FWD G series transmission into a GTX.

[Perfect Balance]

Hey, I recently had a transfer case go out in my 1988 gtx, and was having trouble sourcing a replacement, as well as I wasn't sure if I wanted to risk blowing another awd one again, since the car is really just my daily so I just need it to work.

I picked up a G series transmission out of a 91 Capri, and I was wondering what exactly I needed to make it work. Obviously the axles will need to be replaced, and it appears I need the shift linkage assembly, since the gtx has cables instead of linkages. I read online that I would need to drill the floor some to make them fit. That's fine, but what about the cable clutch? Are there any mounting provisions on the GTX clutch pedal for a cable clutch? Do I need a 323 gt clutch pedal assembly?

I've been scouring the net trying to find someone that has done such a swap, but without luck. Can anyone tell me what exactly is going to have to happen to get this transmission inside this car and working?

[Damkid]

Why not get an escort GT tranny? It's the same thing as the Capri tranny except its a hydro clutch

[Perfect Balance]

And it will bolt up to a 1.6 b6t, and I can use the 1.6 clutch?

Which axles would I need? I thought it required swapping of hubs.

[Damkid]

Yup it'll bolt to the B6T, you'll want to use the Capri XR2 or 323 GT (FWD) axles, they should work for you

[Perfect Balance]

Yup it'll bolt to the B6T, you'll want to use the Capri XR2 or 323 GT (FWD) axles, they should work for you

Well, maybe someone can confirm this, but it appears the mounting brackets for the hydraulic clutch cylinder are all there, so as far as I can tell, I should be able to swap the lever and fork inside the bellhousing for the hydraulic unit off the old trans. I got a really good deal on the trans, so its easier for me to spend some money making this work than it is to buy and escort trans.

I guess I need a halfshaft as well, or do the GTs not use the halfshaft for the pass side? Rockauto doesn't seem to have a listing other than left and right axles.

Does anyone know if there is a difference between the gt shift linkage and shifter assembly and the capri one? A local yard has a capri(what I got the trans from) and im wondering if I can use the parts from that car.

Thanks for the help guys.

[Rocketman]

The clutch forks & levers do not interchange. I don't remember exactly, but I tried this when doing my AWD conversion. I was trying to convert the GTX transmission to cable. I ended up modifying the hydro lever on the top of the trans.

On the Capri, you can drill out the top of the hydro pedal to accept the clutch cable end. It'll need a hole and a small notch cut. (not sure if this will work on the GTX) The cable bolts to the firewall the same as the master cylinder. The XR2 pedals I think are the same, or very close to the 323 GT.

The intermediate shafts aren't available new (maybe from Mazda) they can be rebuilt though. The GT's used the intermediate shaft. I have one for sale if you need, but you should go back and get as much as you can from the Capri. You'll need the FWD axles.

The rear transmission mount is totally different on the GTX. I don't know if a FWD mount would work. This hasn't been done before AFAIK.

Have you looked into sourcing a used AWD trans? or having it rebuilt? What broke? It's a shame to make a GTX FWD

[Perfect Balance]

The clutch forks & levers do not interchange. I don't remember exactly, but I tried this when doing my AWD conversion. I was trying to convert the GTX transmission to cable. I ended up modifying the hydro lever on the top of the trans.

So did you end up modifying the hydro lever to work with a cable? Not sure I'm following you here. If it's a matter of bracketry then I think I can' come up with something. I don't have the old box out yet so I don't know for sure.

On the Capri, you can drill out the top of the hydro pedal to accept the clutch cable end. It'll need a hole and a small notch cut. (not sure if this will work on the GTX) The cable bolts to the firewall the same as the master cylinder. The XR2 pedals I think are the same, or very close to the 323 GT.

That's good to know, worst case scenario I guess I'll be able to rig a clutch cable in there somehow.

The intermediate shafts aren't available new (maybe from Mazda) they can be rebuilt though. The GT's used the intermediate shaft. I have one for sale if you need, but you should go back and get as much as you can from the Capri. You'll need the FWD axles.

So the axles and intermediate shaft is the same for both vehicles. In that case I'll probably be giving another car to the junkyard to pick up the axles and intermediate shaft for the thing.

The rear transmission mount is totally different on the GTX. I don't know if a FWD mount would work. This hasn't been done before AFAIK.

If the front mount is the same then that will get me by until I can get a rear mount. The guys I got the trans from were kinda stingy I guess, they pulled everything they could off the trans before giving it to me.

Have you looked into sourcing a used AWD trans? or having it rebuilt? What broke? It's a shame to make a GTX FWD

The transfer case grenaded. I had a WTB thread on here with no luck, as well as a thread on the Yahoo mailing list with no luck. One place on car-part.com has one, but it's kind of far for me to drive and they want $500 for it. And even then, I don't know if the used one is any good, or how long it's going to last with the modifications I've got. The car is a daily so I can work on my other one, and I need it to be reliable enough that I can take the other one off the road for months at a time. I figured a fwd swap would be a cost effective way to go. I'll keep the awd parts in case I ever come accross the parts I need to repair it.

I've also got a LSD from a MSP that iirc fits in these transmissions, so at least the fwd won't be all bad.

