Shifter Handle 427 T5

Southern Automotive

33 Aluminum Adapter for Tremec Transmission to Ford FE Bellhousing
$

210.00

The spacer is going to cost you more than $125. I used it on my car because I'm tall and had the seats moved back as far as possible. Just google McLeod 8607 for pics and prices.

And here are some pics of my shifter (the ERA site lists the cost at a little over two hundred bucks). That orange stuff is Torque Seal.

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...fterpic001.jpg

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...fterpic002.jpg

This thread by me from last year has a pic or two, mostly of that Walnut Burl knob that I bought for it: http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/all-...woodcraft.html

For the FIA, where can I go to buy the external TOB actuator and mounting plate.

Phil, the safest thing to do would be to talk with the guys who are supplying or have supplied your flywheel and clutch assembly. Then there's no buck-passing if it doesn't all fit together as you expect it to.

Can I ask....what flywheel and what clutch will you be using? I'm looking myself ;) and at the moment I'm flying (almost) blind.

Cheers,
Glen

These cars cry out for an aluminum flywheel. I have an overpriced Centerforce aluminum flywheel on my FE. But there are equivalents out there for half the price.

Brooklyn and Patrick,
I talked to Peter yesterday, 250.00 for the shifter handle. I cant believe the one that you posted from finish line is only 99.00. Could there be be a HUGE difference in this one, and the one that ERA sells for 250.00?

Yes, that spacer is a lot more! I cant see a disadvantage to the shorter input for me, I have just the opposite problem than you Patrick.
FYI: Liberty will give you on request all the original parts they take off for all of their modifications. It would be good to have the original input lying on the shelf in case I were to sell it to somebody who did not need the shorter shaft
Thanks

My car also has an aluminum flywheel (don't know what kind).
I would agree with Patrick about this. The car is so light, and with an FE with lots of Torque, you don't need the inertia of the heavier steel flywheel. Car revs up very quickly like a freewheeling built small-block!
So my only complaint would be is that it does not hold the RPMs in between shifts because it is so light and there is no inertia. My first Cobra had a steel flywheel and my grandmother could have driven that car!!! Mine is a little more of a challenge to stay into the gas a bit more to get a clean smooth shift. That situation gets worse the hairier your cam is because it is very easy to fall out of the power range!

Now I don't know for sure, but I'm willing to bet that the only difference is that the ERA shifter really does feel like the original shifter when you use your two fingers to pull up on the reverse lock-out. It comes up just like the originals, looks just like the originals, wiggles a little bit just like the originals, and you'd almost swear that you were lifting up the shift gate. That's probably the only difference. After all, it's just a dog-legged piece of steel that's threaded on one end and has a two hole boss welded on the other. Ford probably made them for less than two bucks each.:cool:

My present shifter on the Toploader looks real and operates as you say(pulls up and is spring loaded)

My engine is an SBF (car is an FIA replica) not an FE. I'm still not convinced that lighter is better in a flywheel. Of my two other cars, one has what feels like a heavier flywheel, and the other has what feels like a light flywheel. The heavier setup is the easier of the two to drive in a 'sporting' manner. So if you blip the throttle and the revs rise and fall more quickly with a light flywheel, where does that get you on the road? Track work with the revs always up near the top end would be different and would probably suit a light flywheel if the rest of your rotating mass is light as well ;)

Back to you Phil

Cheers,
Glen

Phil - here's a Two Guys Garage video on how a Tilton HTOB fits in. Seems there is plenty of choice in HTOB manufacturers. Which one is best....don't know yet.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9agk3g0jWvs[/ame]

Cheers,
Glen

"Light" is sort of a relative term. There are FE flywheels that weigh down in the single digits. It's pretty certain they will not work for you. I'm not sure what a Ford iron flywheel weighed but it was probably somewhere between 30 and 40 lbs. Between there is a lot of territory. I put a 22 lb flywheel on my FE and it revs very quick but drives easy in traffic. When I first put it on the road and before I was accustomed to the shift linkage yet, I made several 3rd gear starts by mistake and it just took off with little more effort than 1st gear. I suspect what will work best for you is something in the middle of the two extremes.

Also - I'm not familiar with SB Fords, but my slave cylinder mounts to the engine block on my FE. Is there not a similar option for the SB Ford? As often as hydraulic slave cylinders seem to fail - the thought of having to pull a transmission to replace a hydraulic TO bearing would not sit well with me.

I was up at ERA yesterday, the shifter handle they sell for the Tremec does not have the lockout that moves!!!

The flywheels that are described as "lightweight" for SBFs are around 11kg or 24 pounds, and that's what I will be using. These are very light cars with impressive power-to-weight ratios (no matter what engine you're using), so no need for heavier flywheel than that, and I think a lighter one - for my purpose - will not suit my driving.

As far as clutch slaves go, my tunnel shape does not allow a clutch fork (the bonus is better footwell space ;) ), so I have to use an internal hydraulic throw out bearing. Now that I know a bit more about them and how they are fitted, I'm quite happy about using one. Reliability when using a known brand should not be a problem. I don't know for sure, but probably all or most 'moderns' with a manual transmission would be using HTOBs.

Cheers,
Glen

There are a couple on eBay, but both have non functional lockout. The 'horizontal bolt' version is $109 and the 'bolt down' version is $165

I have the FE 390 and I recently installed the TKO600 in place of my toploader. I also switched from the HTOB to an external slave. A couple comments of observation. I made no mods to the TKO except a shorter shaft. The short shaft for the Ford was back ordered for a long time...months. So I ended up with the Chevy short shaft and had a turned down pilot bearing to accept it. I kept my Lakewood bellhousing. The tranny fit right in place and even kept the same shifter location. The shift action between gears is much more precise, it kinda snaps into the gates where as the toploader you needed some patience and had to find the gears when downshifting- up shifting the tl was quick and smooth and seemed to have more character overall. No issues with TKO 2nd-3rd.

The difficulty we ran into was converting to the external slave as there is very limited space between the bell and frame. The fork had to be shortened and we had to find the right amount of travel ratios with the new slave and then the master so the pedal wasn't so stiff. Its all good now but it took a few tries before it all came together.

I was using the McLeod HTOB. I had one completely fail, the new one started to loose it's seal so I had it rebuilt with a new seal kit. It was working fine when I removed it. It was probably 3 years old in total.

I have a thermal sleeve on all the hydraulic lines and a heat shield between the headers and the master clutch and brake cylinders.

5th gear is a freeway cruiser...1-4 are the fun gears.

Fortes was my source for parts. It went relatively well but there was some frustration in communication involved. I would recommend but know what you need...I didn't know and ended up with things I could not use and it made no $$ sense to ship back.

John

Well I have to say that playing with the little lockout T is one of my favorite things to do while sitting at stop lights. It's a shame they quit making them functional. The ERA Manual has the instructions for making one. I was going to rip them and post them but they are long, and ridiculously complicated. I can see why they quit doing it.

For example (and this is just for starters):

Ehh - I would not call 24 lbs light by any stretch, but it's not heavy either. Probably a good compromise based on your preferences. Too bad not enough room for an external slave.

This would be called a light flywheel - 9 lbs.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fiz-186471

9 pound? :eek: That sounds like hardly anything more than a flex plate with a small amount added for a friction surface!

Cheers,
Glen