T56 transmission tunnel clearance & measurements (Gen 3 coyote)

[facultyofmusic]

I’ve both seen threads that inquired about this and received PMs asking for measurements about how much space there is in the trans tunnel with the T56 mated with a coyote. In this thread I document the measurements of my install. I hope this helps!

P.S. If there are any measurements you’d like me to take that aren't documented in this thread, please reply to this thread and I’ll edit the posts with the measurements you need.

Setup:

T56 Magnum + Gen 3 Coyote engine.
I’ve not installed the transmission mounting spacers yet, but I used my floor jack to get the transmission to the correct height and left-right alignment. AFAIK, this is the same as what the final setup would be with the spacers.
I have removed the default e-brake handle mount as it collides with the transmission. (The T56 is a big boi.)



Glossary:
Shift cover: The red cover that the shifter comes out of.
Trans front: The body of the transmission to the front of the car; closer to the engine.
Trans rear: The body of the transmission to the rear of the car; away from the engine.
Trans tail: The thin tail of the transmission where the drive shaft is inserted.
Top side tunnel: The bottom surface of the top truss structure tubes.
Driver side tunnel: The passenger side surface of the driver side truss structure tubes.
Passenger side tunnel: The driver side surface of the passenger side truss structure tubes.

Measurements:

Driver side tunnel to Shift cover: 73mm
Driver side tunnel to Trans front: 76mm
Driver side tunnel to Trans rear: 42mm
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Passenger side tunnel to Shift cover: 44.5mm
Passenger side tunnel to Trans front: No good place to measure, too little space.
Passenger side tunnel to Trans rear: 45mm
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Top side tunnel to shift cover: 20mm
Top side tunnel to Trans front: 53mm
Top side tunnel to Trans tail: 73mm
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General Notes:
The shifter rubber boot practically touches the middle truss member. Trans front has a lot of space on the driver side, but not much on the passenger side. Near the shift cover however, there is about equal space between driver side and passenger side of the transmission.
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[facultyofmusic]

Note that this is just an idea and I have not routed the tension cables yet.

With the available space documented above I found a "good" place to relocate the factory e-brake assembly to be the top of the trans tunnel on the passenger side. There is enough space between 2 truss joints and if you flip the "L" brackets of the e-brake handle upside down, you can mount it nicely on the underside of the corner tube.
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The tension cables will run pretty close to the drive shaft. I plan to make use of a Metco safety loop (https://www.metcomotorsports.com/products.asp?cat=96) to help guide the cables so it will never make contact with the drive shaft.

[phileas_fogg]

Thats a pretty slick location for the e-brake if you can make it work. You might even be able to run the cables over the top of the fuel tank (or some other out-of-the-box routing) & avoid both the drive shaft AND routing under the frame.


John

[Russwood]

I'm doing the same setup on my build. I've got the engine/trans in place, and I also noticed the e-brake mount is/was in the way. I cut mine out because I plan to use the Willwood electronic e-brake setup, so didn't need the mount. Like you, I also noticed that both of the e-brake cable routing mounts are creating interference, so those came out also. I supposed the far rear one isn't technically in the way of anything, but it's so close to the pinion flange/drive shaft connection that I didn't want the possibility of any interference, so it came out for my peace of mind since I don't need it.

One thing I've noticed (besides the driveshaft needing to be about 8-3/8" long instead of the 10-1/2" I was sent), is that using the supplied trans mount and putting the trans support A-frame on the top of the frame tab, the tail of the trans lines up pretty good with the IRS pinion without the spacers. I don't have my spacers (on the POL list), but I think the spacers will make the angle too severe for the very short driveshaft. I do need to grind a small amount off the angled bottom of the tail to clear the rear of the A-frame (or notch the A-frame) to get it fully down on the polyurethane mount. Otherwise, the bolt spacing is dead-on.

Do you see the same on yours? I'm assuming you are running the IRS with this drivetrain.

I've decided to flip my shifter to the forward position and relocate the middle tunnel brace to the rear. I like the more forward position so the shifter handle can be a straight version instead of the angled one. Those who don't want to weld, or don't have the option, are pretty much stuck with the rear position. Even the farther forward location that can be done with the mid-shift conversion has a tunnel brace in the way.

Glad to know I'm not the only one putting this combo in a Roadster. Would like to see FFR add this to their list of setups in the future.

[dbo_texas]

Note that this is just an idea and I have not routed the tension cables yet.

With the available space documented above I found a "good" place to relocate the factory e-brake assembly to be the top of the trans tunnel on the passenger side. There is enough space between 2 truss joints and if you flip the "L" brackets of the e-brake handle upside down, you can mount it nicely on the underside of the corner tube.
159765 159761 159763 159764 159762 159766

The tension cables will run pretty close to the drive shaft. I plan to make use of a Metco safety loop (https://www.metcomotorsports.com/products.asp?cat=96) to help guide the cables so it will never make contact with the drive shaft.

Did you end up cutting out & removing the e-brake bracket that is factory welded into the frame (pic below)? I have my engine trans just sitting in the car (not final position) and it is pretty much touching the bracket. I'm assuming this interferes w/ final position dimensions per your previous pics? If so, I will add this to the list of things to do once I pull the engine/trans out so I can rivet all the footbox panels.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=159957&d=1641828115

[GoDadGo]

You may want to install the driveshaft before routing the E-Brake cables so that you can identify any clearance issues.
Also, I totally think the Modern Engine with the T56 will really yield an Over-The-Top build.
Thanks for sharing all the pictures and comments.

Good Luck!