[Rocketman]

So did you end up modifying the hydro lever to work with a cable? Not sure I'm following you here. If it's a matter of bracketry then I think I can' come up with something. I don't have the old box out yet so I don't know for sure.

Not bracketry at all. Yes, I modded the stock GTX hydro lever, I welded an extension onto it to mimic the stock cable arm.
I tried swapping the FWD clutch arm and shaft into the GTX trans. They are different, and do not interchange at all. The gtx clutch fork shaft, IIRC, is shorter and enters the bellhousing at a different angle.

So the axles and intermediate shaft is the same for both vehicles. In that case I'll probably be giving another car to the junkyard to pick up the axles and intermediate shaft for the thing.

As far as drivetrains go, the XR2 is near identical to the 323 GT. Only a hell of a lot more XR2 were made.

If the front mount is the same then that will get me by until I can get a rear mount. The guys I got the trans from were kinda stingy I guess, they pulled everything they could off the trans before giving it to me.

I had to heavily modify the front transmission bracket for my FWD to AWD conversion. I don't know how it would work in your situation. I don't think it's the same, though.

[Perfect Balance]

This is why it sucks to try something people don't typically do. I read "yeah the transmission bolts up" and "yeah you just use the axles from whatever the transmission came out of" and picked one up, and now I've come to find out this isn't all going to just drop in. Sigh...

Hopefully I can give those guys a call and get some more stuff off the car for a decent price. Sounds like I need axles, intermediate shaft, transmission mounts, shift linkages, and potentially a pedal assembly.

Thanks again for the help guys.

[Perfect Balance]

Bumping this thread with more questions. Does anyone know if the cross member will bolt up from a Capri? I'm getting the shift linkages, and transmission mounts here in the next few days, and I'm pretty sure the mounts will not bolt up to my crossmember. If making them work simply involves bolting on the Capri crossmember, then I will pick one up as well. The trans mount that mounts to the frame is also different, and does not bolt on to the fwd transmission. Anyone know if a Capri trans mount will bolt onto the factory location on the GTX?

Also, I've confirmed the clutch cable won't work with the GTX pedals, but I am planning on removing the pedal and simply welding on the little hook needed for the cable to attach.

And my final question for now, from what I can tell the, the bulkier clutch/flywheel setup from the GTX "should" fit into the FWD G series trans bellhousing, but I've only seen one post online suggesting that it will work, can anyone confirm?

As far as the hydro/cable issue, I was able to successfully swap the clutch forks and lever over to the fwd transmission, and while there are holes to mount the slave cylinder to the transmission, it isn't aligned correctly to make it work, though honestly, someone will some welding skill would easily be able to make a relocation bracket to move it over a bit towards the front of the car.


This is turning out to be a nightmare though. My only hope is once it's all said and done I've got something far more reliable than the awd drivetrain ever was.

[Rocketman]

No idea on the subframe/crossmember. The FWD trans does not use a framerail engine mount like the GTX does, that's a 4wd specific part.

Bulkier clutch? The XR2 and GTX clutch/flywheels are the same. It will work.

[Perfect Balance]

No idea on the subframe/crossmember. The FWD trans does not use a framerail engine mount like the GTX does, that's a 4wd specific part.

Bulkier clutch? The XR2 and GTX clutch/flywheels are the same. It will work.

So I don't need to worry about the framerail mount altogether? Awesome. Saves me some money.

Maybe I was wrong on the clutch. I was flipping through my FSM I have, and the the diagram for the FWD transmission clutch setup appeared to have a much smaller clutch assembly (same diameter, just smaller in actual bulk, like the flywheel is thinner or something) but I guess that was the F series trans then. Never mind.

[tweety2300]

So I will say that I am the new owner of this car and the fwd conversion was successful not sure on everything that was done but if anybody ever needs to know I can look through and tell you what was done. I wish I knew what clutch was used though as it slips doing hard shifts into 2nd

[Perfect Balance]

So I will say that I am the new owner of this car and the fwd conversion was successful not sure on everything that was done but if anybody ever needs to know I can look through and tell you what was done. I wish I knew what clutch was used though as it slips doing hard shifts into 2nd

To do the fwd conversion, I basically used everything from a Mercury Capri XR2. Entire swap actually ended up running me about $500 after all the cables and axles and such, so it's really not much cheaper than simply replacing the awd trans. Although in my case I was hoping to create a more bulletproof drivetrain since the car was my daily driver.

Capri cable clutch G series transmission
Capri subframe AND mounts (only 3 of the 4 bolts line up, had to do some grinding)
Capri clutch cable (welded a small bracket onto the oem clutch pedal for the cable. Clutch interlock switch can no longer be used in factory location. I simply taped the switch shut and tucked it behind some things)
Capri shift linkages. ( Hole needs to be made in the floor through a few pieces of sheet metal. Wish I could have done this again with the proper tools)
Capri axles and intermediate shaft

The clutch is the same one that was in it, it's a GTX clutch and flywheel, although I have no idea if it's an oem replacement or aftermarker "oem" replacement.

[Rocketman]

Thank you for updating.

Did you remove the driveshaft & just let the rear end run free?

Tweety any hope in bringing it back to AWD?