That is one awesome looking project....Congratulations on a fantastic job so far and the rendering looks great.

Cool build, look forward to seeing more. Judging by the rendering and build so far, that is going to be one sweet Torino.

Time for another update.. been a while.

Finished the rebuild of both T56 transmissions. Much easier than I had expected. They both had the same 3/4 stamped key issue, and one had a sheared up input shaft (Ford input shafts only use 10 spline instead of the GM 26 spline.. damn OEM cost reductions!).

Car was not going anywhere with this shaft. Ebay $13 replacement will do the trick. I will not be running enough power to replicate this failure (not yet at least).
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_009.jpg
Ebay used press coming in handy..
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_012.jpg
New sycro billet keys and blocker rings installed and ready to go:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_010.jpg
Measuring shaft preloads (since they use tapered roller bearings) and added shims to get 0.000 end play.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_011.jpg
All done, cleaned up and ready to install:
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_013.jpg

Trans #2..

We bought this one from a guy in Ohio for very cheap.. he was fed up with the way it shifted and had brought it into the dealer to take a look. The dealer pulled it apart and found the stamped keys destroyed and pieces were all over the magnets (just like the other one we have). The blocker rings (shown below) were warn out and then some. Thankfully they did not wear down more or my gears would have been chewed up. At this point - I am guessing the dealer found it would be cheaper to just replace it, so they did. They quickly pieced it back together (leaving several key pieces out) and that is how we bought it.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_014.jpg
Here is a pic of everything disassembled and in the parts washer. Still amazed they can actually make these thing work.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_015.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tor...ebuild_016.jpg

Now back to the interior once again. The top portions of the subframe connectors are now completely welded in, so it is time to finish up the firewall and the floors. The firewall was trimmed to fit around the torque box and was adjusted to the final position both side to side and up and down. The floor needed to be slotted to clear the subframe connectors both front and back. We ended up lowering the floor 3/4" to get everything where we wanted it. Just need to add an inch or two to the front pan so it will mate up with the firewall. This works out great and will no longer require toe pans. I had to pull out the hammer and dolly set to get the profile of the front of the floor pan to match the firewall - worked out quite well in the end.
Just need to make up extensions for both sides of the firewall and make up a tranmission hump, then everything can be welded in for good. Finally starting to feel like we are getting somewhere.
http://www.twintorino.com/images/Tex...eplace_018.jpg http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_f...eplace_013.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_f...eplace_014.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_f...eplace_015.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_f...eplace_016.jpg
http://twintorino.com/images/Texas_f...eplace_017.jpg

Been watching your progress with utter amazement!Since I dont have any fabrication skills such as you my friend,I cant believe how you have just attacked this project with a take no prisoners approach.Things that just refused to work or parts that refused to co-operate with your vision were simply made to WORK!.This kind of enthusiasm and your engenuity in making all melt and fit together is truly unbelievable in my eyes.Im new here and cant believe the amount of work and time you have invested and must say your Torino or should I say Torino's X 2 will truly be a sight to behold when finished.
This post is written to egg you on and I watch in amazement at your incredible workmanship.Well done sir..well done!:thumbsup:

I paint cars for a living and this as labour intensive as it is--but your project is mind blowing to see..the evolution of your Torino is incredible..Keep up your excellent work.
Nick:bow:

Wow - thanks!

Before we bought these cars.. we really did not know how to weld very well, nor did we have any of the tools or equipment to do so. This project gave us an excuse to hunt down all the used tools we needed and also gave us some seat time behind them. Just trying to document these things and hoping to inspire others to try something similar :D .

The bearing puller in this picture is positioned incorrectly. The saddles, not the threaded shafts, should stradle the gap. Less chance of bending the threaded shafts.

Time for a couple more updates..

We started to lay out all of the wiring in the car as that stage is quickly appreaching. There is a lot more room to put everything in here compared to the original Mustang that it came off of. The big challenge here is going to be making room for everything once the HVAC is installed and in position. The computer processor, fuse panels, and lots of other items that wer never on the original Torino need to find home too. The Mach 1 cluster and all the wiring connectors will stay until the car is started for the first time.. and then everything will go on a diet. Al the wiring and connectors that are not needed will be cut out. The parts that remain as original Torino parts (very few pieces like the steering column and various lights) will be spliced in also.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_wiring_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_wiring_003.jpg

Got started on some of the smaller details of the project. In this case, the door locks. Every once and a while you are really surprised that something works for a change. In this case it was with the door locks. Believe it or not, a lock cylinder from a 2003 Mustang actually fits exactly into the stamped hole in the body of a 1968 Torino. It fits exactly with no mofifications - retainer clip and all. A custom rod is needed to connect it to the door latch - but that is to be expected. I ended up making a quick one with a welding rod, and the key now locks and unlocks the door.. kinda neat. Note that the lock is actually black - for some reason 2004 Mustangs are polished as we found out. Black will eventually be removed. Only one issue here - Mustangs do not have a lock cylinder on the pass side, and Torinos do. As luck would have it - a local Ford dealer was selling off excess stock this week on Ebay, and one of the parts they had was replacement Mustang lock sets. These come with 5 bags of key tumblers, and you simply select the tumblers to match the key you have, and then you assemble and install. This adds a cylinder to the pass side with ease.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex..._locks_001.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex..._locks_002.jpg

Finally got the last of the firewall out.. had to remove the upper lip that ties into the cowl (gets rid of the 1" or so overhang too which is good). Kinda doing the opposite to what most people do when they remove the cowl panel :). Actually got a chance to put the stretcher shrinker to work since the upper lip of the firewall is curved. Have the drivers side almost ready to weld to the firewall.. just have to work on the pass side.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex...l_mods_011.jpg

There is and end in sight with the firewall mods. Almost getting ready to weld everything together and then weld it into the car. Once it is done it will be great as everything will bolt right in. Not sure what it would have looked like if we kept the original on there. Once everything is painted black should blend much better. Just need to extend the pass side floorpan and the fab work will be done for here. Rather than double up the material near the torque box like the stock setup, we figured we would just use them as is. Save a bit of material and make the process easier.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex...l_mods_014.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex...l_mods_015.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex...l_mods_016.jpg

In the meantime - it was time to get going on the steering since this was somewhat of an unknown. The steering will be a cross between a 1968 column and 2004 Mustang. The column needs to be shortened to clear the pedels like on a Mustang, and also to line up with the rest of the system correctly and clear the headers. Beleive it or the column shaft on both are exactly the same. They use a 3/4 double d spec. This way it will require very little mods to get the universal joint to work with it. We will also use the steady bearing at the end like a Mustang. Just need to fab up a collar. I sacraficed the stock column shoft for now.. as I will eventually be using a floor shift column.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_steering_002.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/texas_steering_003.jpg

Found a home for the cruise control module behind the front wheel and inside the fender.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex...ontrol_001.jpg

Getting ready to get the shock towers in too. Have all the suspension and tools needed now, so this will start shortly. Too bad 315's won't fit on the front of the car :). Need to find the exact position of the upper mount. To do this we will be building a jig off the front clip we have.

http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex...t_susp_021.jpg
http://www.twintorino.com/images/tex...t_susp_022.jpg