WC T5 to a SBC... How? Please help.

I did'nt see exactly the right one, but I would give these guys a call and see what they can come up with.

http://www.riley-auto.com/ADAPTERS.html


Good luck.


buflochp

 

Keep in mind that the Jeep bell will be for the 153 tooth flywheel. If you are going with the 168 tooth, you will need to do the adapter plate or modify the proper bellhousing.

I recently contacted a guy with a Jeep bell #3251268 for sale, and he said that the center hole was about 4 7/8". That would mean that if you decide to go this route, and that your '93 S10 tranny has a 4 11/16" collar on it, then you will want to swap the collar for one from a Ford or Jeep T5 or make an adapter ring.

I couldn't come up with an exact match either, but considering the cost of some of those adapter plates, I would modify a regular Chevy bellhousing. I modified one to work with the earlier car 3spd tranny, and it cost me $35 to get it welded up. I took the entire bell/tranny setup to the welding shop, and all they had to do was the welding. Be aware that sometimes the bell can "pucker", so some slight tweeking of the center hole may be required after its done.
I would get a piece of 1/2" thick aluminum plate, and drill/tap it for some steel threaded inserts. www.mcmaster.com can supply you with all the materials, should you have a problem finding what you want locally. I can help further if necessary. This modifications positive side is that you don't need to worry about centering the tranny.

General rule for fabrication with tapped holes is that you should use material that is at least as thick as the bolts you are using. Sometimes you can get away with using something a little thinner, but it would depend on what you are putting together. If you were to make an adapter plate, I would think you could get away with using 3/8" plate, but I wouldn't use 1/4". By making an adapter plate, you need to make sure the tranny is centered. I believe the exceptable runout is .011"

 

I'm pretty sure acceptable bellhousing alignment is about half that - .005" or so - I'm sure you can get away with more on a street-driven car using a pilot bushing vs a pilot bearing, but if you're doing it, might as well do it right!

 

Why is that not what he wants to do ? If the Ford T5 has the same bolt pattern (non-Muncie) as the S-10 T5 he has, what is the difference, besides the obvious, one being a Ford and the other being a GM ? Are the input shafts different lengths ?

I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm just curious what the difference is.

-Aaron

 

Read the thread - it'll answer your question.

 

I know I read .011" somewhere, but I looked at my '55 truck shop manual, and it says .008".


I don't know about Ford T5's, but Ford did use a shorter input shaft on at least some of there manual trannies.

 

Ok, but you said that was not what he wanted to do. I just stated that it sounded like he needed an adapter to go from a Chevy bellhousing, to Ford-style transmission bolt pattern. Apparently he would need a different thickness adapter for the difference in input shaft length, but is it not the same basic thing as what I stated in my first post ?

-Aaron

 

Nope. You'd need two adapters, so why bother? Can it be done that way? Sure - but lots of extra hassle for no gain.

 

Nailhead,

I have the same deal as you. So what did you end up doing? I may be able to find the 2.5 Jeep bellhousing but who knows...

-Shiny

 

cant you use a 4.3 S10 bellhousing from 93 or newer. I think it has the same bolt pattern a SBC and it would set up the transmission perfectly because it was designed for it.

 

I found a Jeep bellhousing and it should be here in the next few days. I'm using a camaro trans with ford pattern. I'll post as it bolts together.

 

No, becasue they never used the T5 behind the 4.3 in an S10.
However, they did use the T5 behind the 4.3 in the Astro van, and it has the "Ford" tran bolt pattern, and yes, that would work. Good luck finding one.

 

The center hole size on the Jeep bell is not the same as Chevy or Ford. The Chevy is smaller, so you will want to order up a Jeep T5 bearing retainer and swap them out (around $30 on Ebay). Make sure you do a proper job of shimming the front bearing when you do this.

Also, be aware that this bell is for the smaller 153 tooth flywheel...

 

Huh??? Then what is the 5 speed behind my 4.3???

-Shiny

 

Probably an NV3500. It's the same trans that Chevy used behind V8s in 1/2 ton pickups and has the bell housing cast integrally with the case.