[Hoooper]

Did you end up cutting out & removing the e-brake bracket that is factory welded into the frame (pic below)? I have my engine trans just sitting in the car (not final position) and it is pretty much touching the bracket. I'm assuming this interferes w/ final position dimensions per your previous pics? If so, I will add this to the list of things to do once I pull the engine/trans out so I can rivet all the footbox panels.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=159957&d=1641828115

If you arent using it, might as well cut it off. Weight savings ;) Plus it makes patching the tunnel hole a lot easier if the bracket isnt in the way.

[facultyofmusic]

One thing I've noticed (besides the driveshaft needing to be about 8-3/8" long instead of the 10-1/2" I was sent), is that using the supplied trans mount and putting the trans support A-frame on the top of the frame tab, the tail of the trans lines up pretty good with the IRS pinion without the spacers. I don't have my spacers (on the POL list), but I think the spacers will make the angle too severe for the very short driveshaft. I do need to grind a small amount off the angled bottom of the tail to clear the rear of the A-frame (or notch the A-frame) to get it fully down on the polyurethane mount. Otherwise, the bolt spacing is dead-on.

Do you see the same on yours? I'm assuming you are running the IRS with this drivetrain.


Yes! I noticed the same. In fact, if I let the T56 tail rest on the A frame it's almost perfectly in place. I don't know how high the spacer is, but I can't imagine it being too far off from that.

[facultyofmusic]

Did you end up cutting out & removing the e-brake bracket that is factory welded into the frame (pic below)? I have my engine trans just sitting in the car (not final position) and it is pretty much touching the bracket. I'm assuming this interferes w/ final position dimensions per your previous pics? If so, I will add this to the list of things to do once I pull the engine/trans out so I can rivet all the footbox panels.

Yes I did. There was no way to raise the transmission into it's proper place with the e-brake mount in place. I also didn't finish riveting the footboxes yet so I'll have to take the engine out to finish that some day. The current install is just to check clearance. :P

[facultyofmusic]

Checking back in on this: I double checked to make sure that I had the correct spacers installed on the engine mounts. You can see them here:
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I was worried that since my transmission didn't have the spacers installed, my engine mounts wouldn't have them either. Turns out it does.

[facultyofmusic]

Thats a pretty slick location for the e-brake if you can make it work. You might even be able to run the cables over the top of the fuel tank (or some other out-of-the-box routing) & avoid both the drive shaft AND routing under the frame.

Yes, I ended up running the cables over the top of the fuel tank. I haven't mounted my metco drive shaft safety loop yet, but it looks like it will have plenty of space.

After routing the parking brake cables I realized there will be a slight angle at which the cables go into the sleeve. I'm not sure how much this small angle will damage the cables over time, but I'd like to use rollers to correct the angle if possible.
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[dbo_texas]

Yes, I ended up running the cables over the top of the fuel tank. I haven't mounted my metco drive shaft safety loop yet, but it looks like it will have plenty of space.

After routing the parking brake cables I realized there will be a slight angle at which the cables go into the sleeve. I'm not sure how much this small angle will damage the cables over time, but I'd like to use rollers to correct the angle if possible.
160579160580

Keep us posted w/ pics if you end up adding the pully. I'm planning to pretty much copy what you have here because it looks like a great solution. So you plan to keep the rear cable routing bracket (above the driveshaft in your image #2), and just add a pulley in front of that to help guide the cables into it? Please post pics and p/n of the pulley setup if you don't mind. Any pics of routing the e-brake cables over the gas tank?

[facultyofmusic]

I ended up relocating the parking brake to the driver-side of the trans tunnel. I've documented it in detail in post #165 (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?40301-Danny-Boy-s-Dream-Roadster-Build&p=482320&viewfull=1#post482320), #166, and #167 of my build thread. Quite happy with the results!

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Click here to go to the post: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?40301-Danny-Boy-s-Dream-Roadster-Build&p=482320&viewfull=1#post482320

[dbo_texas]

I ended up relocating the parking brake to the driver-side of the trans tunnel. I've documented it in detail in post #165 (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?40301-Danny-Boy-s-Dream-Roadster-Build&p=482320&viewfull=1#post482320), #166, and #167 of my build thread. Quite happy with the results!

161756

Click here to go to the post: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?40301-Danny-Boy-s-Dream-Roadster-Build&p=482320&viewfull=1#post482320

Thanks for following up on this. I'm curious what was the original reason why you moved it from the PS to the DS? Seemed like the PS offed similar routing to the original FFR cable routing. What was it that motivated you to move it over? BTW it looks great. Nice job!

[facultyofmusic]

Thanks for following up on this. I'm curious what was the original reason why you moved it from the PS to the DS? Seemed like the PS offed similar routing to the original FFR cable routing. What was it that motivated you to move it over? BTW it looks great. Nice job!

The motivation came from two places:

I didn't want to use the factory mounting location and the existing mounting tabs were in the way of pretty much every other plan that I had.
I wanted every driver-operated mechanism to be close to the driver and easily accessible. I have my parking brake handle next to my right leg in my daily driver and I absolutely love it.


As for point 2, I have a sketch of what I want it to look like and it involves having the parking brake handle next to the shifter:
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[dbo_texas]

The motivation came from two places:

I didn't want to use the factory mounting location and the existing mounting tabs were in the way of pretty much every other plan that I had.
I wanted every driver-operated mechanism to be close to the driver and easily accessible. I have my parking brake handle next to my right leg in my daily driver and I absolutely love it.


As for point 2, I have a sketch of what I want it to look like and it involves having the parking brake handle next to the shifter:
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Curious if you finalized your placement of the handle?

[facultyofmusic]

Curious if you finalized your placement of the handle?

Yes I did! It's described from post #165 to #167 on my build thread. Here's a link to post #165 (https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?40301-Danny-Boy-s-Roadster-Build-A-visit-to-the-Shelby-Museum&p=482320&viewfull=1#post482320).