Bigbird2v
New Member
I'm having a bit of a think about manual swapping my 95 Thunderbird LX with the 4.6 2v modular. I hate driving automatics, I personally feel it absolutely sucks the fun out of driving, way less control and American autos are slow, clunky and frankly just awful, especially in something that's meant to be "sporty".
I've had the thought of putting a BMW ZF 6 speed (GS6-53DZ) from the E39 525/530d into this as a TR3650 which is a perfect fit is going to cost over €1200 in shipping alone, meaning pretty much any standard US market transmission is out of budget for me.
The ZF is fairly close in width, size and length while also having a remote shifter, meaning I could adjust for the centre console, so I think it's a good candidate. T45s are overpriced for all they can handle, a lot of fab work too due to the centre console being further back. T56 is an option, it they weren't well over 2 grand for a box alone, and I wanna keep this build 'cheap' as I didn't pay a huge pile for the car.
Would really like some input if someone could shed some light on this thought of mine. There aren't any off the shelf kits but that's okay I don't mind going custom as it'll likely be a better shout in the long run giving that I want to eventually build another motor for a pair of Chinese spinny bois.
I've also looked into this and done my calculations, 2.73 gears are likely going to work out the best with the diesel boxes ratios especially for motorway/town driving.
I've had the thought of putting a BMW ZF 6 speed (GS6-53DZ) from the E39 525/530d into this as a TR3650 which is a perfect fit is going to cost over €1200 in shipping alone, meaning pretty much any standard US market transmission is out of budget for me.
The ZF is fairly close in width, size and length while also having a remote shifter, meaning I could adjust for the centre console, so I think it's a good candidate. T45s are overpriced for all they can handle, a lot of fab work too due to the centre console being further back. T56 is an option, it they weren't well over 2 grand for a box alone, and I wanna keep this build 'cheap' as I didn't pay a huge pile for the car.
Would really like some input if someone could shed some light on this thought of mine. There aren't any off the shelf kits but that's okay I don't mind going custom as it'll likely be a better shout in the long run giving that I want to eventually build another motor for a pair of Chinese spinny bois.
I've also looked into this and done my calculations, 2.73 gears are likely going to work out the best with the diesel boxes ratios especially for motorway/town driving.