I would just like to start off by saying this is the first of many questions to come. I'm a new owner of a 1965 fastback. It is going to need alot of work as my brother-in-law has torn it apart (a restore job started about 8 years ago).

I should be picking it up in the next few weeks.

OK to the question.

The stang has a 351W that came with it (not orig. I know). It has a C4 trany. (I believe I'm correct - automatic ?) I'm wanting to do a T5 swap and was wondering if the T5 could handle the torque from a modified 351W. I was looking thru a T5 ID chart and the factory torque rating max on the T5 for a 90-93 5.0 is 300 lb/ft. Would the T5 hold up if the torque from the 351 is greater than 300 lb/ft?

Also what should I expect to get from a stock 351W after a rebuild. (can't really afford mods right now, I'm going to be doing all I can to just get her road worthy) The only thing I could find listed a 69 351W w/ 290hp@4800rpm and 385lb/ft@3200rpm. That just seemed rather high on the torque end tom me, but hey what do I know.

Any help would be great and like I said I'm sure there will be alot more questions to come.

Thanks,
Paul

I'll post some pics when I get some.

 

How much power the 351W makes is entirely dependent on the cam and heads. A slight cam upgrade and some aftermarket heads later on will make plenty of power. 350hp is rather easy with that engine.

Getting a T5 to hold up, like one from a junkyard or later 5.0 Mustang, would be difficult if you plan to run it very hard. If you sunday drive it, dont go powershifting and racing it, it will live longer than you would think. But it really isnt enough for the engine. A TKO would be a much better choice, they are a much tougher trans and you wont have to worry about breaking stuff if you stomp the gas to embarass the pesky Civic or Neon next to you.

A cam with around 220-225 intake duration at .050 and 224-232 exhaust duration also at .050 would work well with the stock heads, headers, and a decent 4 barrel carb and intake. You can pick those up for around $100-$130 from online mail order places, such as Summit and Jegs, but preferably one of the businesses that sponsor the site..

 

OK so I would be better to go with the TKO. Or would I be better off leaving the C4 in? If I was to go the TKO way (I plan on really driving this car - not a sunday driver) what could I expect to pay for one and are they as readily avaliable at the scrap yard as the T5? Is the swap similar?

 

TKOs are a bolt in swap for the T5, stronger but also not OEM pieces. They are an aftermarket trans, and usually they run between $1500 and $2000..

I would leave the C4 in there for now, save up for the swap to the manual. It takes a few parts to swap. C4s are a great trans, most people just dont know what they are capable of.