PINTO CAR CLUB of AMERICA
Welcome to FordPinto.com, The home of the PCCA => General Help- Ask the Experts... => Topic started by: Pinto5.0 on June 20, 2012, 11:09:43 PM
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Does anyone have a pic & maybe the measurements to locate the cable notch when installing a T5 in a late Pinto with a bell-crank bellhousing?
I would like to do this while the engine's out but I really have no clue where to cut. I'm hoping I don't need to put it together just to pull it to cut & weld.
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I just posted this a few days ago, but it seems appropriate here as well. Rather than notching the crossmember I just made a bracket to elevate the cable. It bolts to the original hole (at least for a 2.3 bellcrank). You can make it out of any steel, but make it thick enough. I welded on an anti-rotate tab in case the bolt came loose.
It works great and is a lot less work than notching the crossmember.
Tom
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Wittsends solution really is smarter. In addition you can also mod the bellcrank a bit. If you adjust "read bend " it a bit and redrill the hole for the cable closer to the pivot it will increase the pedal feel and shorten the throw. I found it took to much pedal action to fully engage with the stock ratio on the bellcrank.
OhSix'
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I know it sounds crazy but I'm trying not to modify any wear parts if possible. Notching the crossmember for me is a simple mod that will never wear out or need changed.
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I would suggest you review the pictures. This is no wear part.... It is a bracket to move a cable up an inch... Your easier solution is like burning down the garage instead of getting a ladder to change the lightbulb...
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I don't know if my son will inherit my mechanical skills & this will be his 1st car. I can fab the bracket & bend & re-drill the bellcrank but what if either part breaks years from now?
When I was 16 I had no clue how to fab parts or modify things to fit. I knew how to unbolt a part & replace it with a direct bolt on part & little more. I could swap an engine at 15 but only because every part was a bolt on.
I may die of a heart attack before I teach him most of my skills so I'm trying to keep his car as easy to fix as possible. At 16 I would have had to pay someone to fab that simple bracket & bend/drill my bellcrank if I wasn't freaking out because the part I'm looking at in the junkyard isn't bent like the one that came off my car or the Mustang I'm scrounging parts from doesn't have that cable relocater bracket already on it.
You're not thinking like a 16 year old amateur mechanic will be.
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Your right I don't think like a 16 year old amateur mechanic. I do however realize that you are building a custom car. The odds on breaking the bracket or bellcrank before ripping the cable free from the firewall are slim to none. In the larger scheme of things if the concept of a bracket or drilling a hole is to much for him at the age of 16 i would recommend a trip to the local toyota dealer for a yaris complete with warranty . But hey what do i know ... by the age of 16 i was knuckle deep in the resto of my '69 mach 1
I would recommend you start a build bible for your car and document these types of changes. I have one that goes with my car. it details what got robbed to provide the parts and what items i had to research and purchase or modify to make it all fit together. It has the part #'s for the shocks i used. the source of the rear diff and drive shaft etc etc etc. so when it comes time to head to the parts store you open up the bible and order the right part for the right year of vehicle and a replacement shows up in your hand.
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Go to http://www.joe-escobar.com/pinto.html (http://www.joe-escobar.com/pinto.html) to see how.
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Hey witsend, sizes and dimensions would be nice that's a good part. And it uses the stock clutch cable, that's just awesome....
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I already started a list of what parts came from what car for his future reference. Nothing is modified to fit. The flywheel & clutch are stock Turbo Coupe, Transmission & bellhousing are stock '91 Mustang & the header is stock Ranger. Everything else is pure Pinto, either NOS or restored stock parts.
The only custom parts on the car are the 2" drop spindles & the 5 lug rotors, both of which are standard street rod parts & readily available.
I think I'll just fab 2 cable brackets so he has a spare if it's ever needed. I immersed myself in cars from the age of 13 when I bought my 1st '70 Charger with paper route money & have owned well over 100 since. I can't assume he will follow in my footsteps but I will teach him everything I can if he is willing. I just don't want him suckered for hundreds of dollars by some loser mechanic over a simple fix.
Time will tell if he can hold his own with a wrench or not......