well since the rmp-o site has been hacked and I thought of this today and have been dying to ask people about it I'll start this discussion here. On the rmp-o board about a week ago someone posted about how a ford inline 6 300 cubic inch engine bolted up to a patrol tranny w/o any major mods. That got me thinking that if that was so, maybe a patrol engine would bolt up to the ford transmission from that engine, which is the c4 engine, a 3 speed automatic, which isnt that great and would not be much of an upgrade for the patrol. However, it is very common for ford owners to swap a Borg Warner World Class T5 5-speed transmission in place of the c4, w/o any modifications. And that T5 transmission is very common, found in 80's mustangs. So I am looking into it more in depth right now, but thats just another idea, maybe its just another pipe dream, maybe not, I'd like to go look at some of the forementioned components in person, but I've got to leave for school in a few weeks, so i doubt I will have the time. Anyways, something for y'all to think about, any input would be greatly appreciated.

-Kerry Burns

In the 87+ F150's with the 300 six, you could get a 5 speed...You could probably get the Tcase too and swap in the entire drivetrain.

The 300 six is a great motor.

Yeah, I looked into this same thing. Bottom line is there are a lot of headaches with the swap. I thought I saw a Marks 5-speed for sale on the New Mexico Patrol site. If you can, you should go with that. Then it is worth rebuilding the old Patrol engine. All I know for sure is that FUDD and few other guys looked deeply into the T-18 and the 3 speed versions and nothing seemed to be as easy as it should be. I like the idea of a donor rig and swap the whole guts. Be careful to think of axles too. Pumkins side became an issue with some swaps, Jeep powertrain I think.

Unless the conversion uses the Ford bellhousing, I dont believe it will work. The big problem is the T-5 uses a short input shaft.

However, I know that the late 70's-early 80's Heeps with 4-speeds had some ungodly long input shafts. Maybe, just maybe, they used bellhousings just as deep. That would mean long input shafts like we need.

The MQ/MK Patrols have a long input shaft. In fact an Aussie guy fitted one recently to a G60. He simply had a custom bellhousing made and that was it. For $800ausd he got a MK 5spd under his G60.

Not a real good option for people in the USA who lack the motivation to find and then import a Patrol box. But IMHO it is still an option...

my mq has the 2.8-same engine as in a 280z.the 280 came with a 5 speed.has anybody looked at it for a tranny swap?

good point about Z car tranny. I wouldn't be to suprised if a MQ/MK transfer will bolt to it.

Later 280ZX Turbo cars could be had with a Borg Warner T5 tranny. That's a pretty strong unit that also served behind late 80s/early 90's Mustang GT 5.0's.

Wonder if that would fit...that'd be my first choice.

Is the Patrol Tcase divorced?

L28 Patrols have a divorced transfer. Same one as the 720's.

I suppose with a divorced t-case box nearly any tranny is possible....

My buddy has a 280ZX Turbo that hes taking the tranny out of to put in his 280Z. Hes bolting an LT1 to it...

He said when he goes to put it together, he offered me the 2.8 to T5 bellhousing. Ive always wondered if they have the same bellhousing bolt pattern...

T5's came bolted to driver side drop t-cases in Jeeps and
S10s. I think some Jeeps had passenger side drop T-cases.