Help! I pulled the 289 and C4 out of my 1967 convertible and installed a 347 and Tremec TKX transmission. When I installed the transmission the shifter was jammed against the passenger side of the hole in the tunnel. I slotted the motor mounts and trans mounts and have it closer to center and not be jammed anymore. I was going to work on centering it further when I started doing some measurements and realized that the original auto trans shifter hole is 2-3" offset to the driver's side of the car. Further measurements and I found that the whole engine/transmission assembly is rotated slightly in the horizontal plane as a result of trying to move the shifter over. My options would be #1 to leave it as is since it's not jammed against the opening anymore (my worry is the the shifter boot will look strange), #2 rotate the engine/trans assembly further until the shifter is fully centered in the shifter opening ( it's about an inch off right now) or #3 square up the engine/trans in the car and cut a new shifter opening in the trans tunnel (my worry there is that will move the shifter too far away to comfortably shift and cause issues if I decide to install a factory console when I do the interior next summer). My initial thought is to leave it as is though I do worry a little about driveline harmonics. I don't know enough to make an evaluation on that possibility. Any thoughts/help would be appreciated! Thx!
FVRacer6
Shifter Placement
You need to make sure the engine and transmission are in the car straight you can move it sideways but you have to move both ends the same amount.
When I did mine i set up a rotating beam laser down the center line of the body and centered the balancer and tail shaft with the laser.
You could rotate the transmission seperate from the motor at the bellhousing.
the motor should not be rotated it would not look right one valve cover higher than the other.
ken
When I did mine i set up a rotating beam laser down the center line of the body and centered the balancer and tail shaft with the laser.
You could rotate the transmission seperate from the motor at the bellhousing.
the motor should not be rotated it would not look right one valve cover higher than the other.
ken
Thanks, but I wasn't clear. The motor is level, but it's crooked in the horizontal plane. I think I need to make sure that it's square in the car in relation to the rear end and figure out how to deal with the shifter placement.
There's as far as I know no specific auto hole, they are all the same no matter what transmission was mounted from the factory. I would expect the TKX shifter to be placed in the same position as the shifter on the T5. The T5 fits in to the stock hole on a vintage Mustang. The T5s was mounted slightly tilted and not vertical from the factory.
The shifter will be closer to the right side of the shifter opening for both the TKO and TKX transmissions. I've had both transmissions in my car and that was the case for both of them. As you've found out, the shifter open is slightly to the left side of the car. This is because the shifter on factory 3 and 4 speed manual transmissions were bolted to the left side of the transmission. The TKO and TKX transmissions have the shifter in the center of the transmission.
I would call SST and see what they say.
can you slot the transmission to bell housing holes to rotate the transmission?
ken
can you slot the transmission to bell housing holes to rotate the transmission?
ken
The C4 and the 2.77 and 3.03 and the 4 speeds, both Top loader and BW and even the C6 were all shifted on the left side, therefore it would make sense to have the shifter hole offset.
Additionally, the driver arm is only so long, another reason to bias the hole to the left.
I have seen many trans tunnel holes opened up front and back and left and right to accommodate aftermarket shifter operations. No problem as the boot, etc. can be moved to fit also.
I do not know if the service is still offered, but ACC carpets had a no shifter hole option on the carpet, so you could cut it in to a different position.
Additionally, the driver arm is only so long, another reason to bias the hole to the left.
I have seen many trans tunnel holes opened up front and back and left and right to accommodate aftermarket shifter operations. No problem as the boot, etc. can be moved to fit also.
I do not know if the service is still offered, but ACC carpets had a no shifter hole option on the carpet, so you could cut it in to a different position.
I made a slight crescent shaped opening on the right side of my shifter open. The amount I removed is so minor, the shift boot easily covers the crescent.
You should focus on lining up the driveline correctly and then adapt the shifter opening in the floor and lastly the shifter itself. You can always weld back in around the shifter opening if you have too much space after the install.
I plan to run the remote shifter that Mustangs Unlimited sold - don’t know if they still list it
![Image]()
or not but it’s pretty nifty. I plan to paint it a matte black and put some kind of boot on the transmission end so it doesn’t look quite as “boi racer.” I’m running a TK3550 behind my 331 in a ‘69 for reference…
I plan to run the remote shifter that Mustangs Unlimited sold - don’t know if they still list it
or not but it’s pretty nifty. I plan to paint it a matte black and put some kind of boot on the transmission end so it doesn’t look quite as “boi racer.” I’m running a TK3550 behind my 331 in a ‘69 for reference…
You might want to consider this adapter plate from MDL. It rotates the trans CCW a few degrees
It says it's for 'front shift' trans and I'm not sure it means for S10 type shifters but I don't see why it shouldn't work.
It says it's for 'front shift' trans and I'm not sure it means for S10 type shifters but I don't see why it shouldn't work.
Why would you adjust the angle of the transmission instead of bolting trans to bellhousing to motor and then squaring the centerline of the motor and transmission and use the flexibility of the motor and transmission mounts to make the necessary adjustments? If you wanted or needed more, use an adjustable motor mount.
You have to consider left and right shift, tilt left and right (pan….?), tilt front and rear (driveline angle) and tilt left and right (point transmission at differential)…only when you’ve got all that dialed in should you worry about where the shifter falls.
Or am I missing something?
You have to consider left and right shift, tilt left and right (pan….?), tilt front and rear (driveline angle) and tilt left and right (point transmission at differential)…only when you’ve got all that dialed in should you worry about where the shifter falls.
Or am I missing something?
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