Does anyone know what modern 5 speed manual trans will bolt on to an older SBC? My 57' Chev has a 350 from a 76 truck, with a BW T-10 4 speed. I want something more freeway-friendly.
A T-5 should bolt up. I don't know what spline a T-10 has but a T-5 is a 10 spline. Might have to change clutch. Do a search on here, lots of info. What ratio rear are you running?
Camaro/Firebird T5. The worst you will have to do is change the clutch disc, and come up with a shifter handle that you can reach.
I know you said 5sp but in case you want to see it anyway, this is a T56 6sp made to fit 55+ Chevy V8's http://www.weirhotrodproducts.com/id2.html
How much do you have to spend? How strong does it need to be? How well does it need to shift? A 3 spd w/ od would do the same as a 5 speed. But not very strong. Lenco makes 5 speeds. Do you really need that? Lots of options in between. T5s work in a lot of applications, but GM never put them behind anything bigger than a 305 for a reason. AutoGear now makes an M22 muncie copy with an overdrive option. Gear vendors makes a divorced overdrive unit to go behind almost anything. Somebody else (can't remember the name right now) makes a gear splitter that works as an overdrive that goes in front of the transmission that fits with most older trannys. Then there are complete aftermarket trannys such as Richmond 5 speeds and Tremecs. Do some research and decide what is best for you. Devin
I think you might have to use the camaro bellhousing too. Remember the tilt of the trans on the camaro, then hyd. clutch too. That T5 is nice had one in my car, also it's small and light, not like a T56.
The tilt is in the bellhousing, not the trans. It will bolt right to a standard bell (non-big truck register): The T56 will fit fine in the '57. I have one in my 1929 Model A Closed Cab pickup, and it is channeled 4".
NV 3500 works well also. Kind of a easy set-up if you want a hydraulic clutch,,,, I happen to have one on the shelf that I am not gonna use.
T5 will work the only problem you will find is that the shifter position is farther back . You will also find first and second are real close in shifting.
I second the NV3500. I had one in a S-10 hehind a 4.3V6 about 200hp. Integral bellhousing & hyd clutch on passenger side. Should be out of the way for under cab brake boosters. It was a blast to drive with good gear ratios. I think they were used in some 1/2 tons w/ V6 also.
Devin has some good info here. If you are going to install a 5 speed you also need to look at your rear end gear ratio too. I can tell you that I just installed a tremec 5 speed with a .64 overdrive and I love it. I replaced my muncie with it and I love it. I am running a 4.44 with that .64 and a 29 inch tire which gives me 1950RPM at 70 miles per hour and 25 miles to the gallon. Got to love the 5 speed. Jay
57ChevyPilot, we're in the same boat! I have an sbc 400hp 383 in my '57, hooked to T10 trans and 3.7(I think) gearing. I bought an early S-10 trans for $100 to swap in, for better gas mileage . However, I think I need at least the strength of a Camaro V8 T5 trans. No hard launches or power shifting, so the V8 T5 should last. The S-10 tail housing has mechanical speedo. Swapping it onto a Camaro trans will move the shifter away from the bench seat. Change the clutch disc, shorten the driveshaft and I'll be cruising. The hardest part is finding a V8 T5 locally. FWIW, I can buy a GM T56 from a '97 Camaro for $500. However, it'll cost $500 for adaptor plate, a LS1 input shaft(longer), and misc. parts. Also needed is having a transmission specialist install a $500 adaptor to relocate the shifter and a corresponding clutch disc. Since I'm 66 years old, I'd have to hire someone to install the 135lb tranny. Sad, but a $500 score becomes a $2500+ project. That's why I'm choosing a T5 trans swap. I can drop the T10 and change the clutch, and my son can help me muscle the T5 into place. I should be able to complete the swap under $1K. Granted, the T56 is tons stronger(and 65lbs heavier) than a T5. If the T5 grenades TWICE, I'll switch to maybe a Tremec-5 speed or the GM T56. And I like the satisfaction of DIY. So you could install an S-10 trans, a Camaro T5 V6 or V8 trans, a GM T56, or a TKO 5-speed trans, maybe others. Myron
Not the same from a horsepower standpoint, but I've got an S-10 T5 behind the flattie in my '32 and I love it. You could get a WC one out of a Mustang GT that would handle the 350. There are some input shaft length issues but it can be done. I got lucky and picked one up at my local salvage yard for scrap price ($20). The rebuild kit was $189.00 so I've got just over two Benjamins in a World Class T5.
