5.0 Engine Installation

Since the weather has improved,  I have been itching to get some Mustang work done -- actually, the nice weather inspires be to go for a ride in my 65 Mustang but it needs a little work before I can drive it.

I stopped by Quality Rental in Carmel on the way home from work and picked up the hoist and got to work upon arriving home. 

 The first order of business was to cut the hole for the RJM Injection Tech EFI harness while the engine was out of the way.   This needs to be an oval hole 1.5" x 3" to fit the rubber grommet supplied by RJM.  It was simple to do by marking the 2 center points 1.5" apart, drilling, then trimming the triangular 

pieces to complete the oval.   I chose the location so that the harness would be less prominent based on what Brad suggested.

EDIT: The hole actually cannot be in the middle.  My harness from RJM Injection is well wrapped and branches off to either side of the intake in precise locations.  I could probably re-wrap the harness but they did a nice job wrapping and it would be easier to redo the hole where the instructions say.  

Next, I installed the used bell housing to my new Tremmec super heavy-duty T-5. Here are the specs for this tranny:

Ford Racing Super Heavy-Duty "World Class" T-5 5-speed Transmission.
Features double-moly 2nd, 3rd and countershaft cluster gears, carbon-fiber 3-4 blocker rings, 1-1/16" diameter 10-tooth input spline, 28-tooth output spline and Cobra style pocket bearing. Rated for 330 ft-lbs. torque. Fill with Mercon/Dextron ATF.
Ratios: 1st - 2.95, 2nd - 1.94, 3rd - 1.34, 4th - 1.00, and 5th - 0.63.

I hooked up the hoist and engine tilter to the engine and removed it from the stand.
After that, I bolted on the new pressure plate and clutch disc.  Nothing special here, just the basic stock replacement parts.  The stock t-5 and clutch survived more than 10 years in my 93 Fox Mustang -- and that was supercharged and dyno'ed at 320 horses at the wheels. I also raced it quite often and only the part I had to replace was the thow-out bearing after 103000 miles.
With the clutch ready to go, I tilted the engine to line up with the tranny and bolted together.   Tip: using the clutch alignment tool to get an idea of the rotation of the clutch disc splines and rotate the transmission's input shaft's splines to match. Everything slips together with very little effort.   Also, apply some anti-seize lube to the engine's bell alignment pins.  I found that this helps installation and, years later, removal.
I highly recommend using an engine tilter especially when the tranny is attached.  I've installed engines lots of times in the past without one and it was a real pain having to unbolt and reposition the chain to the right angle.  Using the tilter to get the right angle is just a matter of buzzing it with the impact gun.

The engine basically just dropped right in and with the engine mounts supplied by Total Cost Involved, it was a snap to line up.  The extra space left after removal of the shock towers helped a lot too.   I could almost stand in the engine bay with the engine if needed. I should be able to bolt in pretty much any exhaust header without clearance issues.  

Here are some of the torque specs and bolts I used:
Transmission to bellhousing  - 30 ft-lbs w/ Loctite
Pressure plate bolts              - 25 ft-lbs w/ Loctite
Bell to Engine                       - 30 ft-lbs
Bell to Engine bolts were 7/16" coarse - grade 8
Tranny to bell were M12 x 1.5 - grade 8

Out of the stable

The weekend's weather was nice enough to do some work outside so I thought I'd give this 65 Mustang some fresh air.  I managed to accomplish some work too.  The old door mechanicals were removed and will be residing in their new doors soon. The doors I had are just too far gone to warrant repairs.  The interior side on one door is rusted out and slathered with Bondo (not a good look) and the other door also rusted out and is bent where the hinge mounts are -- looks like its Ivy Green donor was in an accident. Incidentally, mine was originally Silver Blue
The picture shows what the ride height will be like at the front end. Pretty low already and the engine is not even installed yet. The coilovers are pretty stiff. Also, with the 96 Mustang 17" Cobra wheels mounted, theres not a whole lot of clearance but there is no contact without rolling the fenders. The tires are 245 45 17 in case you're wondering.
Kinda looks like crazy old-school rake is going on (not my taste) but its just that the rear has new springs and it sits really high with only the 100 pounds weight on it. 
The engine and T-5 transmission go in next.