American Powertrain Five-Speed Transmission install

13. Now Fredrick is finally able to bolt up the bellhousing for the final time.

14. By placing a straight edge across the bellhousing, Fredrick measures to the end of the clutch fingers to help set throwout bearing clearance.

15. Fredrick installs the AP hydraulic throwout bearing onto the transmission and measures the distance between the throwout bearing face and the mating surface on the front of the transmission. This distance should be around 0.100-inch shorter than the distance between the bellhousing and the clutch fingers.

16. Extra clearance can be taken up by adding shims over the input shaft collar as necessary.

17. This stud threads into one of the bolt holes on the transmission’s input shaft retainer. It slots into a notch on the hydraulic throwout bearing to keep it from spinning on the input shaft.

18. Here’s the throwout bearing correctly installed on the input shaft. AP has obviously tried to make everything as foolproof as possible. The throwout bearing arrives pre-bled with hydraulic fluid to reduce the chances of air bubbles giving you a squishy pedal.

19. Now the Tremec transmission can be slid into place. AP has already installed the correct shifter box at the factory, so the shifter mount lines up perfectly with the existing hole in the transmission tunnel. Here, the included crossmember is bolted up.

20. A little electrical work is required. Here, Silcox solders the reverse light switch into the wiring harness. On older cars like this Cougar, you can never be sure what work has already been done, so it is always a good idea to use an Ohmmeter to test and make certain you have the correct wires before you begin cutting and soldering.

21. To help ease mounting the master cylinder in a variety of locations and/or angles, AP came up with this locking swivel bracket that’s fabricated from high strength steel.

22. The master cylinder still needs to be plumbed, but here you can see how the bracket mounts to a hole cut in the firewall.

23. To fit properly, the clutch master cylinder must be mounted low on the firewall and directly underneath the brake booster. But a remote reservoir can be mounted high on the firewall for easy access.

24. Paxton and Silcox install the new driveshaft and the exhaust.

25. Here’s the new clutch pedal right where it should have been all along.

26. The owner will need to install a shifter boot, but here you can see how the new shifter sits within easy reach of the steering wheel.

27. Besides, being more fun to drive, the new transmission kit actually helps get more horsepower to the rear wheels. Before-and-after tests on the dyno showed that the AP kit helped put an extra 22 horsepower to the rollers.