Pinto Car Club of America

I just tried bolting the T5 and stock crossmember up into the car and it's a major no-go.  It's an 87 TC T5 with a Fox stang tranny mount bolted to the modified stock Pinto crossmember.  I just had to drill 2 holes into it to get the Mustang mount to bolt up. 

Anyway, if I put the leading edge of the bellhousing just a bit past the firewall (ballpark guess at where the engine will be), the crossmember is about 8" behind where it originally bolted up. 

So do I try to move the crossmember mounting point?  Or should I try to come up with some way to make the factory location work?  Anyone's past experiences would be great to hear right about now...  Thanks,

-Mike

Hey Mike,
Here is a photo of the cross member you need.
From Pintony

That looks like what I have.  Did you put this into a car that was originally an auto?  I'm beginning to wonder if the mounting spot was different between manusals and autos.

But that part is what I have, and the bellhousing is WAY too far forward.  I'll have to get a camera and gets pics of this so you see what I mean. 

Thanks a lot Tony, that's a find right there! 

Hey Mike,
Download my crossmember photo into your P.C. and then use the zoom to make it real big.
My cross member is 2 units stacked together and then I cut the middle out.
Also note where I ground the 2 slots for the T-5 mount.
First you will need a 2nd cross member.
The mounting position "On the tunnel" is the same weither you have automatic or the 4 speed .
From Pintony

I see what you did, and it's a nice piece of work! 

But that looks like it was made to alleviate some kind of height issue.  THAT part won't fix the problem I'm having.  Exactly what tranny are you using, and where does the mount bolt to the tranny?  Is it to the two large holes under where the shifter goes in? 

LONG day at work...don't have time to crawl under there and check stuff out... 

THanks Tony, I really do appreciate all this.

Hey Mike,
I'll mock the tranny to the mount and take a photo tomorrow.
Maybe that will help? ;)
From pintony

That would be great if it's not too much trouble.  I put the engine in tonight, figuring that there would only be so much wiggle room for it to move.  I was pretty much right, and I think I got it where it should be.  I DID use one of the pre-existing 2.0 mount bolts on the passenger side, and just went from there.  I had to drill a new hole on the driver's side, and as it sits there is about an inch and a half or 2 inches between the back of the head and the firewall.  It's a little tough to tell, since the tranny isn't in yet and the back of the engine is a bit lower than usual.  A quick test fit of the hood showed that it DOES hit at one fitting on the intake manifold, but I grinded it down a little and I think it'll be OK.  Other than that, it'll sit flat.  I'll be modding the intake anyway, so I'm not worried at all.  Also, when I went under the car to see how much the pan cleared the rack, I only saw about a half inch!  I MIGHT be able to move the engine back another half inch, but I don't know if I want to push it...

Thanks again!

Hey Mike,
Here are the photos I promised.
From Pintony

Photo II
From Pintony

Yeah, that's pretty much what mine looks like, although I can see that you made some mods. 

Here's the latest...

I got the tranny in, and it was a LOT closer than I thought it would be.  As in, "I'm an idiot, if I redrill this and move that a bit, it'll work", close. 

How it looked to be so far off, I'll never know.  BUT, I didn't adapt the crossmember the way you did.  My tranny is tucked up there pretty high.  I used the original hole to mount the crossmember to the body.   I'm going to be pulling the engine back out to do some cleaning and final assembly stuff, and when I do, I'll poke around there and see just how close it is.  I did have to trim the shifter hole a little, but it's nothing to worry about. 

You may begin laughing and saying, "Toldya so!" now...


Thanks and I'll be posting up about other stuff I'm sure!

-Mike

EDIT:  Dare I say it, but now I'm having fitment issues with the driveshaft.  I have one from a Fox body Mustang, but I think it was a V8 car.  Does that matter?  Should it be from a 4 cylinder Fox Mustang?