thru hood scoop.
After storage, I roll them out of barn, keep awareness of any fuel issues and extinguisher at ready.
.
Extinguishers right near the doors, , NO gas cans ever in work areas, wall mounted fire blanket - after welding in garage, check the area for safety for length of time.
.
have fun
.
fire extinguisher within arms reach of work area

 

[bmbm40]

Halon or Carbon Dioxide extinguisher work best for that as rated for flammable liquid and electrical fires. Dry powder extinguisher makes a big mess. Sorry to hear about the fire.

 

[funkaholik]

Wow. Glad you're OK, and the car is only mildly hurt. "Tis but a scratch!"

I just moved, and this is a good reminder to mount my extinguishers on the wall before starting any projects at my new place.

Oh, and thanks for the tip on the Tremec Toolbox app. I'll check it out.

 

[DON]

@funkaholik , hope you new place has a bigger garage!

 

[awasson]

But then this happened yesterday…

I had discovered a fuel leak at the mechanical fuel pump. As soon as I noticed it, I tried to fix it. Apparently, the fitting on the carburetor side had worked itself loose. When I tried cranking the engine again for a moment, it happened: a spark from the distributor… and suddenly the whole car was up in flames.

Lesson learned.

Oh damn Chris… That’s terrible news

It looks like you got it doused before too much damage was done but I’m really sorry to see that. I hope the damage to the distributor was limited to the cap, rotor and wires. Everything else looks cosmetic and salvageable.

These mechanical fuel pumps certainly aren’t making a very good case for their continued use. Moving forwards, I’d suggest getting a small block ford fuel pump block-off plate and switching over to an electric fuel pump once you’ve cleaned up the havoc the fire created. I’m sure you’ll be back on the road fairly soon.

 

[fritschn]

@powerband and bmbm40, I agree with both of you. I did have a small fire extinguisher in the car, but looking back, it was more for peace of mind than anything else—it was empty almost immediately. Next time, there will definitely be a larger one in the garage. And yes, pushing the car out of the garage is definitely a good idea.

Fortunately, we were able to get hold of some larger fire extinguishers quickly, which allowed us to bring the fire under control fast. Unfortunately, not quite fast enough, as it still caused a fair amount of damage. The hoses are actually the least of it—the distributor, alternator, numerous wires, and even the paint on the hood has started to blister, among other things.

But I’ll be off work soon, and then the rebuild can begin. Whether I’ll have it finished by its 60th birthday, I honestly don’t know yet, but I don’t want to leave it sitting like this for long. It smells absolutely awful—the melted rubber and plastic parts are just disgusting.

@Andrew, yes, you’re right—the mechanical fuel pump is definitely going. Holley makes the Mighty Mite in several versions, and the smaller one would be perfect: 25 gallons per hour at 3 PSI. Combined with an inertia/crash switch for added safety, it might even be possible to eliminate the fuel pressure regulator. That would make the engine bay look cleaner and remove one more component that could potentially fail.

Thank you all for your support and kind words. I can tell you, the shock is still sitting deep. I never want to experience something like that again.

Cheers
Chris

 

[DON]

It is a wake-up for all of us !!
And the safety measures we all need to take.

 

[funkaholik]

@funkaholik , hope you new place has a bigger garage!

I sure wish that was the case! This place has a smaller garage, but it's saving me about $2500 a month, and sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Luckily, my stepdad has a huge garage loaded with tools and a '66 Vette about 15 minutes from here, and I can store as many cars, tools, and parts there as I need to. I'll check the state of his fire extinguishers, too...

 

[gb500]

A tachometric fuel pump relay is a thing on vw beetles ,when using an electric fuel pump.
Senses engine revs to activate