What choice would you make

[Ean Austral]

Gday All,

Am doing up a 67 model XR ford ute, and have a 289 V8, but am trying to decide the gearbox option
1 - toploader 4sp OR
2 - T5 5sp out of a later model ford.

Am thinking as it will more be a cruising car not serious driver, the 4sp toploader, plus this is more original equipment so would maybe help with the authenticity of the car.

Would be keen to hear some for & against's

Thanks & Cheers Ean

[pop058]

Ean,

it would depend on if you are chasing "authenticity" or not. Is the ute going to look stock ?? Is it going to have flash wheels/tyres, etc.
If it is not going to be portrayed as a original ute, then (IMHO) I would go the T5.

PS some pics would be nice :)

[Ean Austral]

Ean,

it would depend on if you are chasing "authenticity" or not. Is the ute going to look stock ?? Is it going to have flash wheels/tyres, etc.
If it is not going to be portrayed as a original ute, then (IMHO) I would go the T5.

PS some pics would be nice :)

Yeh, I should pull my finger out and take some pics, the car is basically original, except I took the bench seat out and put some bucket seats in. It does have the chrome 12 slotters, but I still have the original aunger rims that used to be on it... Put it this way, its not covered in flares, flames and ****.

Thanks and cheers Ean

[mick88]

My first vehicle on the road when I got my licence was a 1967 Falcon XR ute...170 Persuit motor. The colour was that dark blue that Xr's came in, not sure of the exact colour name. It was a good old rig and served me well until I upgraded to my Portsea Blue HK Monaro.

Cheers, Mick.

[alien]

I've seen these type of vehicles done up in one of three ways.
It's a mater of what you are looking to do with and get out of the ute.


1, Restored back to factory standards in as delivered condtion.
Including corect stickers under the bonet, tyres same as the day ect..

2, Restored subtlety as they where used in the day.
Change of wheels, biger carbies, extractors, 5 speeds, suspension drop, ect..

3, Full modern "hot roding".
Modern EFI motors, late model seats, flares/flames and more.


It sounds like your down the second route so a 5 speed IMO won't be out of place.

[Vern]

Top loader and the chrome xr rims, 12 slots are for later models. I say make it as original as possible:)
Colour?

[marko66]

Hi All

Ean if cruising around town then go the toploader :):D but the t5 on the highway can make it more liveable. Personally I am envious as they look great - enjoy :):D

Regards Mark

[Kev the Fridgy]

G'day Ean, I guess it depends on what your looking for, Toploaders were great in there day and still are but for "liveability" it's hard to go past later model 5 Speeds, the T5 is a great box, what was the car originally fitted with? Sure, it's nice to keep originality bit also nice to be a "nice" car to drive, after all thats what it's all about. A mate of mine acquired a HQ 4 door GTS less motor and trans, thought about resto and then decided to fit a Gen 2 engine and box, the car is driven as a daily driver and is such a cool car to drive, classic car look and sound, modern car drivability.

[cewilson]

What can you live with?

[BigJon]

I have a WB ute that is my long term project. It is getting a fuel injected 5 litre and a 6 speed manual box. That doesn't really help answer your question though...
I am of the opinion that any modernising you do will be a good thing if you actually intend to drive it regularly. A toploader is really a truck gearbox and the shift quality reflects that.

[Ean Austral]

What can you live with?

Well either really, in my younger days the toploader was it, but from what I have read the T5 seems to be as impressive, and the plus side is they are available at just about any wreckers as they came in about 6 models of Ford.

A purpose built set-up suits as it will be all matched and NEW, but going the other way seems to be that many different options were available and am relying on hope that im being told the truth in what im buying, so chopping and changing I think $$$ will come out about the same

Cheers Ean

[justinc]

Ean,

My opinion FWIW is leave the top loader, it IS a truck like box etc BUT is authentic and just looks the part. These vehicles were 'truck like', in so many other ways....:angel:

When can we have pics?:D


JC

[Bearman]

X2 as JC says. You can't beat a toploader for strength and originality. Don't worry about parts, you won't need any. :D

[slug_burner]

Ean,

Why stop at the bucket seats?

Original,
Sympathetic, or
Top doorslammer.

Either end of the scale can be a bit drastic, difficult and costly. In the middle allows the best of all worlds.

[Chops]

G'day Ean,
I'm a lover of the XT's myself, would have another tomorrow if I could, but the pasty two sure were sweet.
The first I bought was a six cyl manual which I swaped out all the running gear and upholstery with a ZD fairlaine, but it had a warm 302 out of a XC fairlaine.

Went very well, and of course had an auto, on the tree in this car, floor shifts were hard to source. Everybody loved it, including the local plods :angel:

My point is, if your after a "cruiser" you won't go past the sweet sound of a V8 Auto doing its thing, whilst your sitting back relaxing to it. :cool:

[Tank]

Ean,

My opinion FWIW is leave the top loader, it IS a truck like box etc BUT is authentic and just looks the part. These vehicles were 'truck like', in so many other ways....:angel:

When can we have pics?:D


JC
Just wondering if BigJon can tell me what "Trucks" Ford installed the Top Loader gearbox in, Top Loaders were first installed in Full-Size Fords back in the 60's and found their way into just about every Ford performance vehicle after that, but NEVER in trucks.
Ean, go for the Top Loader mate you won't be sorry, as per PM, Justinc, can you describe in what way you think the T.L. is Truck-Like, Regards Frank.

[camel_landy]

Personally, I'd go down the T5 route as it makes it more driveable and more of a 'practical' classic.

