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  1. #1

    Default 78 Fairmont trans crossmember

    I came across this 78 Fairmont and swapping the 302 5 speed out of my Boxtop into it. It came without trans crossmember and need to know if automatic and manual trans crossmembers are the same?Name:  DSC00964.jpg
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  2. #2

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    How is the 5 speed bolted up? They didn't come that way from the factory in '80.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  3. #3

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    Brad, I think the original poster is missing a few words...I think what they're trying to say is:

    "I ran across this 78 Fairmont and am considering swapping..."

    Assuming he actually picked the Fairmont up, I think the poster is also saying that it did not come with a factory cross member one way or another. So

  4. #4

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    Name:  66240576_223010762007054_3700588635922366464_n.jpg
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    Quote Originally Posted by ZephyrEFI View Post
    How is the 5 speed bolted up? They didn't come that way from the factory in '80.

    Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

    I never said it was a 80 model. It is a 78 and car came without crossmember. The car had a 5 speed in it at 1 time. What i need to know is the crossmeber the same for Auto and 5 speed.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by RUFF62 View Post
    Name:  66240576_223010762007054_3700588635922366464_n.jpg
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    I never said it was a 80 model. It is a 78 and car came without crossmember. The car had a 5 speed in it at 1 time. What i need to know is the crossmeber the same for Auto and 5 speed.
    In your other post, it says you have a 1980 with 302 and 5-speed you are swapping into a '78. Silly me, I assumed you were talking about the same two cars.

    Now, I'll warn you that I'm making another assumption here, but I'm guessing that 5-speed is a T5. The T5 was never offered in the early Fox cars, which had a short bushing tube SINGLE hump crossmember. The crossmember that came on T5s on later Foxes had longer bushing tubes and double humps. Early Foxes came with C4, C5, or SROD FOUR speed, all of which used the short bushing tube single hump crossmember and the chassis brackets welded to the body in a different spot than the later cars. Whether that different spot varied between the different transmissions, I don't know. BUT, if a T-5 was swapped into a 1980 Fairmont, some trickery needs to have been used. If a later longer bushing tube crossmember was used, the bushing tubes would have to have been cut down to fit the earlier brackets, or others prefer to weld in the later brackets and use the crossmember as it comes. Whichever one the previous owner of your '80 did to allow the swap will dictate what you need to do to the '78. The sticking point for me is whether the early narrow brackets were in different spots for different transmissions. I don't know if they were. So, long story short, yes, they were different, but that might not matter.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Str8sixfan View Post
    Brad, I think the original poster is missing a few words...I think what they're trying to say is:

    "I ran across this 78 Fairmont and am considering swapping..."

    Assuming he actually picked the Fairmont up, I think the poster is also saying that it did not come with a factory cross member one way or another. So
    You never know. We'll see.
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  7. #7

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    dang, I didn't finish my thought...I probably came across more like a jackarse than I meant to. But you're right...I was reading into it too. Hopefully he can clarify.

  8. #8

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    Name:  00s0s_ibhQpvWHapZ_1200x900.jpg
Views: 319
Size:  81.3 KBMy 80 Box with 302 t5 5 speed. So I will have to either cut the tube down in a double hump crossmember or weld in wider mounts. Thanks for the info..
    Last edited by RUFF62; 07-25-2019 at 05:27 PM.

  9. #9
    FEP Power Member gmatt's Avatar
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    I believe the difference between the auto and manual crossmembers is their position on the tube. The wider mount on the later cars allows the crossmember to be moved fore/aft. But it is welded in position from the factory. The welds can be ground off to allow movement.

  10. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by gmatt View Post
    I believe the difference between the auto and manual crossmembers is their position on the tube. The wider mount on the later cars allows the crossmember to be moved fore/aft. But it is welded in position from the factory. The welds can be ground off to allow movement.
    Except where it sits on the tubes doesn't matter if you have the short tube brackets on your chassis. You have to cut the tubes completely off for the crossmember to fit in them.

    Here's another handy tidbit. if your tranny mount ends up offset from your crossmember, you can use this:

    https://lmr.com/item/LRS-6068B/96-98...smission-Mount

    OR, Stiffler's offers crossmembers to solve just about ANY problem.

    https://lmr.com/item/STF-TCBM06/1979...ar-Aod-T5-Tko-
    Brad

    '79 Mercury Zephyr ES 5.0L GT40 EFI, T-5
    '17 Ford Focus ST
    '14 Ford Fusion SE Manual

  11. #11
    FEP Member Boxtop78's Avatar
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    I modified a T-5 cross member by cutting and weld the bushing tube to fit my Boxtop
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    Last edited by Boxtop78; 07-26-2019 at 10:26 PM.

  12. #12

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    78 has an odd size bushing and sleeve on the crossmember ends it is shorter than the later foxes so you just got to look at it ,the later adjustable crossmember will not fit 78 but I think t5 has same mount location

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