North American Turbocoupe Organization



Hydraulic to Cable Clutch Conversion
John B Offline
Member
#1
Has this conversion ever been done? I'm compiling a list of parts to eventually swap out the stock T5 for a beefier TR3650 or TKO500. From reading some other projects, swapping in one of these transmissions (although not easy) is absolutely possible. Companies like Hanlon will turn down the input shaft of the transmission to work with the stock 2.3 pilot bearing. You can then buy an adapter plate, bellhousing, flywheel, clutch, etc. to make the conversion work.

My question is about the hydraulic clutch assembly on the 88TC. Does anyone know if this can be retained in such a swap or would swapping to a cable setup be the way to go?

I know the question of "why bother?" will come up but I will at some time down the road be converting my 88 to road race car and having a more stout transmission would be nice.
88 Turbo Coupe: Front mount intercooler, MGW short throw shifter, full coilover conversion, tubular control arms front and rear, svo front brakes, vacuum assist brake swap, manual steering swap, GT35R turbo with external gate, pimpx ecu, 60lb injectors, 3 core aluminum radiator, Boport 1.5 cam, gutted upper, corbeau fixed back seats, and the list goes on.
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BJL Offline
Moderator
#2
cable is best,when i converted i went cable,all the same as a mustang.
Brian Larkin
88TC 330,000 miles
Slightly Modified
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John B Offline
Member
#3
Brian, I didn't know your TC was a cable conversion. Can you walk me through what parts you acquired and how the install was?
88 Turbo Coupe: Front mount intercooler, MGW short throw shifter, full coilover conversion, tubular control arms front and rear, svo front brakes, vacuum assist brake swap, manual steering swap, GT35R turbo with external gate, pimpx ecu, 60lb injectors, 3 core aluminum radiator, Boport 1.5 cam, gutted upper, corbeau fixed back seats, and the list goes on.
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boboli Offline
Member
#4
The cable is easy to do. The hole in the firewall is already there. It's where the tbird's stock boost gauge reference line goes through 
Maybe you've had better experience with tremec transmission but the one I owned in the early 2000 was terrible. At high rpm/power it wouldn't shift to save it's life. Maybe they are better now. But I picked up 1.5 seconds in the quarter by dumping it. This was a fox with a 351w, not a 2.3turbo
1988 turbo tbird, 5spd, 140k, all stock except boost control valve.
1986 dodge omni glh turbo, 111k, my money pit.
1989 mustang Lx 5.0 convertible, tropical yellow/ tan interior, 1of only 144 made, 164k, aod, all stock including overheating TFI!
89 Jaguar XJS convertible, LT1 conversion, now fighting the prince of darkness (aka Lucas electronics)
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John B Offline
Member
#5
boboli Wrote:The cable is easy to do. The hole in the firewall is already there. It's where the tbird's stock boost gauge reference line goes through 
Maybe you've had better experience with tremec transmission but the one I owned in the early 2000 was terrible. At high rpm/power it wouldn't shift to save it's life. Maybe they are better now. But I picked up 1.5 seconds in the quarter by dumping it. This was a fox with a 351w, not a 2.3turbo

I'm not surprised as I've heard similar things about the early TR3650s. If I go with this transmission, it would be an upgraded stage 2 or 3. Hanlon does some nice upgrades and changes to the synchros and their design.
88 Turbo Coupe: Front mount intercooler, MGW short throw shifter, full coilover conversion, tubular control arms front and rear, svo front brakes, vacuum assist brake swap, manual steering swap, GT35R turbo with external gate, pimpx ecu, 60lb injectors, 3 core aluminum radiator, Boport 1.5 cam, gutted upper, corbeau fixed back seats, and the list goes on.
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Mikey97D Offline
Senior Member
#6
Ian went thru this when he put a TC motor in a Mustang.

Here's the thread: https://turbotbird.com/thread-converting...ght=clutch
1988 TC, 5 spd, Stinger 3" Exhaust, Schneider Roller Cam, -4° Cam Pulley, Cone Filter, Gilles Boost Control Valve set at 17 psi, Walbro 255 lph, CHE Rear Lower and Upper Control Arms, Braided Brake Lines, Hawk HPS 5.0 Front and HPS (F) Rear, CRES Inserts in front calipers, and '93 Cobra Wheels with General 235/50R17 Tires.   
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teal95 Offline
Senior Member
#7
I haven't converted a hydraulic to cable but I've done several auto to manual swaps using Mustang parts. The main part you need is the complete pedal assembly. It's been a long time but IIRC the knockout is there and there is a dimple that will need to be drilled on the firewall for the screw that holds the cable. Do yourself a favor and just pull the dash back and do the heater core at the same time. It makes it so much easier to get the old pedal assembly out and the new one in. The only car I had difficulties with was the one that I couldn't get the steering shaft to pull apart so I was using the steering column as a jungle gym even after I removed the seat.

What are you planning on racing? We ran an 87 TC in LeMons many years ago. They're still running it but with a 95 Mustang GT drivetrain.
'83 & '84 GT turbo EEC-Tuner
'85.5 & '86 SVO twEECer
2x '87 & '88 TC QuarterHorse
'93 LX 5.0 notch Moates chips
3x '95 & '96 GT
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