Pinto Car Club of America

I am thinking of buying a 79 cruiser wagon. I want to put a 289v8 in it. I also want to put a T5 manual five speed tranny in it. Has anyone tried to do this conversion? I know the tranny will bolt to a 289 bell housing and it will work with the clutch fork assy from a 65-68 pedal assy. I dont know anything about the pedal assy of the pinto. Is it a fork or cable assy? If cable I think it could work if there was physically enough space in the tunnel for the transmission. Does anyone know if this transmission will fit? The dimensions of the T% are equal to the toploader. Thanks.


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The Pinto uses a clutch cable instead of mechanical linkage.  The T5 should fit as my 73 4cyl has one from a 85 SVO.  The shifter hole, in the tranny tunnel, had to be trimmed slightly forward in order to shift freely.  I am not sure if that is necessary with a V8 conversion.  

Use a bell housing from a 5.0.  It uses the cable setup and a clutch fork that puls from the front.  The 289 bell housing clutch fork pushes from the front requireing a mechanical pedal linkage.  Also, use a 1966 or later 289 engine w/ 6 bolt bell housing attachment, the earlier ones had 5 bolts.

Thanks for the great info. I was also wondering where I could learn about the front spring rate. If I change the motor, I would have to change the springs, but I don't know what to use in place of the originals. Anyone know? Thanks.

you want a 302 mustang II front spring (74 to 78) and can be bought at most parts places