Broken transmission! Repair or Swap? Ford Mustang II 

"I've never taken one of these apart before... let's just start taking it apart and see what happens" That's the spirit. I always get caught up in analysis paralysis.

Nothing but props for you Dave. Knocking this out and editing the videos, working a regular job...you have some awesome time management skills :D

Hey Dave thanks for representing the PNW!

Sweet. I was hoping you'd end up with a T5 eventually. Nice work sorting through everything.

Cool stuff, never thought I would enjoy Mustang II content so much. You took an unloved car and not only gave it a new life, you made it a cool head turner and road trip car.

Dave, our generations McGuyver. Give him a paper clip and some duct tape and he'll give you an air suspension. Hahaha

Rocking the cajon speedway shirt, while working on a mustang II late at night. Bringing back memories lol

As absolutely hideous as the Mustang II is that thing is ridiculously SICK! it looks incredible slammed sitting on the ground and the interior is so cool with that bright blue!

Dave you work really hard you have a lot to be proud of. I hope what you’re doing on RU-vid will allow you to quit you’re day job soon.

Dave! We met at sema 2023. Im always happy to see awesome video from the dirt head shed. Your always inspiring others to build and drive rad stuff.

Seeing this on the rod makes me happy.

nicely done Dave...nothing is more satisfying than swapping out junked components with stuff that the OE never intended or assumed was worth while... btw...that suspension drop looks killer

Went to a job the other day and found a mustang 2 laying in the field and couldn’t help but think of you Dave. Rad dude with some sick scooter skills.

Every time I see you in someone else's video, your intro song starts playing in my background and it's awesome! Love the channel, super rad you and 4xfredwilliams still have the dirtheads growing! The little mustang is sweet, love the process🍻😎

Early Sunday morning after riding in Johnson Valley all Saturday. Coffee is hot, wife and kids are sleeping, and I’m really starting to dig the look of this most hated mustang. Maybe it’s just been so long since I’ve seen one. It’s like a mini version of my grandmas 73 LTD 2 door with a 460. I’m always learning something. Damn I need a real work shop.

Dave, I’ve watched you build so many air bag suspensions and I’d love to see some sort of tutorial on what bags to use, and best practices for good bag life in an off road suspension vs a bagged Mustang II. I want to build a rear bag suspension similar to Moms Spaghetti in my XJ.

Glad to hear you say ...gonna stop talking...don't talk about it be about it! Be about it while talking.

To get the smell out I use baking soda. Just place a large tray of soda into the car every time you’re not using it. Close all the windows. It’ll take a while but I’ve had success getting even the worse smells. Plus it’s cheap.

Dave nice to see the Cajon Speedway tee. I haven't thought about that place in years. Have some great memories there. You keep reminding me of the good times I had it in East county back in the 80's and 90's.

You are getting good video angles, better steady shots, sound is more consistent, great how to footage.. Glad you are hittin a stride... just more effecient and better quality episodes. Nice work Dave... oh cool... Friday shows! ⚡ see you then

All it took was Dave to make the Mustang II cool again, for the first time.

I noticed you were wearing a Cajon speedway T-shirt. I forgot how close your shop was to it I wish they would’ve never closed it. Keep up the amazing content you’re doing great.

Some people pay money for an oil undercoating. This car did it on its own and stayed preserved!

The million dollar question is can that poor old 2300 pull 5th gear? I'm guessing no haha. Unless you are going down hill at 70 lol. Great stuff. Love the spirit of this car!

Thanks for sharing all the nitty gritty details. I bet it’s a pain to slow down, wash hands, set up the cameras, and talk about what you’re doing and did. But that’s what makes it awesome to watch.

Hey Dave, your four link job on this inspired me to doa custom 4 link on my 63 Ford Falcon… you have me the confidence to get choppin and welding on it! Thanks!

Very cool, now you just need the rest of the thunderbird turbo coupe drivetrain to go into the mustang

I remember doing that swap back in the 90s on my buddies 79 notchback. Good times.

The little car just keeps getting better nice work. This is just me taking but I’d love to see a lace pattern on the roof in the original blue that would be Rad

The turbo motor that came in front of that trans would be a nice addition to the mustang. More power and drivablity without running the character of the car.

I am very impressed. The body is in excellent shape.

Dave sporting the Cajon Speedway tshirt, loved watching the pony stock (4 cylinder pintos) race there

You're doing great The simplicity and the relatable projects for a regular guy at home are a couple reasons this is one of my favorite channels you'll have to touch base on what you do for work during the week and how you're able to take a bunch of time off for events with out getting fired haha A Q&A would be good

Dave is more comfortable fabricating things from scratch than i am bolting things in.

First thing I thought when you said the trans went out was to swap it to a T-5 out of a turbo T-bird. I think those are World Class T-5s also, but not sure. Too bad you couldn't get the Turbo 2.3 and the 8.8 posi rear also.

