Well, I have searched and had not much luck. Lots of T5 swap info but not rear ratio talk. I have decided to put a T5 behind my 216 in my 50 Chevy. It runs so good I just want to keep it for a while longer. It doesn't even have 50,000 miles on it and it is dead reliable. I have found the T5 adapter and looking for an 82-92 S10 transmission. I am gouing to use Chassis engineerings rear end spring kit. What gear ratios are you guys running behind the T5's? I am llooking to get on the freeway and cruise 80 if I want to do so without laboring the old inline too hard. Now even with the powerglide rear I am screaming it at 60. I want to keep fairly original but more driveable so it seems like a good choice for me at this time. Any info appreciated....Thanks
depend, some have a crazy low 1st that would be short with a 4.11 or 3.90 gear but general rule 3.43 - 3.73 would be great. Tire size also comes into play. Stay away from the 3.08 - 2.73 or 5th is useless. I had a 55 chevy rear, 3.36 I think, short tires and a 4 cyl t5 behind a 235. I could start out in 2nd pretty easy. Flat Ernie breaks it all down.
I was under the impression most guys with cars like mine were running the S10 trans mainly because of shifter location, easy to findand cheap. An adapter and a clutch disc and its in...How would it drive like a truck? I would rather not mess around changing tailshafts...etc... I can find the S10 trannys all day for $50-$75 and slap one in. I am sure it will drive just fine, I have a stock 3 speed now so I am sure it will be worlds better than it.
You won't have enough power to pull OD with anything lower than a 3.70. Can't see how you think it is screaming at 60 with the 3.55 PG gear. We use to run 216s with the stock 4.11 gear at 65 and better with no issues back in the 50s-60s.
I have a 216 with a fuller roller cam and rockers plus dual carbs and an HEI. I use a T-5 and originally had 3:73 rear gears. Not suitable for me. Then I went to 3:31's and while better still not suitable. Now I have 3:07's and those allow me good starts, good climbs and good highway engine speeds. My tach says 2680 RPM at 65 MPH now. I get about 16 MPG's too on level roads at 55 MPH. Normbc9
I have a T5 in my modified and have gone with the .85 OD gear as it works best with my little 2 liter Ford motor. I have 8.20 x 18 rear tires that are 33 inches tall and I run my quick change with a 4.68 gear. The car runs a nice 3000 at 60 in 4th and it is 2500 in 5th, my little motor likes 3000 so I try to keep it around there. So I would suggest finding what rpm your motor really likes and then picking a tire OD that looks good and from that pick the rear gear. Try to stay with the S10 box as most of them use the .85 OD gear. Rex
I am loooking for someone running this setup so I know what to buy. I am not going to change rearends 3 times to get the desired outcome. I am sure you used to run them at 65 years sgo, I just do not feel comfortable to hop on the interstate and run 65 to a show 3 hours away with it sounding like it is floored and going to blow up at any moment. Just trying to make my car more driveable and enjoyable without totally hacking it up.
How would an 1989 S10 5 speed with the ratios, 1<SUP>st</SUP> – 3.76 2<SUP>nd</SUP> – 2.18 3<SUP>rd</SUP> – 1.41 4<SUP>th</SUP> – 1.00 5<SUP>th</SUP> – 0.72 work behind my 216 with a rearend out of a blazer with a 3.43 ratio. I am looking for a car to cruise around town but be able to get on the interstate and run 70-75 to a show 3 hours away if I feel like it. I feel so overwhelmed with all of this stuff, just want to buy the stuff before the snow flies and get to work. But I don't want to buy the wrong stuff either. Any help appreciated.
Maybe you need to play with a gear calculator for awhile. Knowing what you have and what you want for an outcome and then decide if the gear spread works for you. http://ctny.audiworld.com/mark/s4/gears/gear_calc.html .
You have 3.07's with a T-5 and the engine is 2700 rpm at 65? Something just ain't right with that.You are in 5th gear?
Yeah, 3.07's and an overdrive. I would think RPM's would be laess than 2700 too. I would think around 2000-2100
Can't help with the ratio but you need an 86ish or older T5 to get the mechanical speedo. In 85 and 86 they come with either mechanic or electric 84 and older are mechanical
Thanks, yeah I do want to keep my speedo working. I need to go to the junkyard and search, just making sure I have a clue what to look for that will all work together in the end.
I have an OT chevy truck...integrated head 250, with a car T5, 1352-028 tag #, 0.73 OD, 3.73 rear gears, 275/60/15 tires. 60 mph is about 2200 RPM. I think the 3.73's gears are perfect with the 0.73 OD .
Looks like a rear ratio of around 3.40-3.70 is going to work out best. I guess I need to hit the junkyard this weekend if I can find the time.
