Ni hijack...it's all good info! I just did 500 miles this weekend and the 5 speed is a pure joy to drive. I got a little driveline vibration but it came from the rear due to a bad pinion angle...the trans was awesome!
I did 600 last weekend after swapping a T5 in my 53 chevy with stock 235..BEST mod i've done yet! I know exactly how you feel...i shoulda done it a long time ago.
Hey guys thanks for all the great info on the T5 swap.I completed the swap 2 weeks ago on my 57 210 it has a 69 350.The old 3 speed was back in after the 4 speed died.I got a 91 S-10 T5 and used all the info collected here the swap was fairly easy.I drive everyday to work on I75 here in Ga and it has worked perfect.Now time to put the 3x2s on.Still wanting to make the mods to the shifter for shorter pattern but wanted to be sure it was working out first. Thanks Merry Christmas Rick
Hope you had as much fun as I did. Seriously. I know I cussed a lot and had to put the trans in and out several times, but honestly, it was fun. I was doing REAL hot rodding stuff. And the key is, I did it!!! with a little help from a couple friends...
i've been lookin to do this to my 53 for a while now, i have a couple of dfferent 235 engines at my house to use a 54 the 53 thats in it and i think a 57. i was plannin on usin the 57. but that year trans do i need, i have seen all kinds of lists of what year, but i want real opinions on what you guys think is the best, i know a guy that has an s-10 that is i believe a 90's year model. he said i can have the trans out of it. just curious if i could use that. i'll ask what year it is exactly.
Buffalo Enterprises That goes to an add he has over on the Inliners website. He "don't do no internet" last I checked so no website. Give him a call.
I was going to get a few made over here in England - I have a friend with a good machine shop and the crap pound makes importing one a bit expensive! Does anyone have any pictures of these adaptor plates or dimensions? I would particularly like to know how thick they are i.e. how far back do they push the trans away from the bellhousing? I have a T5 from an '85 camaro to go behind my 235. Interesting thread guys, thanks. Mark
Should be fairly easy..the 1/2" thickness will push the tranny back the right distance so no mods are needed on the input shaft.
Interesting info here. I'm have just such noise after putting the T5 in my `63 C-10 behind a 283. The truck had a Sag 3spd before and the T5's brg retainer fit-to-bell-hole was nice and snug so I wasn't expecting concentricity issues. I chalked the ratty sound in 1,3 and 5 to the fact that my T5 was a history unknown, freebie from under a tarp in my neighbor's back yard. Just planned on throwing a rebuild kit in it. Now I wonder? One problem I came up against in my swap was that the input splines weren't long enough to allow the disc to move away from the F-wheel when disengaged. I don't know, but maybe some early F-whls are thicker? It took some freehand work with cutoff wheel, dremel and fine file to extend the splines about 1/2". This extends the splines back onto an area of the shaft that's tapered down slightly but I figured the disc is only back on that section during shifts when the load is off. I read where some have had to remove material from the disc hub to fix this but my disc didn't have anywhere near enough meat to remove.
It may well just be old. Stock bellhousings can be off, but typically not. Put a new input shaft bearing in it (or rebuild the whole thing -they're pretty simple).
I am bringing this back up because I am pulling my hair out trying to get the T-5 behind my 283. There was no problem when I didn't have the clutch in, Ha! Now I am in the process of trying to make the linkage so I bolted up the clutch package I purchased a couple of years ago. The tranny is about 1/2" from seating to the bellhousing and I assume it is because of the "bearing retainer sleeve". My questions are: #1- Is there a magic number when it comes to how much I can cut off of this? #2- Is it ok to unbolt the snout to cut it off? ( I know Vance said he did, but he probably knows more than I do) #3- is this really even my problem, or is there something else that I am unaware of? This was the first mention of this problem I had seen in any of the T-5 threads. I took this pic from elsewhere on the interwebs to illustrate. Mine trans looks like the one on the bottom (s-10 I think.) The one in the middle seems like it would work better. I don't really know what I am doing and have never been in a transmission so any (constructive) tips would be greatly appreciated. -mikethegreek-
Mike, You really should take that sleeve off to cut it down. You don't wanna take any chances nicking or cutting into that input shaft. I did this almost two years ago and my memory sucks. However I seem to have documented it pretty well above. From my notes, I cot off 11/16" and then another 1/2"and that worked. I do remember not liking to re-spline the shaft, but the splines needed to be extended... and it was only for the throwout bearing to ride on. It's not like there was any real power being applied to it. And as far as I know, the trans is still running. Vance
Cool Vance , Thanks! I just bumped another thread that said to take 1" off the shaft so I guess I'll give it a whirl. -mikethegreek-
Yes, take it off and trim it. The next problem you may/may-not run into is the splines aren't long enough and the clutch disk will bottom out before the trans seats. Also the pilot tip may be too long as well. I think these vary with tolerances...