So cool! Nice fix there. Sad you kind of got shafted on the T4, found exactly why they sold it the hard way, and well it worked out for the best.

I think I paid $40 for the Borg Warner T-10 from a junk yard in '87 or so, but that was back when these cars were everywhere. I swapped it twice on my '77 II. Once because the first junk transmission was actually junk. The second seemed to work. I changed it with a tiny floor jack and worn out 12 point sockets. I thought the car was old back then.

Loving the Mustang, Dave, I can really relate to what you are doing. Except for the air bags lol. Way back in the 70's, I was still driving my first car, a '65 Mustang GT. Rebuilt the engine and trans in shop class at my local community college, then less that a year later, an 18 wheeler wanted the lane I was in. Sooo, the motor wasn't hurt, I went out and bought a '67 Mustang, manual tranny with a six in it. Proceeded to begin swapping my 289 in the '67, wanting to keep the three speed manual, so I went parts hunting. Junk yard,d different shops, a few new pieces cause I didn't have much money. I ended up with parts from Mustangs '65 through '68. Found out a '63 bell housing wouldn't work. Had to modify some parts, swapped the '65 rear end in it, made this and that, and ended up with a driving car. The '67 was almost the same color as your Mustang II. Looked just as bad lol. Drove that car for a couple of years until I moved on to something else. Wish I had kept it. Now I have a '73 Mach 1 I drive to cruise ins and cars shows.

When you first picked that turd up i thought, why? Now...why not!!!! Whats not to love! Great vid and thanks for inviting us along!!!

Sweet Cajon Speedway shirt, I went there a bunch when I was a kid and raced at the rc car track that was next to it

Dig all of the content you produce. Q&A would be rad . I’d love to see some more hardbody progress and that mustang is the cats pyjamas 👌

A turbo thunderbird/SVO type power plant in this car would be SICK!!!!

Heck yeah Dude, a Live Stream Q & A session would be awesome, assuming Hazel would be there.

That is awesome! It is always nice to have a repair win like that where everything goes smoothly. (for once)

The first thing at the beginning was T5 swap😉 Pls do a LED headlight swap for your safety on your early ways to work.

Dave’s diy Mustang II T5 swap guide ! Badass that it worked out so easy ! Thanks Dave

You just made those turds worth 3x as much! Love it

I've got a T5 to 2.3l bellhousing if you're interested. I think it's a little bit deeper than than the SROD bellhousing and would help with the driveshaft yoke engagement.

It was a nice clean exchange and you lucked out on the front shaft modification and getting the new drive shaft to fit. Great job. Loved the video.

Awesome job Dave! Great video. I bet that T5 will be much nicer to drive.

Good upgrade! I helped a buddy years ago swap that same tranny into his 2.3 ranger.

Imagine if you could find a 2.3 carbonated turbo( 78-82 fox cars ). I've dabbled in stang 2's and early fox cars. Really love what you've done with this car. Keep up all the good work! If you happen apon a carbed turbo 2.3 make sure you get all the components from the donor car. ( 3 wire ignition module, redundant switch pack and correct turbo carb, distributor etc.) Factory they were 136 hp.

Nice to see something tiurn out easy for onece for you. Love the content. Gives this old Aussie so much inspiration.

I didn’t realize it was a 4 speed!!!! Best car ever!!! A 2.3 4 speed II is my dream daily

such an underrated classic! I loved my cobra IIs over the years...keep her rollin

Nice work, and I love the Cajon Speedway shirt, that place was rad

Great video with the Stang. Its a fun little project car. I love it

Very cool! Back in the late 80sI had a 75 Mustang II with a 302 and a the first thing I bought for it was a T5. Which really made driving the car more enjoyable especially on longer trips. If you do swap the rear axle, find a Ford 8 inch from a Mustang II, way stronger and worth it.

I love your Cajon Speedway shirt. I spent many Saturday nights there. Nothing but a parking lot now. New is not better.

Dave, swap the tailshaft out with a late Camaro T5 tailshaft, and the shifter will be closer to the stock position.

I love these types of videos just hanging out in shed 🤙

If you're really good at scrounging for kinda hard to find parts, the T5 from a 300Z has the correct shifter location, but the wrong speedometer cable hole. All you need is the tailshaft from it. I've T5 swapped 3 Mustang IIs over the years with varying degree of easiness/difficulty. Shifter location always bugs me, but with your skills you should have no problem making a shift lever that puts the knob in a decent location. I say varying degrees of difficulty because: 1) 351W + SROD 4spd Bell + Tremec 3550 = easy. 2) 5.0L + Mustang II bell + '88 Mustang T5 = not as easy. 3) 2.3L Turbo + 96 GT Bell and 5.0L clutch/flywheel conversion + 96 GT transmission = hard. For rears... 9" from late 50's Galaxy or Fairlane, obviously any 8" Mustang II, or ... pretty much any rear from 60's Mustangs. 64.5 to I think 66 or 67 are the same width and 68/69 are 2" wider. All those are practically bolt in if your suspension was stock. Since you have already modified the suspension I guess you could run anything that's near the right width so 8.8" is a pretty obvious option too. I just run a 4.11 posi 8" behind my 2.3L Turbo, the car's not very heavy and it'll most likely never see a drag strip. From my experience though, an 8" will likely break before the T5 does but I've only broken one behind a V8 and regularly no-lift shifted it.

