The input shaft of a t5 is different than the factory 4 speed. in length, spline and pilot bearing.. Also there were several varients of the t5 all with different input shaft lengths, splines pilot bearings to fit different applications.. also several bell housings. there is one t5 that supposedly was installed in a v6 ford that has an input shaft with the proper spline but you need to add a 1" spacer between the engine and bell housing.. but you need to have a pilot bearing custom made and find a clutch that matches both the spline and flywheel.
The bolt locations for the 2.3 bell housing will not fit the 2.0 engine.
You may also need to cut a hole in the tunnel to relocate the shifter even with the t9
The rear trans.mount is the easiest part...
The reason folks use the t9 is that it was built to fit the 2.0 engine bolt pattern, spline, etc.
The t5 was built to mate to the 2.3 and later engines
.as i mentioned above.. easiest and cheepest solution.. find a 6 3/4 rear end with 3.40 gears..
Find a decent factory FoG Type E 4 speed, have it rebuilt. Add a few engine mods for more torque, add some.14" tires and let the stock 2.0 sing down the road at 3000 rpms at 70 mph like it was designed to..
With a 5 speed you will need to get up about 80 mph to get to the optimum enngine speed..
5 speeds for great for racing cars with really low rear ratios.. 3.70- 4.11 that need max acceleration a t a wide range of speeds.. a 5 speed provides more ratios but for street driving first gear would be really low.
For my car with 3.40 rear end and 14" tires my 1st gear is really short 23 mph and takes less than a few seconds to top out even if i rev it to 6000 rpm. On wet roads or gravel difficult to avour wheel spin.
2nd tops at about 50 at 5000 rpm. I cruise at 1800 rpm at 40 mph in 4th around town.
Generally dont use 3rd much except at 30 mph and accellerating onto fwy, just 1,2 4 shifrs
. First gear with a 4.11 rear end and 5 speed would prolly top out at 18 at 4500 rpm. In a race car that turns 7000 plus rpm this would be useful not in a street car.
And 4th the gear with stock carb would top at maybe 55 at 4500. This is where you NEED 5th gear..
You probably wont notice any benefit from the effort necessary to find and install a t9 except having that sexy shift knob with a 5 speed pattern on it and probably wont use 5 gear except for high speed crusing on flat or downhill..and prolly no increase in fuel economy.
Did you check the link to taylor racing.. they are experts on both Type 9 FoG and merkur t9
And will sell.you one for only $2000 us
Ps.. with the above mods to my car i have driven it on the last 3 pinto.stampede s each 3000 miles over freeway and mountain back roads.. kept up with bothe the 2.3, v6 and v8 cars.. just hummed down the road at 3000 rpm all day long.
Also.. even with 3.40 rear end and 14" tires my 4 speed is really short 23 mph.even if i rev it to 6000 rpm. First gear with a 4.11 rear end and 5 speed would prolly top out at 18. And 4 the gear aithe stock carb would top at maybe 55 at 4500