I am using the old c-4 automatic which is showing its age on my 65 ford mustang and was woundering what would be the best tranny gear ratios to get the most speed out of my 302? 4 speed 5 speed? tranny with overdrive? i just want a good tranny that will get me shifting fast like a hot rod and will be reliable ,

 

also i want to swap in a manual by the way

 

well, as far as i know, that changes things
your going to have to get a clutch assembly, but, now that i think about it, on the 69 the clutch and brake are hooked up, so, i imagine, you might be able to do that with some success, maybe some fabricating tho, for mounts, but id go with a 5 speed, these older cars wont hold their own(or dont) on the freeway with a 4 speed, but a 4 with an OD would do it too.

 

4 w/ od equals money. pop in a fox body t5(not 94-95 due to input shaft difference). you can pull a used on or get new for i think under 1k.youll get better acceleration and better gas mileage on the highway and can run steeper gears to help even more with acceleration. pretty much plug and play and reliable. i feel like a salesman but its best bang for buck with nice performance. good luck

 

ok so a T5 with the clutch assembly kit and this is a 5 speed? that will hold up on the highway cruising speeds and scoot me pretty good from a stop if i dump the clutch ?

 

im having trouble getting the links to work(error on page= no work)but sites that help are:

moderndriveline.com

fordmuscle.com

and the enthusiast magazine sites:

mustangmonthly.com, mustangandfords.com

 

yes it will. it will handle the abuse of the 289

 

Make sure you know about the clutch difference. A 5.0L era T5 has a clutch that pulls rather than pushes like a 64-73 Mustang. So there are some challenges to the swap, but they are adressed by different vendors. Do some research before you start buying parts, and make sure you can afford it.

If you have enough money, there are a couple places making the TKO500 fit into about any car, most install kits with everything but the driveshaft (some with it) run $2500-$3500. A 289 will never break a TKO500 or TKO600. But it will take a long time to break a T5 too.. its just information on whats out there.

Check with Tremec, they make the T5 and TKO transmissions.