View single post by Jensenman
 Posted: 05-20-2012 08:57 pm
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Jensenman

 

Joined: 04-14-2005
Location: Columbia, South Carolina USA
Posts: 156
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 FWIW: the W58 conversion would be a lot simpler without the odd shaped front housing. When I was doing mine, I couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't simpler to use a 4 or 5 speed bellhousing, remove the stock 1st motion housing entirely and make a 1st motion shaft housing which would center the transmission with the bellhousing, then use a ~1/4" thick plate to block off the oil holes etc in the transmission and keep the countershaft from moving forward in the case and redrill the transmission front case for the 4 or 5 speed mount bolt pattern. Yeah, this sounds like an awful lot but it would actually be simpler than casting a whole new bellhousing, because that is very complicated i.e. expensive. I still have my 5 speed bellhousing, I might dig up a W58 and see what I can come up with.

Also, it is easy to modify the Excel B/H to use the J-H clutch fork etc, I did it on mine. I thought about using a custom clutch disc with the stock pressure plate and release bearing but used the Celica disc, PP and release bearing so I could easily find replacement parts if needed.

A Ford T9 from a XR4Ti should also be a reasonably simple swap on the 4/5 speed B/H, as would the T5 5 speed which was used in a whole bunch of 4 cylinder Mustangs through 1993. It looks a lot like the V8 unit but has 4 cylinder friendly gear ratios and since it's not in high demand is a lot cheaper than the V8 version.

The W58 pilot bearing is an oddball; I do not recall the exact dimensions but after a LOT of hunting and head scratching I finally turned a pilot bushing from Oilite (sintered bronze bushing material). Pilot bushings were made that way for a heckuva long time before needle bearings became popular.

Last edited on 05-20-2012 09:24 pm by Jensenman