Decided to go 5 speed (with pics)
Reply #26 –
Couldn't have said it better myself...the lower ratio gearsets(2.95) don't load the case quite as much as the standard 3.35 first gear, however, it's still not the strongest case...I have a t5 behind my 351w crown vic with the 2.95 first gear and I'm hoping it lives long enough for me to save cash for a tremec....with a stock-ish t5, you really need to have a "fuse" in the driveline....the tires or the clutch or both...things that will slip and give way before the trans itself. They can handle a lot of power, traction and power-shifting abuse when seriously built, but at that point it's about the cost(sometimes more) of a stronger more reliable TKO.
Regardless, love the car and the black wheels and keep having fun with it. For what it's worth(yeah I spelled it out!), I would do 500 5-speed swaps on fox-bodied cars before doing 1 more on a crown vic/grand marquis...you don't realize how nice bolt-in parts are until you have to convert a car that was never even thought of being a manual.
Good luck,
Don