Ford Pinto 1600cc transmissions

Does anyone know of a manual transmission the will fit or can be adapted to fit the Ford Kent 1600cc motors besides the original English transmission or a T9. Both of which are hard to find or $$$$$. Tks , Russ

Hi Russ.

Hey Guys, Russ is a good friend of mine.

Well if a Type 9 will fit, wouldn't a T5? That's what the Merkur guys do.

You will need something like a Pinto or Mk1/Mk2 Capri with 'any' 4 cylinder and use the bellhousing/transmission.

The transmissions will either be the Ford of Germany (FoG) Type E or Type F. The Type F has the shift linkages external and the one that I had in my '77 Capri, was very sloppy. The Type E I have is probably from a Pinto with a 4 cylinder. The Type E is the predecessor of the Type 9 and has a different tailhousing with no 5/overdrive.

The are a couple of options to try and get a bellhousing/transmission setup. Other than buying a bellhousing from Burton/Quads4Rods/RWD Motorsports, there is an outboard engine OMC 2.3 Cobra engine adapter to it to a Chevy Small block pattern; there is an adapter to get it to a Ford small block pattern from this company:

http://www.cididit.com/adaptor_plate.htm

You will also notice that the website states it's a 2.3 Lima which people, and most of the internet, will tell you doesn't match to the old Kent/Crossflow pattern. Well they are only partially right. The couple of 2.3 Limas that I've had my hands on, were drilled for both patterns. If you look at the picture below: You will notice that the chamfered holes would be for the mounting of the adapter to the back of the engine block. On an old typical Ford 4 cylinder bellhousing there are 6 holes above the centerline of the crank. Here you can see 8. The two chamfered holes that are on the very top line up with what is typical for the 2.3 Lima bellhousing pattern you will find connected to the Borg Warner SR4/T-4/T-5. The two chamfered holes just down and a bit wider, are for the common Kent/Xflow/CVH/SPI/Zetec bellhousing pattern. So this adapter will work for a 1600.

When I was researching getting a Zetec into a Locost Seven, I came up with one more solution. Grab a 2.3 Lima block and make a plate to cover up the 4 top chamfered holes with a plate and drill 4 holes to match. Machine the thickness of the plate out of the bellhousing of a 2.3 Lima's T-5 and bolt the plate to the engine and bellhousing holes would be threaded to accept the bellhousing on top of the plate. I figured the small amount of machine work would be cheap when compared to buy the adapter or a bespoke bellhousing. But then again, I found a Type E for sale locally and bought it.

Merkur Parts Midwest show a couple of Type-9 transmissions for sale. And there is some British Car guy (in the states) that builds kits around the Type-9 (as a 5 gear/OD upgrade for MGs or something) and he sells them online.

Taylor Race Engineering has high end Type E and Type 9 transmissions for sale. They call them Quaife's "Rocket" and "Sierra", respectively. They even sell new bellhousings but they cost a good sum too.

I hope I got all of that right...

And I still haven't figured out what this is for: http://lakewoodindustries.com/bellhsg-ford-2-1l-to-tko.html Bellhousing - Ford 2.1L to TKO Transmission - part # RM-4050

I can't find any reference to a Ford 2.1 liter in a stock size.

Here's the last Zetec to RWD conversation we had here: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/cheap-zetec-to-rwd-conversion/77030/page1/

Yeah, Russ, a lot of the Europa Twin Cam guys are replacing the motors with Zetecs. The bell housing is the same as the English Kent block, or close enough to make work. So I would think that anywhere a Zetec is used in RWD and however they mod the transmission, that would probably get you there. Did the trans on the locost go out?

Thanks guys. Hess the 2nd gear syncro is going and there are no parts for this British tranny in the States. Plus it is not the strongest tranny in the world. I will have to investigate all these choices above. I have heard the T5 is a littls wide although I have never put a tape measure on one

Which transmission do you have? Taylor Race Engineering in Texas has lots parts for the Type E (Quaife Rocket, as they call it) This is the FoG Type E:

RossD wrote: And I still haven't figured out what this is for: http://lakewoodindustries.com/bellhsg-ford-2-1l-to-tko.html Bellhousing - Ford 2.1L to TKO Transmission - part # RM-4050 I can't find any reference to a Ford 2.1 liter in a stock size.

I think that is a engine size typo, as the pattern is too similar to the straight 6's Ford produced.

M50D an option? Over the last year, this guy and I have gotten to know each other very well.

Looks like it if you are replacing something such as this: The bell housing should bolt up.

To add to the T5 lineup, I believe this is a T5 from a Merkur:

I think the M5OD has the different upper bolt holes like I talk about in my 'TL;DR' post, so you'd have to modify it (doable) to work with the Kent. The T-5 never came in the Merkur (although it did in a special euro Ford Sierra Cosworth). That's a truck tailhousing on the T-5. The bellhousing on the T-5 is either from Europe or from company like Quads4rods/Burton/RWDmotorsports.

In reply to RossD:

Your post had too many words and not nuff pictures.

Thanks for clearing things up.

Yes, N Sperlo that is my tranny. The type 2 with the intregral bell housing.

My thought would be for you to see if this is available:

http://merkurmidwest.com/catalog/i771.html

with a little of this:

http://www.rwdmotorsport.com/sierra-direct-replacement-cable-clutch-bellhousing.html

I think the input shaft on the US Type 9 needs a touch of grinding to shorten it up a bit, because I think it's somewhere between the two lengths common in Europe (inline 4 and the V6 lengths) and grinding it down a half inch gets you to the 7" needed for the four cylinder bellhousings.

And here's Russ' car:

The green Locost. And... Is That Russ?

Russ,

Try John Esposito @ Quantum Mechanics LTD. 203-463-8299 john@quantummechanics.com I have known him for many years and he will be able to help you with a trans or a rebuild. Tell him Don Walsh recommended him to you.

That's the guy I was trying to mention in my long post above.