 

Bringing this old one from the depths. I finally got around to mating my t5 to my sbc using a Jeep bellhousing. Couple posts up I said I was going to use a camaro trans but instead went with a Ford. the bearing retainer was a little bit to big and needed to be turned down. I used the jeep throw out bearing and clutch fork, sbc 10.5 clutch kit, but with a ford disk. The pilot bearing that came with the clutch kit needed to be bored out to the OD of the ford output shaft. Also 5/8ths" of the bearing retainer/output shaft sleeve was cut off. Other than that it all bolted together nicely. Only problem is finding a Jeep bell housing. Took me about 3 months to find one...

 

Good to here you got it going. I just read this for the first time I had some of the same problem with a OT car and I used a lakewood scatter shield for a late camaro and redrilled it for the trans it was a 6 cylinder one but the scatter shield had room to drill the bottom holes.

 

I don't know if I can/should resurrect this post , but ,will a 95 lt1 bolt up to my 292 Muncie 3 spd . after I remove the 292 ? and the lt1 has a t 56 on it . can I use that fly wheel /clutch/pressure plate with the Muncie 3 spd . thnx

 

so not any reply bump

 

The info in this thread is all over the place, I have been playing with T5 transmissions for a very long time now and Not Saying I know it all but I do Know my way around these transmissions. First thing I want to point out is putting a S10 T5 behind any V8 is not a good idea, The S10 T5 is not designed for a V8. Im not saying you won't get by with it but sooner or later it is going to fail. There is only one S10 WC T5 that will bolt up directly to a early GM bellhousing and that is the 1993 S10 2.8 V6 transmission #1352-216 the 2.2 4cylinder shares the same #1352-216 number but has the ford bell pattern. How do I know this for sure? Because I have probably had close to 100 of them over the last 17 years. Bottomline is Unless you are running a flathead or a low torque 6 cylinder, Stay away from the S10 gears. If you are putting a T5 behind a V8 then Use a V8 T5 and put the s10 top and tailhousing on it and your good. Keep in mind that a healthy V8 will destroy a V8 T5 as well. Guys these are not Strong transmissions. I have built T5 Race boxes Using very pricey aftermarket gears, But the reality is For the cost you may as well step up to a better stronger transmission. GM only used V8 T5's in camaro or firebird. 1982-1992 295 with the best being the 88-92 because they were WC and had the 295 gear set. The Most common V8 T5 is the mustang with the 335 gear set. Hot rod works has a adapter plate that will bolt a 94 up mustang T5 to a GM Muncie style bellhousing. All you have to do for the s10 forward shifter is change the top and tailhousing and your set. It's not rocket science! My main reason for posting this is I see everyone hunting that 1 year only 1993 2.8 S10 transmission and there is no need as it is not going to hold up to your V8 engine anyhow. You would be better off with a camaro NWC T5 transmission behind a V8 than a S10 WC T5 behind one.

 

I redrilled the top holes and tapped to metric then added two 1/2" thick tabs to the bottom.

 

Uh, I don't know if it's frowned upon to bump a 15-year-old threat like this, but there is a lot of good info here that I used when planning out my current build and I wanted to keep this question in this thread in case anyone else stumbles upon it...

Anyways, I have a 153-tooth SBC (307), Jeep bellhousing, and Ford/Mustang NWC T5 sitting in my A chassis right now. I have been researching clutch options, and it sounds like the setup out of the '88 Camaro as described above is a drop-in for this setup.

My question is... even with the Jeep/Iron Duke bellhousing do I still need to use an adapter or shorten the input shaft and collar? Like I said, I don't have the clutch in now but everything else is bolted up and there doesn't appear to be any interference anywhere. This is my first time cobbling such a "creative" drivetrain together so this might be a dumb question.

 

You won't know until you put it together.

The snout of the collar where the throw out bearing rides must not hit the clutch hub.

Also, I think the Ford bearing and GM bearing have a different inside diameter. You might need a GM collar, or a sleeve on the Ford one.

You can check this by sliding the throw out bearing on the collar. It should have very little play.

 

This isn't the best T-5 thread. You can get all the relevant information starting with Post# 50. The information in the 1st 49 is sketchy to say the least. Of course hindsight is more accurate than foresight.
Gimpy is right, until you actually fit all the pieces, you won't know.