your 76 block is typical of any lates 50's thru early 90's LT-1 small or big bblock and the later straight six or 4.3 V-6 used the bellhousing you need. the NV3500 can be found in pickups using those engine, the earlier 5 speeds used in 3rd gen camaros & such were very weak. the later t56, 6 speed was plenty strong but make sure you find an an early one of those PRE- LS engine for hte bell to be right. I have a 94 Camaro/firebird LT-1 ,t56 trans and that will bolt right up to a 50's 283. ain't Chevrolets great for that. crossy
A WC T-5 will tolerate a smallblock at ~350HP reasonably well if you don't beat on it. It's a nice-shifting box, not too pricey, bellhousings and the like are widely available, couple different case/shifter locations possible. If you're buying a junkyard builder you do need to pay attention to input shaft length (the '94-up SN95 Mustang is longer than the Gen 3 Camarobird/Fox Mustang.) The thirdgen Camarobird WC T5s were basically Fox-pattern cases and input shafts. There's plenty of other options depending on how much wallet, tunnel room, and shifter location flexibility you've got. If you're buying new a TKO isn't a lot more money than a T-5, it's quite a bit stronger but somewhat bulkier and doesn't shift as well. The T56 6-speed has been around a while, they do turn up used, new they're about 40% more money than a TKO. The current 'Magnum' T56 is IIRC basically the guts of the OE TR6060 in an aftermarket-specific case that'll bolt to a separate bellhousing. The Toyota/Aisin R154 is a very strong box and shifts very nicely, the beefiest version of the NV3500/AX15/etc family, was used only in the Mk3 Supra Turbo, will fit an SBC NV3500 bellhousing IIRC, but it's rare to find a good used one at a reasonable price and the shifter's way at the end of the housing so unless you want to do it just to do it...
Does it HAVE to be a 5-speed? There's always the A-883 MOPAR trans they redid for use in Chevrolet/GMC trucks. Basically a HD 4 speed trans retooled so 4th becomes an OD. Anything, other than a factory trans, is going to cost $$$. Butch/56sedandelivery.
The downside to that is that it presumably shifts like a truck transmission, and you end up with big wide splits between the gears. May or may not be acceptable for a car. Ford did something similar with a light-duty version of the Toploader back in the late '70s, it was pretty fragile and the wide gear spacing made the wheezy, gutless, rev-resistant engines of the day feel even slower, though probably all they really cared about was squeezing out another 1 mpg. Detroit had given up doing any actual engineering work for a decade.
Been driving my 283 with an S10 T5 for a year now. As Heaven said...no hard launches or power shifting. Does real well. Clutch changed of course. I just went to a local clutch shop, told them the diameter and splines needed and walked out with reman unit in 20 minutes. I do have a little clutch chatter in reverse, and I found another T5 locally and swapped thinking it was the trans ...nope. Must be a flywheel or TO prob. So now I have a spare trans in case I need it someday . I also tow small vintage campers with it and no probs!
Don't know how available they are over there but you might want to look into some of the BMW boxes. The Getrag 265 seems a better option than a T5 if you are making reasonable power - will need an adapter plate to bolt up to the bellhousing though.
I'd do a Camero with a S10 tailshaft. change the clutch disc and bolt the trans on to your existing bell housing. Will also require a shortened drive shaft. I have been doing quite a few chassis set up for this trans with no problems.
what about the flywheel/pressure plate. Will one from an s-10 or camaro fit the older 76 engine. I know that's a 2 peice rear seal motor.
Dan, did you have to shorten the pilot shaft and lengthen the clutch splines, or install an spacer plate to run the S-10 T5 tranny?
One thing that may cause the chatter is.....the pilot bushing.....did you keep the orginal or change to the metric bushing for the t-5 which is metric imput shaft....a couple thous difference
I've got a T5 hybrid for my coupe. It has a V8 Camaro/Firebird gearbox and an S10 tailshaft, housing, top, and rails. The t5 transmission from the V8 Camaro/Firebird is exactly 3.5" longer than a Muncie or a Saginaw, and uses the same yoke on the driveshaft. It will fit any GM bellhousing from 1955 up, use the the same clutch fork and throw-out bearing, just change to a 26 spline clutch disc. The speedometer gear must be relocated on the Camaro tailshaft to line up with the speedometer connnection on the s10 tailshaft housing. If I remember correctly, the Camaro tailshaft is available with either a .073:1 or a 0.063:1 overdrive ratio in 5th gear. My t5 has both an s10 tailshaft and s10 tailshaft housing so no jury rigging of the speedometer gear was required and I ended up with a 0.68:1 overdrive ratio for 5th gear. Here's a good tech: T5 tailshaft swap for dummies, with pictures<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->
Excellent questions for the OP. I disagree - the RPM drop between the gears is abysmal with any 3spd. A 5 spd doesn't just cause you to shift more, it reduces RPM drop between shifts and keeps the engine in a narrow RPM range and, if tailored correctly, in the sweet spot for power/torque. So while the end result might be the same (OD), how you get there is very different between the two.
The Jalopy Journal
