My son have a 71 Maverick that basically needs a new motor and trany. We are going to have a friend rebuild the Ford 302 (from an 83 Mustang) that was probably put into the car in the early 90s, but it appears the automatic 3 speed is also toast. Both will be removed at the same time and my son would like to convert it over to a manual transmission. I read this article here http://www.carcraft.com/techarticles/ccrp_1206_600_dollar_five_speed_swap/ and it really seems like a lot of work, probably beyond our capabilities. What is he easiest way to make the conversion, and how much should I budget? Thanks
parts alone ( pedals to rear gear) could put it over the top...not to mention the labor for install... ......
Your '83 block should have provision for the clutch cable. The 71 has a slightly larger trans tunnel than my 70 so you may not need to open up the top of the tunnel like I did. Except for some fabrication on clutch pedal and the trans crossmember everything else pretty much bolts in. If you're keeping the 8" rear the original driveshaft might work, too.
You can add an 1" spacer between the t5's bellhousing and fork fulcrum to keep it mechanical linkage. Stay away from cable or hydraulic.
As for budget, it just depends on the deals you find... I started with a $300 t5 and started collecting parts, I'm up to $1029 so far....
Hell, what's wrong with cable? I've got about 40,000 miles on my mustang steve cable conversion. Not had a single problem with it.
To answer his question "easiest way to make the conversion". It is easier to drill two holes for a $30 spacer and use factory parts than reinventing the wheel to make other parts fit that didn't come on the car. It took me one day to swap over from a C4 to a t5 and another 2 hours the next day to have a custom mount made to clear my custom exhaust. The draw back on a hydraulic clutch is the lazy return effects speed shifting. This is why you don't see them on a road race or pro stock car. The cable system can't pull a high performance 3 finger pressure plate, they stretch and break with a diaphragm and they hate the heat from the header. The cable system requires a quadrant that doesn't fit an Maverick without hammering a dent on the under side of the cowl.
Does the Mustang Steve cable kit use a quadrant? To use a z-bar with that block he'll also need to buy or fab an adaptor bracket, which is what I did. I also prefer a mechanical linkage but the OP's question was about ease of assembly and budget. I'm running '66 Mustang z-bar and bottom rod with a custom spherical rod top. My car was a manual trans from the get-go so it was easy for me. The OP will have to source frame-side bracket and bushings to go mechanical. And if he uses an old bellhousing/release fork, as I did, he'll need an adaptor plate to mount the tranny to the bell. So many ways to skin this cat.
No reason to disagree with your logic. So it comes down to type of application. I won't be doing anything more than daily driving or car shows, so hydraulic is fine for my needs.
Hydraulic is fine on the street car. I'm just saying staying with mechanical linkage is a lot easier work when swapping from an automatic to manual...the factory has it already figured out. All I had to do is bore a hole in the firewall for the linkage's dust boot. The rest of the linkage bolted in place. Only draw back, if you want to call it a draw back, is it takes a little bit more leg power compared to a modern car with hydraulics to push in the clutch.
