I have spent several hours going through the previous postings about installing a TKO and the one common denominator I found is that there is a ton of conflicting information.

My questions are as follows. 1) The TKO bolted up directly to my T5 bellhousing clocked at 18 degrees. The shifter appears to be in the correct position. The driveshaft will be the correct length w/ the C6 yoke. Can I modify or is there an adapter for my stock crossmember?

What is the need for the adapter between the bellhousing and trans?
If I have to change the bellhousing and set the trans horizontal what else would be needed. I have read everything from a shortened driveshaft, offset shifter and crossmember to cutting out the hole in the trans tunnel.

Do I have to buy the speedo adapter like Forte's sells or can I just get a mustang one from the ford dealer and attach my speedo cable to it?

I'm not worried about the neutral safety or back up lights I have access to plenty of ford wiring harnesses to cut up.

Any straight answers I can get will be greatly appreciated. I would like to get some miles on her before the Powertour in June

 

hey, i'm in the middle of my swap, i have the transmission bolted up, you need the f-late kit that fortes sells, it comes with an adapter between the bellhousing and transmission that put's the trans straight up, you'll need a special pilot bearing, and fortes has a crossmember mount kit that will allow you to use your existing crossmember, also they drilled my transmission for the torque arm mount, the stock driveshaft is supposed to fit with no modifications, i'm not going to say it's true as i havent installed my spohn one yet. the shifter handle will hit the console, you will need to fab up an adapter of some sort, i'm going to make a custom handle.

 

You need an adapter for the bellhousing, special pilot bearing. The stock length driveshaft will fit, you need the c6 yoke, i believe there was a issue with the inland empire yokes, the splines were wrong and they were used on spohn shafts for a little while, i think its been resolved.

If you are planning to buy from forte's, call them and ask and questions you have. I found them very helpful.

 

What is the reasoning behind turning the trans straight up and down (other than to make the trans mount horizontal)? The shifter fits much better in this position than it would straight up and down.

 

OK, Just talked to Steve at Forte's and he said due to the fact that I bought the: TCET-4618 (The GM road race model) The only things I need to do are install the C6 Yoke and Fabricate a crossmember that will accept the mount at an 18 degree clocking (or I may try to make an adapter to go between the trans and the mount). This has turned into a blessing. I am going to go back into the archives and dig up the pictures of the SPOHN crossmember and use that for a guide. Thanks guys, I will update you on the progress.

 

Fignewton, I have the Spohn TKO crossmember and it is NOT clocked 18 degrees. My TKO600 install used the spacer/adapter plate like 86SC and 86TA described. You could certainly fab one if you have the skills and itd probably fit better than anything your going to find in terms of ground clearance.

 

After looking at some pictures I'm begining to think the same thing. My advantage is that I own a garage and have a plasma cutter, mig welder, etc.

 

Why do you want to mount the trans on the angle? you will still have shifter clearance issues and will have to make an even more exotic shifter handle to get it in the right spot. mounting it straight up is just sooo much simpler and easier. did i miss something?

 

86TA, I'll be taking orders here shortly for my version of a custom shifter bar for the TKO's and our cars....
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BTW, for the speedo pickup if your using electronic VSS and the ford sensor...you're going to need a Dakota Digital Box. I run a SGI-5 Dakota box due to my Autometer Hall Effect VSS.

 

Yeah, you see other than the transmission mount everything is in the same location as the T-5. My shifter is in the same spot it was with the T-5. if anything it might be a hair to close to the left but it sure looks like it is in the exact same spot. Steve at Fortes said that they install a custom GM spline pilot shaft that is longer than stock to accomadate(sic) the adapter between the bellhousing and trans. Hence the need for the custom pilot bearing and the shortening of the driveshaft.

 

OK, after close inspection I will have to fab a piece to move my shifter back about an inch to an inch and a half. I will have to modify my crossmember and put the C6 yoke on my driveshaft But that looks like it.

 

Hey yall. Just wanted to add that am in the same boat also! Been waiting for weeks to order my tko600 because was unsure of the right parts to get, so it'll be a smooth swap.(Half a day swap)

So to my understanding, what is needed is=

1. speedo adapter?