Winning ! Probably woulda cost at least $300 to rebuild the old one plus now you got another gear to row !

You do some amazing stuff. I was wondering where you were from and when you cruised by Wallace I was like-"whaaaaaaat??" I'm in Spokane. Your metal work is amazing. I'd love to have to you work on my 914 I just saved from Hood River.Or.

Dude that was a slick swap the car gods were smiling on you .😊

We are slightly different people compared to regular people lol most people don't consider a 4 hr trans swap crazy most people aren't also swapping their transmissions lol ready for those weekly vids

Flashback! I had a newer version of this setup waaay back. 84 capri bubbleback. That little plastic clip that the fork goes over broke on me, locked it in 3rd. While I was on a delivery! Lost my job. Got a transmission from a courier for parts.

Thats a great trans upgrade. Great content as usual.

Can’t believe I am watching Mustang 2 Videos! Keep them coming! 😂

Ford ranger rears are 1" wider than yours but would probably fit, and most have much taller ratios too. They are a dime a dozen in all the junkyards .Would work great with that new 5 speed OD !!

With the leaks that poor thing has I'm surprised you didn't just pull the complete drivetrain. Those ole cologne motors leak like mad!

That thing is so rad nice work once again Dave love ur vids 🇨🇦

I always liked the mustang ii body style and honestly pintos too lol Thanks for doing this the option of an upgraded bolt in tranny is awesome 👌

I have tranmission envy. Just did the throwout bearing and clutch on my Ram 2500 with the NV4500. Boat. Anchor.

Love the T5 upgrade, this thing would be the perfect hot rod daily with a top end, and a cam. I’m still waiting on the custom stainless tube steel rear bumper though.

Gutsy taking it out early the next day untested. Keep up the work on it. Nice to see an uncommon rescue of what was such a common car. Also, got merch yet? Need merch so we can help you afford all the improvements that ride needs!

Great find, love this build!

Damn cool ford😎 sold my Galaxie 63,5 2 years ago😬 cheers from Sweden 🍻

Great content! I'm rather new to this channel, but am loving this build. Keep it up, and can't wait to see more!

A Turbo coupe engine would be really cool in this car!

Nice. Only need hand tools, a drill and hacksaw or cutoff wheel....and a file.

New subscriber and loving your channel from here in beautiful BC !

Love it when a plan comes together! Awesome video Dave.

i've never even seen or head of that transmission. I'm not a ford guy. but i immediately thought "oh cool someone put a t5 in it" and then you went ahead did it lol. nice job, love the mustang videos. \ edit: man i bet your road trip would've been even better with t5 overdrive. you'll have to do it again and find out haha

Ayy, I guess I had a feeling for what was coming lol, nice upgrade! That's pretty incredible that it almost bolted right in, talk about planets aligning, normally you do 2 months of research reading '90s message boards and '00s forum posts just for it to still not work like it's "supposed to", ha. Now I'm starting to crave a Pinto/Bobcat/Mustang Deuce to build...

I’d love seeing you Ecoboost that old M2.. bet someone following you has one from a wrecked Mustang..

So cool, what a funny little car. First stick car i drove was a '78 Mustang II with a V6. Would love to see a turbo on that 2.3!

Hey thx for representing El Cajon speedway old school. On the t shirt. Brother. Thx.

Nice swap on the little deuce.

I love this little mustang 2! Maybe you can do some light motor mods (cam) to the ol' 2.3 when you go to fix the oil leaks.

Love your hustle and grind bro, keep it up. Are you allowed to show us a snippet of your day job?

Sweet. Now you need to swap in the 2.3 turbo svo engine to complete the job

A friend had a Mustang II in college (early 80's) I liked the car but a deer jumped in the passenger seat and totaled it

Great video as always! If you're in the midwest and have time to swing up to MN I can hook you up with some 2.3 turbo goodies :)

Hey it's you!! 🤘😆🤘

The oil leeks will keep it from rusting. 🤣 Typing this right as You said it. 👍👍

Great content! Now Turbo Coupe swap that junk!

Way to go Dave! Love the Musturd, she is too cool for school!!

You’re absolutely killin it Dave, hopefully some day you can go to work full time in your own shop! Well done!

Hey nice swap! A Q&A would interesting