Hey folks! I've spent many hours looking at several forums about t5 swaps and I'm still a bit confused on some things. I've never done a manual swap before. Here's what I have. 1988 Camaro t5. Looking for an s10 tail housing. I bought a t5 clutch kit for am astro van. It came with throw out bearing, pilot bearing, pressure plate,and clutch disc. The truck is a high hump 60 apache crewcab with manual 3 speed/283 currently. It Has the original hydraulic slave setup. Will I use the t5 throw out bearing or the original c10? Will the apache clutch fork and slave cylinder work for the t5? Do I use the pilot bearing for the t5 or the c10? Will the t5 bearing retainer or input shaft definitely need to be cut down? Any other tips or tricks? Thanks in advance!
Look for Flat Ernies T5 thread. Seems it got shut down, but there is probably information in it for you to use. Just last week I gave a 3rd Gen Fbody V8 bell housing to a buddy, I have talked to him since, if he hasn’t got his swap done, I’ll ask him to take some measurements and I can compare to a BH I had on a 265 from an early 60’s Chevy PU. Regarding the pilot bearing, I think there’s two sizes for SBC flywheels (OD) but fairly sure the inner pilot hole is the same size. I had a similar Dodge from the Forest service 40 years ago. Mine was 4wd, was a great truck for hunting/fishing trips. Sold it when I took off to Arizona after getting to Phoenix, wasn’t conducive for that “city driving”. Lol
If you have a transmission from a V8 Camaro, then it might just fit right in place of the original transmission, as long as you use the correct clutch disc that matches the splines on the transmission. the release bearing needs to match the pressure plate. The pilot bushing should be the same for both. If you have a V6 transmission, then I have no idea what you'd do to make it work. Might want to post some pictures of the transmission, so we can see what it looks like. or we could just guess?
I used the same transmission ('88 Camaro T5 but w/ S10 tailshaft conversion) in a '68 C10 behind the stock 305. Original trans was a 3-speed manual, column shift. Trans bolted right up to the stock bellhousing. As Squirrel mentioned, I used a pressure plate that matched the bellhousing bolt pattern and clutch that was the appropriate size with splines to match the T5 output shaft, all from McLeod. Was able to use the stock clutch arm and throwout bearing as well. Very simple swap. Measure the output shaft of each trans and you'll know where you stand. That goes for the pilot bearing as well. Cool truck by the way!!!
Doesn't the Camaro T5 have that odd/angled mount as well? Best bet is to find an S10 T5 (or tailshaft, at least), as has already been said. Vintage Vandal- did you do the conversion to crew cab, or is that one of those South/Central American factory jobs???
It shouldn't be a problem with and 88 trans, I think it starting around 93 when they went to the Ford pattern trans that they are bolted on at and angle. Tailshaft swap info here A Camaro T5 with the S10 Conversion - Lugnutz65ChevyStepside (weebly.com) If Vintage Vandal has bucket seats the shifter location may not be as big of a deal it will just be back further. You have to switch tail shafts with a bench seat. Lugnutz pretty well fills in the blanks when it comes to T-5 in a Chevy. T5 Info Page - Lugnutz65ChevyStepside (weebly.com)
I would use the stock C-10 bellhousing, pressure plate, throwout bearing and clutch fork. Then just get the right diam clutch disc with the correct splines (1 inch, 26 teeth I think?) to work with the C-10 pressure plate. Use whatever pilot bearing has the right OD and ID to match your combo, I think the C-10 may be the right one. I have no idea on the Astro parts if they are able to use or not, the clutch disc is probably good to use. You may need to cut down the T-5 bearing retainer, depends on the length issues. I guess an alternative would be to use a std Chevy bellhousing and all of the Astro parts, assuming your flywheel fits the pressure plate bolt pattern. Then you just need to adapt the clutch linkage to the new fork assy. Camaro with T-5 had bellhousing where the tilt was built into the trans mounting, so no on a Camaro T-5 bellhousing.
Thanks for all your help fellas! I plan on using the c10 bellhousing. As for the truck, GM never made a crew cab but a few coach companies made them. Nearly all of them were purchased for railroads,military,or forestry depts. Mine is an original alleged to have come from a military base in California
The s10 t5 prior to 93 used a mechanical speedometer. 93 and up i think, used an electric speedometer. Do your research, i could be off 1 way or the other. The s10 trans as previously stated has the shifter in the upright, back position. The car trans shifter is tilted towards the driver and in a different position forward of the s10 if i remember correctly. I actually have some varios parts.. bellhousing, flywheel, hydraulic clutch master and slave and pedal setup, t5 transmission with ele. speedometer. Maybe some other stuff. Not sure what if anything will help ya out, but let me know if so. Way cool truck by the way.
Here's the install story on my '68, for what it's worth... https://www.hotrod.com/articles/1201cct-t5-transmission-install/
I changed a 67 stepside to a Camaro T5 a while back and did exactly what you said here by using the truck bellhousing, pressure plate, throwout bearing. In Nashville TN we are lucky to have a shop that builds clutches and ya just tell them what diameter clutch and count your splines. An alternative on the seats is to cut out the horseshoe in the front of the seat for the shifter. I had not thought out my swap thoroughly enough and was surprised when I tried to bolt the seat in! I just cut and welded the seat frame and foam and then restitched the bench seat. It looked like it came that way! Sorry, the truck is long gone and I had not begun to carry a cellphone around at the time I built the truck.
First thing is, you guys on the HAMB are always awesome at sharing your knowledge and it's greatly appreciated. I got the old 3 speed out today. The astrovan pressure plate matched the c10 flywheel bolt pattern, the clutch disk, pilot bushing, and throwout bearing doesn't look like they'll cause any issues. It appears I need to trim about 1/4" off of the t5 input shaft to match the old saginaw. But as far as the bearing retainer goes, do I cut that down to match the old 3 speed as well? Do I just install the t5 and look around and inspect for problems? What exactly would I look for? The t5 would need roughly 1.25" trimmed off to match the old trans. Anything else I should be aware of?
I ended up cutting the shaft and retainer to match the old tranny and it seems to have worked well so far. I bought a cheap Amazon short throw shifter for a mustang and cut it to fit. And after some cutting and welding I think I made it work without doing the s10 conversion. Still need to figure out a better shifter. I may end up fabricating something up. Once the driveline is done being made at the shop in a day or two, I'll see how everything works out!
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