Ok, this is my first post, and I've read a bit on the h.a.m.b. but haven't seen a conclusive answer as to the possibility of swapping a T-5 manual transmission for my stock 3 speed (no overdrive). The trick seems to be adapting the T-5 to the torque tube, if that is possible. I have seen some success on the '47-'55 (Advanced Design), by using an open driveshaft opposed to the closed torque tube driveshaft used on the first series ADs, but haven't been able to find too much on people doing this with an Art Deco truck. If I'm not mistaken the '56-'60 had an open driveshaft, opposed to the closed torque tube, so that might be a factor. Anyone have success at doing this? I have a newer pressure lubricated 235, vintage '55-'62 and I read on Langdon's site that those should mate with the T-5 without an adapter, but the threads I've read have folks piecing together the transmission with different shift forks, pressure plates, OD gears...it didn't seem very straight forward. I currently have a 3 speed without overdrive, and I've heard the 3 speed with overdrive is a direct swap, but it doesn't provide much over the 3 speed without overdrive so seems like more work than value it will provide. I just got my pickup recently and it has a 4.11 rear end, so it's a dog and will only go about 45-50mph which is the limit of how much pain I can suffer. I will be swapping the ring/pinion to a 3.55 before I do anything, but contemplating if it would even be worth considering upgrading to a T-5 at the same time. I know the 3.55 will give me a better highway experience, so I'm inclined to go ahead and see how the current 3 speed reacts to the 3.55 ring/pinion before considering the T-5, the downside being that I would need to open the pumpkin again and remove the carrier to get the transmission out I believe. Probably not that much extra work in the end though, since the 3.55 might just make the truck drive well enough. Any comments? Anyone put a T-5 in an Art Deco pickup? Any tips if so? Alan
If you have to use some new (open drive) parts, put ALL new parts in it. Hooking a torque tube to a 5 speed makes no sense at all.
The .73 overdrive T5 with 3.55's might be abit long legged depending on tire diameter. Langdon likes a 3.73 with the .73 overdrive. The .86 overdrive T5 might be better if your tires are tall. On my '57 i am running 3.45's with a .73 overdrive T5 with 26" tires and my 235. Not on the road yet but fear it may be long legged. Find an open drive line rear end and forget the enclosed deal, had one in my '39 with the original 216, something wasnt right twisted several drivelines for no apparent reason. Dont know if TF rear end is right width but have my '57 in storage van, others shouldnt be hard to find.
Take out the torque tube and upgrade with a latter chev rear end. You'll get better brakes along with the deal. My truck has an early '60 rear end and I'd guess without o/d that 3.55 would work good but with o/d I'd go with the 3.73. I'm running a 327 and 350 auto with 3.08 rear end and I'd like to have a little higher ratio, I'm only turning 2000 RPM at 65 mph.
Yeah, I am planning to do just that...but it seems worth pondering if I want to start swapping the rear end out with an open driveshaft. The truck has 235/75-15 on it, and those radials are just about the exact size as the original 6x16 bias plys. Off the top of my head I think it's about 28.8" vs. 28.9". He also seems to prefer more torque off the line than some by looking at his numbers. He doesn't rate the original 3 speed without overdrive very high, but a number of people seem to feel that the 3 speed with 3.55s is acceptable. I guess it's all relative. Overdrive of some type seems to make sense to bring the ratio down below 1, for better the highway speed. How did the brakes change? Were they different than the Huck brakes? Ok, hard to tell exactly what year your truck is. Looks like an Art Deco or a '40, but the side vents say it's an Art Deco I believe. So it is possible to get that working. If I was going to put a v8, I would definitely go with a 327. Most of the resto-mods use a crate 350 it seems. for the time being I'm going to stick with the 235 that is in it. I looked at a '46 in Reno that had a 327 in it. Some speed shop in Sacramento evidently did the engine. The truck rode like crap, it had disc brakes that were so touchy you do a forehead implant into the windshield. To make matters worse there were no seat belts. I drove about 6 hours each way to see it...when I got home I told him I wasn't even interested in making an offer. That truck whined when you hit the gas and screeched when you hit the brakes...the seller told me, "You'll get used to it..." LOL None of the gauges worked, speedo didn't work, what a mess. the engine was pretty...LOL
Did anyone know the answer to his question on whether or not an adapter was necessary to mate a 62 235 bellhousing to T-5?
Torque tube can be used with a T5 from a 4x4 transmission. Someone on the Hamb was making a kit for it. Not cheap but a great way to keep as much of the car/truck traditional but get 5 speeds. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/jeep-t5-with-torque-tube-adapter.1102314/
No adapter is needed if using a 48 and up bellhousing but the mounting for the brake and clutch pedals will be lost,the original bellhousing will need a adapter and the input shaft will not have to be cut down with the use of the adapter but will have to be cut with the newer bellhousing.
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