I have a '53 Chevy car that I ended up putting in a '55 235 and 3 speed in. The car had the orig 235 3speed combo.I also had to do an open rear so I did a late 80's s10 4x4 rear in it. The 3 speed and rear end don't allow highway speeds at all so I have an s10 5 speed I want to use. HRW sells the adapter to mate the t-5 to a 235. My question is this; I want to use my stock clutch linkage so I was told to use the '53 235 belhousing and put it on the '55 235 and then the '48 - '54 adapter plate from HRW. Does the belhousing off my '53 235 bolt onto the '55 235 without mods?
The 53 bellhousing will bolt to the 55 block, no problem. Will the adapter work with that bellhousing? You might ask these questions to the adapter manufacturer. The transmission bolt pattern on the 53 bellhousing will be different than the 55 bellhousing. You might have to use a pre-55 truck bellhousing. If you use the earlier bellhousing, you might have to change the flywheel and starter. If you do some searching here, you might be able to answer some of your questions.
If you use a later bell housing (58-62) you won't need the adapter. But if you used the hdw adapter you use all the same linkage and pedal just like stock
I told them everything i did to the car and he suggested i use the '53 belhousing so that i can use my stock clutch linkage. They have 2 different adapters, '48-'54 and then'55-up. I went with the '53. As far as a clutch, it supposed to be an s10 clutch. He said that there will be detailed instructions that come with the adapter on what clutch and other parts needed. Thanks for the info on the belhousing!
The instructions that come with that plate are very detailed. If you have a napa around you can get a s10 clutch disc that will bolt right in.
Yep S-10 disk and the early pressure plate . Altogether this setup shouldn't be all that confusing to put together.
How did the S-10 4X4 rear end work out for you? I'm thinking of installing one in my '41 Chevy Sedan. What springs did you use? Thanks...
The rear end worked great. its the perfect width. the stock springs are still on my car, for now. Yetiskustoms hat some plates that he made to run the u bolts through below the springs with the axle on top. The only mods to the rear end was to cut off the stock spring plates that mounted the s10 below the springs on the 4x4 truck. I know that there are a few kits out there for lowering the rear with new springs, shackles and perches that mount an open rear in the cars. depending on your budget, time and skill, you could do it yourself.
Well with my budget, plenty of time and lack of any real skill's it should be a perfect project for me... Thanks
I'm gonna have a chance today to get those pics for ya1stGrumpy. Sorry for the delay. I got the adapter and crossmember for my t-5 last night so now I'll just get my '53 pressure plate/ belhousing, a new s10 slutch and machine the bearing retainer and it'll all come together. Thanks for all the info everyone.
Here's the pics 1stGrumpy. Sorry it took so long. The car was too low to get a good pic. Had to wait till I got it on the lift to do the trans swap.
Here is a pic after I removed the old '55 Belhousing. This is with the '53 belhousing bolted to the '55 235 motor (bolted right up!), used the '53 starter, flywheel and pressure plate. Put a new '85 S10 clutch disk in it. This shows the HRW adapter in place. Pics of the trans installed with the HRW crossmember installed will come today. Yetiskustoms (here on The HAMB) helped me with all this. Today we'll shorten the drive shaft, swap out the yoke, hook up the stock '53 clutch linkage and then make a shifter for it. I really have to say that the HRW stuff (adapter and crossmember) is awesome. These guys build an awesome product. Everything fit without any flaws. Thanks guys! Can't wait to get out on the road and drive 65+!
I used the HRW adapter. I used everything from my 50, stock bellhousing, linkage, pressure plate, throwout, everything. Just used an S10 disc. I used the adapter and couldn't be happier, Many miles on it and no issues, well worth the money.
I would be really worried about those lower spring plates. How thick are they? They look super light to do the job they are doing, as well as being a shock plate. Also some major scrub line issues there. Search, there is a thread on here about some nice lower plates with the nuts moved up to the sides of the spring, and a lot beefier as well.
Thanks for the heads up. I'm putting my 15" black wheels and wide whites on tomorrow. Should help a little with the scrub line. I'll look up the thread for those spring plates, maybe they'll enable me to stay low but ditch the 4" blocks. I'm diggin the tail dragger stance.
I have to agree with Greaser815 - For safety considerations , the plates should be at least the same thickness as the shock mounts for sufficient strength . There seems to be a slight curvature in the present plate from tightening of the u-bolts ?
I'm really looking at re-doing my rear suspension setup. I don't like having blocks and using the stock springs (what's left of them). I saw a thread where the spring mounts were moved to the inside of the frame. The axle is sitting right on top of the springs and it sits really low, no bags! I have a new frame I'm rebuilding for my car and will probably do a similar setup. Here's some pics of the t-5 installed. Wow what a difference.
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