Transmission interchange

[Neisman]

I am looking for a Ranger 5 speed transmission that will fit on a 1981 2.3L Ford engine.

 

[Blmpkn]

Any 2.3 transmission up to 2001 will bolt up. That said.. I'm not sure if there are any related parts differences between the Mitsubishi transmission which your truck came with and the later m5od which Ford started using in 93 IIRC..

@scotts90ranger would know though.

 

[Neisman]

I am mostly concerned about splines and clutch.

 

[scotts90ranger]

As far as that goes I think the flywheel stayed the same but you need to get the appropriate clutch for that transmission, IE if you get a T5 from a mustang or T bird you would need the clutch kit for that car but if you stick with Ranger stuff I think they all have the same input shaft splines and pilot bearing and such. If I had to choose I would pick an M5OD from a '88-97 since they'll have the speedo gear stuff you'd need

 

[Neisman]

I am putting this engine/transmission in a 1930 Model A.
The transmission that came from the 81 Courier has the shifter way back at tailstock and will be too far back to use. Rangers had the shifter farther forward. That is why I am thinking Ranger.
Speedo gear will be nice, but GPS works also.

 

[Brain75]

the model A crowd typically uses the same trans as the '48 guys, I got my adapter from a guy named Dwight Bond who started machining em specifically for the model A crowd.... the swap that is the easiest / most common is a chevy version of the Tremec T-5 from an S-10 (the S-10 has the shifter at the front of the tailhousing, instead of the mustang at the back), other possibilities include the chevy astro van, but that has a linkage nightmare to deal with, and the shifter is a compromise... honestly I would head over to ford-trucks.com and go into their 48-56 forum and start researching there. I don't think anyone has heard from Dwight since Covid, so you might be looking at a cornhusker or some other bigger name aftermarket.
as far as which engines it would adapt to, that is a 1" thick plate that goes between the trans (muncie/MT350 - chevy most common) on one side and the bellhousing on the other (so requires a detachable bellhousing) - the pattern on Dwights has 2 sets of holes, the ones for the flathead "hogshead" (that's the 48 crowd) and the model A's original bellhousing.... If not his or cornhuskers I would think Van Pelt Sales or another of the big big "old old antique" vendors could point a guy in the right direction

 

[Neisman]

Thanks guy.

 

[Brain75]

I think the thing that is going to kill you from any Ranger trans is the shifter setback. Those old model A and 1948's had a shifter setback of like 4 1/4".
shifter setback is the distance from the face of the trans to the center of the shift knob i.e. this

(that trans pictured is a T-18 btw)

That T-5 (the S-10 version and not any others) has a setback of like ~11 inches, that moves the hole in the floorboard for the shift knob back 7".
The 1948 guys just live with it, it put's the shifter a bit too close to the bench seat, but not so close you can't live with it. Don't know what the Model A crowd does....
The one and only Model A I rode in was still original engine / trans.
All the ranger ones (every last one of em) has a setback of like 20+, cause the transmissions grew in length - they are just long long trans compared to the old ones.
Were talkin a hole in the floorboard in the middle of the seat, behind the seat, or clear out back in the bed depending on which trans you are eyeballing.

Let me save you an entire winter of research and point you at the research I did the winter of '11. It has details like input shaft stick out length, number of splines, etc... if you really really need one of the clickable links that is broken (thanks to Internet Brands / FTE), just reach back out to me and I will dig it out of the html.

"Stock"/ Stock looking transmission swap tech article in progress - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks - "Stock"/ Stock looking transmission swap tech article in progress - [edit] - This is now a trans swap article, I am no longer looking for a T87D I checked all the for sale first I promise :) I figure there are a number of fellows here who are...

www.ford-trucks.com

(Post #5 is the meat and potatoes)

BTW, the engine you have is a "Lima" 4 cyl engine, the bolt pattern is also mostly called "Lima 4 cyl" - not to be confused with Lima 6 cyl (the 2.8L, 2.9L, 4.0L most common in Rangers) - trying to find an adapter you might start with the keyword Lima 4 cyl...