I researched this very same thing for my '50 Chevy. I'll be running a later model 6-cyl. 250 out of a truck. Anyway, I don't have any of the info here with me, but the first thing I did, was to check what the 6-cyl. stick shift, S-10's were running as far as rearend gear ratios. I also checked what the Camaros (6-cyl.) were running too. Although, I think the Camaros had a different OD final drive ratio, at something like 0.67, can't remember. The 4-cyl. S-10's ran a different gear ratio, I'm guessing because of horse power differences between the 4 and the 6. Also, if I remember right, the S-10 rear end is just about the right width for the '49-'52 Chevy. So, you might wanna hit the wrecking yard and pull both the trans & the rearend out of the same truck.
Sounds like those old solid lifters are loud and need adjustments The real happy would be get a hold of a 3 speed stock overdrive with the powerglide rear - I think you can run 70/75 with the od 3 speed.
Not sure how the solid lifters came into this discussion...but yeah. I think it would be more effort than it is work to find a stock OD. I think the closed driveline sucks and rather run a modern open driveshaft anyhow. So I will be running a T5 and an S10 Blazer rear axle. Perfect width, maybe I can find the trans and rear from the same truck, that would be easiest to do.
Well it's quit well obvious you don't know a thing about a old stovebolt! There is a ton of T5 swaps do a search you say one thing then another Let me fix my input for you - You want a Babbitt rod motor to do the 80 mph thing and live - with just some gears *It want live long* but get after it. OUT AND OVER!!
I have a '41 Chevy with a 235 six that's hopped up a bit. My T5 is the 3.76 first gear from an 86 S10 and I'm running a 57 Chevy rear end with a 3.55 gear. The tires are 215R15. I can drop it into OD at about 45 and she pulls just fine. I ran it this way this past summer. I have another pig ready to install with all new bearings and a 3.36 gear. Gonna put it in this winter and give it a try next year. Since the 216 is only rated at about 90Hp and truly delivers less than that and considering my 235 pulled nearly 150Hp on the dyno, I'd think you'll be just about right with a 3.55.
Well ,LB+1...Never said I was a stovebolt expert. This is my first one and I am learning. I have a full pressure 235 to rebuild and swap into it, just that it runs and drives right now and I want to keep it that way until funds allow the 235 rebuild. Why wouldn't it live at 80mph if the gearing allows it to spin the same rpm as it is now when I am running 60? So, I guess it is quite obvious you don't know what other plans I have in the works. At least be happy that I am keeping the old inline 6 and working with it, if I came on here with a 350/350 combo everyone would bitch about that too. Bottom line it is my car, if I blow up 10 216's running 80 with them, oh well...my time and my money. Thanks for your opinion.
I have a T5 with these ratios 1st 3.76 2nd 2.18 3rd 1.41 4th 1.00 5th 0.72 with a 56 rear with 3:55 gears behind my slightly warmed 235. It was the best improvement I have put on my car (although I'm in the process of doing bags and gambino notch so time will tell) I had the PG rear before and everything is much better with the T5. Check T5 post by Flat Ernie to get all the info on what to look for when you go "shopping".
Those motors made max hp around 3400 rpm and max torque at 1200-1300 rpm, i'd think you'd be able to run it all day long between 2250 and 2500. What you may run into is that there isn't a tranny / rear end combo that will give you what you're looking for at higher speeds and still have a low enough gearing to get you going from a dead stop. So you may have to find a happy medium otherwise you could end up "over gearing" the car. There's a decent calculator at http://www.angelfire.com/fl/procrastination/rear.html that will let you put in some info like tire height, tranny gear ratio (.86 or ?? for your overdrive) and a gear ratio you're thinking about .....3.73..3.55 or ????. When you hit the calculator button it will show you estimated speeds for rear ends with ratios from 2.59 through 4.56. Hope this helps, btw...you probably won't find the tranny and rear out of the same rig...the rear will be out of a 4x4 so the tranny would be set up with the transfer case. The tech section has a ton of links on that and T5's http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169265&highlight=t5 Happy Hunting....
I've got a 51 chevy with a 216 with a T-5 from a 80's S-10 and a 3.73 from a 4x4 Bravada. It has 215/15 tires and runs 2000 at 60 and around 2700 at 70 mph. Speedo not hooked up but we used a tach and a gps to get the speeds. The t-5 is the best improvement you could do to that car to make it more drivable.
According to a ratio calculator, 7.10 tires, .72 5th gear, and 3.08 gears you'd be at 1996 rpms @ 75mph.... that'd be really good mpg's!!
thanks for bringing this up, I,ve been thinking of what kind of trans I want for my 39 chevy,it has a 261. I guess I wouldnt have a problem with a 5 speed.For what its worth I think a Chevy 3 speed OD would be a good way to go with a 216, you will have 6 gears to use and it bolts on.
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