LocostUSA.com

Late 70's early 80's Pinto/Bobcat 2.3. Now has the trans that came with that engine. Four speed with fourth acting like overdrive. O.K. trans but I'd like to look into replacing it with a five speed. There's very,VERY limited space for this to fit. Things are so close that when I tried to relocate the e-brake to the top of the tunnel I found I couoldn't get the driveshaft out without removing the engine FFS. Things are tight.
This is all in a H&S Sabre Seven. Any ideas?

You need a T9 from a Merkur.
Not easy to find at a decent price anymore.
I had two a few years ago, they went away with the Marcos.
Now looking for another for myself.

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Not sure if it's small enough, but Fox body Mustangs with the 2.3 have a T5, should be easy enough to bolt up but I have no idea if it's bigger than the transmission you've got now.
Kristian

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I'd second the Mustang T5 - nobody wants the 4cyl versions as they're weaker than the V8 T5s, have different gearing, and a different input shaft. They basically get thrown away any time someone pulls one out, so they can be found for cheap. Even if the setup needs a little massaging to get the trans to fit, by getting something cheap that bolts right to the engine, you're saving hundreds (or maybe thousands) of dollars over something something custom or rare.

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The T5 will not fit.
The reason I know is some Volvo racers have gone through the issue, as we don't wan to cut the tunnel, and in the PV544 it's very structural.
In them, you can do a T9, you can't do a t5.
The way you describe it, there may not be room for a T9, even.

(t5 and t9 bolt up the same to the bellhousing, fwiw. IE they have the same front pattern)

That might be the "overdrive Top Loader." It's slightly smaller than the T5, lighter, *much* stronger, and has about the same overdrive ratio, depending on which models of what. The wide gear spacing is well-suited to the 2.3 for any reasonably streetable state of tune.

I know you didn't ask anyone's opinion, but even if you for a five speed for free, it's unlikely it would give you any advantage in a car as light as a Locost.

A 5 speed (OD) would complement using a higher (numeric) ratio rear axle, lowering highway RPM.

(3.73 or higher)

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