2. neutral/reverse switch?

3. adapter plate?

4. shorten driveshaft y/n. Is the spohn a good replacement?

5. crossmember spacer/or the spohn crossmember?

6. also what shifter and shifter bar are oyu guys useing?
Is it possible to use a ruststang shifter like the steeda's tri-ax (steeda.com)
or the MGW shifter(mgwltd.com)

Sorry fignewton not to high jack but i'am in the same boat

Thanks

 

No problem man, The actual problem we have here is that I bought a TKO that was"designed for the GM and the kit you can buy from Fortes is actually a ford unit with an input shaft of Fortes own design. If you go with his you can buy a complete set-up, whereas mine is going to be trial and error.

 

Yeah you'll get it right soon buddy!
Thats why I have been waiting, didn't know what,who,were to get it from.
I know I want to get the road race one. Guess I'll give fortes a call tommorow,and see what he tell's me also.

So the GM and the fords different because inputshaft?

 

yeah, there are alot of misconceptions and errors, and actually, unnecessary things to get the TKO's into the cars.

If it's a GM one, you could easily swap your bellhousing for a Lakewood designed for an F-body, which has both mounting patterns, (straight up, 18 degree), with provisions for the hydraulic clutch. You use that, and no adapter is needed, and you use a regular pilot bearing. I'm no sure how close the trans is to the T5 length, so as far as driveshaft is concerned, I don't know. The rear mount may or may not need to be modified.

if you choose to use the one with the ford input shaft, you need a couple things beyond those above: a special pilot bearing that extends out to engage the input shaft, and a clutch disc with a ford spline.

 

the TKO that i have is a modified ford one, i'm using my stock clutch with the modified adapter pilot bearing, and the spacer, without the spacer adapter your shifter will be too far forward, keep in mind that even with the spacer you will be about 1 1/2" forward compared to the T5

 

After I bolted it in I measured from the pinion yoke (where the bearing cap of the u-joint sits) to the end of the tailshaft and it is the exact same distance from the bearing cap to the wear mark on the yoke of the driveshaft. So the drive shaft is the right length it just needs the C6 yoke.
The shifter will need to come back from the the trans about an inch and over to the pass. side about an inch to put it at the stock location. I will probably take all the measurements for it and have a buddy at american airlines build it since they don't do anything at work anyway. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon I will be able to start fabricating a crossmember. I am going start by trying to modify mine before I start welding up tube and plate. Wish me luck guys, I'm gonna need it.

 

Well the crossmember fab was actually pretty easy. Although it is rough I couldn't really ask for it to come out much better. I removed the middle portion of the stock mount (this is the part held in place by rubber biscuits and thru-bolts) and then bolted what was left back into place. I lucked out and found a piece of 1/4 inch plate that was L-shaped with a slot on one side. I bolted that to the stock trans mount and lowered the rear of trans till I could touch the piece of angle to the crossmember. Once I had it lined up right and centered I tack welded it to the crossmember. I removed the cross member and angle then found another piece of plate (actually a block-off plate for the mechanical fuel pump on a SBC). It slid under the loose end of the angle perfectly (I didn't even have to bend it up or down) I then welded the plate to the crossmember, the plate to the angle and the angle to the crossmember. When I bolted it back on the trans dropped right into place. WAY COOL!! Next step is to fab a piece to mount the shifter.

 

Don't forget that you'll need a conversion u-joint for the C6 yoke. If you're using a steel driveshaft, you'll need the 1330/3R conversion joint. If you're using the aluminum shaft, you'll need the 1330/1310 u-joint. You can find the part #'s for both of them in Neapco's online catalog. After looking up the part #'s, I found that you can get them at the local Auto Zone for about $20.

 

I was going to send it to the driveshaft shop and have them do it. That way it will be balanced when I get it back. But I will give them the part # anyway. Thanks Pat.

 

Yeah, a driveshaft shop should be able to get it all set up nice for you.

 

I got the drive shaft back and am waiting on the speedo drive adapter from fortes. It should be here monday. I will then install both of them and all that will be left is to fab the shifter handle. OOPS, I have to wire up the neutral safety and back-up lights.