When I installed the T-5 behind the 235 in my 37 chevy p/u it made it improved it a bunch and is more fun to drive,now with that said dont expect a improvement in gas mileage if using the original carb and it will make it worse. The carb is designed to run at the faster RPMs and if you slow it down it will cause the power valve to open and use more gas,a softer power valve spring and some jetting will get you back to where it should be. I am still experimenting with mine and took the jet and power valve spring out of the carb from a 60 wagon 235 with a p/g,the jet was too small (.042) but I think the spring is ok and used a .051 jet and runs decent but have not taken it too far to check the gas mileage.
Is there something I did wrong? I have read every search item pertaining to the T5 and thought I had it covered. here is what I got. I am putting the T5 in my 52 Chevy truck. I used the 52 truck bellhousing matched to a 1962 235. It had an 11 inch fly wheel, so I used a clutch out of a 1985 Astro Van. I also bought a new pressure plate for a 1962 Impala and installed pressure plate, throw out bearing and pilot bearing. Everything seemed to go together pretty well. Now, the problem that I am having is that when I engage the clutch, I have about .060 between the clutch and fly wheel. So when I try to put the truck in gear, but with clutch petal engaged, when I turn the yoke at the rear of the transmission over it turns the engine over. I am not a master mechanic but I don't think this is right? I am wondering if there are different size pilot bearings because that is one thing i didn't check when assembling. I just bolted everything together. I am wondering if I should continue to put everything together and get it running or should I back track? Please help!!!
So if I put a T5 in my 54 chevy stepvan with a 235, I will have to get a clutch from an astro? or do I use the s10 clutch? This is kind of one of the things I am unclear of. I also read 62 impala pressure plate? Uggh! I'm so confused. I will re-read thread again hoping to find info I'm looking for but will be happy to soak in any info you guys may have for me in regards to which clutch setup I should purchase after all this trimming here, cutting there, re-splining... thx
the reason for the asttro van clutch is it is an 11 inch clutch with the right spline count and hub length(some manf vary, might need some grinding)...the s10 clutch is small, less than 10 inch...will work, just less area. should be able to use your original pressure plate.
I'm putting a T5 behind my 270 GMC in my 53 chevy truck, I went with a WC due to it being a bit stronger and my 270 is hopped up quite a bit with blower among a million other things. One thing not mentioned is the speedo. Alot of guys stay away form the WC just due to the electric speedo issue. The output shaft is slightly smaller at the area where the gear slides on on the WC, so you can't just slide one on and be done. Mine already ahd the pilot hole for the gear clip, and I(and many others) used some thin shim stock ..or beer can...and wrapped the shaft and epoxied on with the clip. never heard of one failing. A stock mech speedo adapter will bolt right in the hole of the tialshaft(if its the small version, or you an use a mech speedo tailhousing. Another note, all us truck guys want the S10 tailhousing due to its forward shifter position that works with our trucks. I kinda mixed and matched and used a trans with closer ratio gears and put on a s10 tailhousing.
Not quite sure I understand the problem, but the 235 pilot bushing is the same as nearly every other Chevy pilot bushing. It will work just fine. What is the T5 out of? did you have to trim anything off the input shaft? did you mock up the trans and disc without the pressure plate in place? make sure you didn't install the disc in backwards.
You need to know what diameter of clutch you currently have in the truck, and what the spline count is on the T5 you are planning on using. Until you can answer this, you can't be buying a disc for it. Chevy T5's come in 14 and 26 splines. They were also made in different diameters for different applications. For example, People using the Astro van one are using it because they need an 11" with 14 splines. If you need an 11" with 26 splines then you need one from an 80's V8 Camaro. Understand?
As for the hub length interference with the length of splines, you can cut some off the hub of the disc, or you can also use a spacer to move the tranny back. I sell a spacer that is 1/8" thick. There are others that sell a much thicker spacer that will allow you to not need to cut off anything. Your choice. Any of these methods can be made to work. Its just time vs. money...
I'm doing this exact swap in my 49 truck so I'll reread this thread a dozen times in the next 2 weeks. thanks!
I finally got all my issues sorted out with this install. I am actually running a 283 but this thread has been very informative. I ended up cutting an inch off of the bearing sleeve and then extending the splines on the shaft to gain about 1/2" of movement. I finished up my clutch linkage and it all works ( in the garage anyway.) Hopefully it will be on the road by the end of the summer. Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for the insights and help, so thanks! Check out my build thread for video proof. Thanks again. - mikethegreek-
Understandable. Now I know! Thanks. For now,I have found a clutch for my stock trans to buy me time while I source out all the stuff I need for my stepvan.
The Jalopy Journal