To give it that extra level of authenticity, you could always just leave the 4sp knob on. ;)

M

[rick130]

The top loader is an awful box for shiftability, at least the couple I've used in GT Falcons.

I'd go T5 or similar for practicality and ease of use.

IMO the Warner T-98 shifts better than the top loaders I've used, and the T-98 isn't known for lightness or speed of shift either :D

[justinc]

Just wondering if BigJon can tell me what "Trucks" Ford installed the Top Loader gearbox in, Top Loaders were first installed in Full-Size Fords back in the 60's and found their way into just about every Ford performance vehicle after that, but NEVER in trucks.
Ean, go for the Top Loader mate you won't be sorry, as per PM, Justinc, can you describe in what way you think the T.L. is Truck-Like, Regards Frank.

Hi Frank,

Big Jon and I were meaning Just a comparison between the t5 and top loader shift quality, is all. They are rather like LT95 vs R380 IMO.

JC

[rick130]

The LT95 isn't that bad that you'd compare it to a top loader, is it ? :o


:D


[edit] in the interests of balance and fairness, maybe I've driven poor examples ?

[justinc]

:D

No, it's strong and a 'real' box though, like a TL:D


JC

[Sprint]

T5 with a Hurst shifter, looks the part, is fine around town and has highway legs for when you want them....

[Ean Austral]

Not the best pics as its not finished but this is the job so far

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8251/img0328dm.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/12/img0328dm.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/3337/img0330fd.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/838/img0330fd.jpg/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

The engine transplant will have to wait till I get back from holidays, was hoping to have it ready for the Australia Day ute run in Darwin, but may have to be next year,

Thanks to all that replied.

Cheers Ean

[BigJon]

Just wondering if BigJon can tell me what "Trucks" Ford installed the Top Loader gearbox in,

I am happy to stand corrected but my comments still stand. Compared to any "modern" manual transmission a toploader is a truck like, heavy and clunky shifting gearbox.

[Tank]

Well they seem to be popular amongst drag racers , road racers and the like for over 40 years, have a reputation for strength and reliability. The T5 was designed from the top loader and the only plus they have over a TL is the gear change mechanism (standard that is). I doubt anyone could change faster/better than a TL with a correctly adjusted/fitted Hurst shifter. I have a T5 sitting on the front seat of my SIII that only lasted (from rebuild) 3 months in my son's XR8 track car, it will stay on the seat because it is much too expensive to repair.
Did you know that the Ford/Shelby racing team at the 24 Hours Le Mans used Top Loader gears and shafts grafted into a ZF transaxle to overcome the problem of the ZF's blowing gears, behind a 700 H.P. engine for 24 hours, they won. A durable, cheap and much easier to modify than a T5, and smaller and lighter as well, Regards Frank.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/12/66.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/12/67.jpg

[BigJon]

[QUOTE=Tank;1825534]Well they seem to be popular amongst drag racers , road racers and the like for over 40 years, have a reputation for strength and reliability.


I certainly won't argue with that. They don't have a reputation for being pleasant to use though.

[loanrangie]

I restored an XR fairmont that was original 289 but had a toploader conversion in place of the C4, with a tall diff it cruised happily and even gave good mileage. Since utes never came with a floor shift originality is not a concern but it would be era relevant using the toploader .
Still have a pair of XR stubs with new solid rotors and rebuilt calipers in the shed.

[Ean Austral]

I restored an XR fairmont that was original 289 but had a toploader conversion in place of the C4, with a tall diff it cruised happily and even gave good mileage. Since utes never came with a floor shift originality is not a concern but it would be era relevant using the toploader .
Still have a pair of XR stubs with new solid rotors and rebuilt calipers in the shed.

I converted it to floor shift years ago, but still has the pre crossflow 6 and the 6cyl single rail, so that side should be straight forward. Biggest problem at the moment is getting a 5 bolt ( small clutch ) bellhousing to suit the 289 I have.

If you are interested in getting rid of the XR stuff send me a PM.

Cheers Ean

[101RRS]

The T5 does not have a real strong 5th gear so if towing or "flogging" the car around then 5th may give you an issue but I assume that those scenarios are not likely over extended periods so not really an issue - I would go the T5.

Holden replaced the T5 on the back of the 5 litre V8s because of the 5th gear issue and replaced them with the Getrag 5 speed and went from having the occasional 5th gear issue in the T5 to simply having issues with the Getrag.

Garry

[Tank]

BigJon, a lot of people made the mistake of running gear oil 80/90 and they were awkward to shift, I used to run Synthetic ATF and never had a problem, the synchro rings in the box pictured have been modified for even quicker shifts. A well setup (adjusted) Hurst shifter cured the problems with the factory fitted shifter and if you ran a 2.9 to 3.25 diff ratio and tyres to suit you don't need a 5th gear, with it's inherent problems, Regards Frank.

[Ean Austral]

I know Tote has a sweet looking XR ute, so hopefully when mine is finished it looks close to his. He has a 351 with a T5, but think the Toploader will be my choice, and I have no plans to sell it so can always go the T5 option later down the road.

Am looking forward to a sunday cruise so cant wait to get it finished.

Thanks to All for your input.

Cheers Ean

[Bigbjorn]

Have a look at Transmission Adapters (http://www.transmissionadapters.com). Bob Bendtsen and his crew do remarkable things. Also look at Medatronics Corporation's 5 Speed Home page! (http://www.5speeds.com) for new transmissions and parts. Contact is Paul Canagliosi (spelling?). Both places are top quality operations and prices are remarkably low compared to those charged by Oz transmission businesses. Both are accustomed to shipping to Australia.

Buy now whilst the exchange rate is Oz friendly.