I have a 1962 235 going in a 54 Chevy truck, have the transmission it came with, but looking for options and opinions on what trans combo you ran (bellhousing, clutch etc).... Even what gear ratio you ran in the rear. This will be a daily driver, would like overdrive or 1:1. thanks!
T5 behind 235 in my 53 chevy belair..One of the best mod's i've done to a car to date. Mine's a bit different in that i used an adapter to use the stock pass car bell and clutch. I got mine from Buffalo Ent. I don't know if he make's them for truck's or not, might be worth looking into considering the ease of the swap and that it was under 150... I used his adapter, and all the stock clutch linkage, bell, flywheel and pressure plate..The only non stock item was the clutch disc itself (and transmission ). I had a new disc made locally with the T5 spline and the 53 disc dia.. If he dosn't, you could use the later truck bell..I believe '62 and later?? Tony
700R4 in my 54 belair.......mid 20's per gallon....best thing anyone could do to a stovebolt. 3.73's in my rear, and it's a very happy car cruising at 75+
Aftermarket T-5 behind one and 200R4 behind another. Stovebolt will live forever and the overdrive keeps from winding it out.
1948 and newer truck bellhousings do not need an adapter plate, as they have the standard Chevy tranny bolt pattern and input collar diameter. Same goes for '55 and newer car bellhousings. For a '54 truck, use your stock bell, flywheel, fork, throwout bearing, pressure plate and pilot bushing. Any standard Chevy pattern tranny with a 4 11/16" input collar will work, only thing that may need to change is the clutch disc, depending on the input shaft spline count and diameter. A custom disc is not always necessary. To take advantage of the later trannies like the S10 T5, you wll need to convert to an open driveline. My '53 truck has a '60 261, V8Camaro/S10 hybrid T5, '57 car rearend with 3:55 gears. I am very happy with this combo, but it would probably be a little better with a 3:70 gear. I would suggest for overall useage, that you find a mid 80's S10 T5 with 3.76 first gear, and a rearend with a 3:42 to 3:73 gearing. It will take off from a standing start very nice, and it will handle the interstate without a problem. If you want to save some money, a regular 3spd is fine with a stock engine, but you'll want a rear gear between 3:08 and 3:55 to get the highway speed without excessive engine rpms due to not having overdrive. Same goes for a 4spd. An iron saginaw with around a 3.50 first gear would be a good choice, again with 3.08-3.55 rear gear. There is a 4 spd with 4th being OD that was used in full size Chevy trucks, from about '81-85?? It is a version of the Mopar A-833 used behind slant sixes. Sometimes called a MY6. It was used with a standard Chevy bolt pattern as well as a bastardized pattern. Some were all aluminum case, some were iron/aluminum. If you want to keep the enclosed driveline, I would suggest keeping the stock 3spd and get a 3:55 gear set from Patrick's. He also sells a kit to convert an iron saginaw 4spd to enclosed driveline. You have many ways to go on this, enclosed or open driveline is the first thing to decide, then what tranny to get. Then the rearend type and gearing. Any engine mods, especially the camshaft profile, can have some bearing on what choices to make with gearing.
T5 bolts to 55-up car bellhousings and 49-60 truck bellhousings, you may need to shorten the input shaft to make it work. It bolts to the 61-2 truck bell but there's some kind of issue with the hydraulic clutch those use that keeps it from being an easy swap. Or maybe the bolt pattern changes... I just don't remember.
Its all bolt on. I am going to run a Corvette (C3) clutch kit which has a clutch disc that works with the T-5. My T-5 is form an 80's IROC Camaro. It bolts to the 3 spd Bell housing. The Cluitch kit bolts to the 235 flywheel. Use stock 235 Clutch linkage. The S-10 tail housing moves the shifter forward and can be put onto the IROC trans if needed. Let me know if you have more ??? I'm In Farmington Hills
I put a 3.50 1st Saginaw in mine (54 210) with a 2.93 Nova rear. I did this before the T-5 trend. I'm really happy with the combo, the 235 is torquy enough that 4 speeds is plenty. And I had the rear. So no cost there. If I was doing it today I probably would do the T-5 and a lower rear. If I had to buy everything. I'm using a 58 PU bell, flywheel, PP, disc. Fabricated clutch linkage cause it was a PG car. Nova driveshaft fit and also hand brake hooked right up. Frank
Thanks ALOT for the input... I have a 1962 235, the bellhousing, fly wheel and clutch are I believe from that motor originally. I am interested in the Buffalo company you mention... may save time adapting a T-5. I have a T-5 out of a camaro, but it somehow got a bent input shaft, so that will need attention. I will consider all opinions and options. I am looking for a reliable, practical drivetrain for this truck, as it will the the ever so popular "shop truck"... basically daily transportation. Thanks again guys
Look's like you won't even need an adapter from Buffalo..Use the 62 bell and do what Snarl mentioned..He's got some good info there that should get you going with the T5..
Well I just need to fix the bent input shaft. Hate to cannibalize a good tranny for the input shaft, but may have to.
Vendettaautofab, You didn't say what the bell is out of (car or truck), but you should be looking for a 54-59 truck bellhousing, as it will have the right corner mounts for your frame. Then put a mount under the front motor plate, just like they did in '54. No mount needed under the tranny.
Zumbrota Bearing and Gear has some good prices on parts. An input shaft is around $45 as I recall. There may be other places just as good, but I have only delt with Zumbrota.
I'll second them as well. Bought a bunch of stuff for Borg and Muncie 4 speed's..Alway's good service and never a problem with the parts.
Thanks, I will look into that, as I need an input shaft before I go any further. Thanks again for everything
The bellhousing you'll need has the angled lower corners. 54-59 all trucks, and 60-62 forward control models apparently also used it. Casting numbers 3837001, 3826862, and 3817709. Not possitive, but it may also be possible to use one from a 55-57 car, as they also had the angle corners, but I don't know if the holes and the angles were the same or not. Here's one for reference http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...m=120282573888&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=002 It's really from a 54-55 based on the casting number... Also, if you want to use the foot pedal starter, you'll want to look for the 54-59 truck variety.
I am hitting the jack-pot tonight. Second amazingly informative post for my 54 plans.....thanks guys!
3 on the tree baby.....torque-tubin still. i dont think its gonna last too much longer though. My new 235 is a bit hot-roddy and is eating thru this tranny. 2nd gear talks to me...." wah wah wah......" 1st and 3rd are still quiet but its not long for this world. i have both a saginaw 4spd and a t5 available. i kinda want the 4spd but the gear split is nicer on the 5 spd.
<style type="text/css">!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --></style><meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.0 (Linux)"><meta name="CREATED" content="20090709;21263200"><meta name="CHANGED" content="16010101;0"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --></style><meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.0 (Linux)"><meta name="CREATED" content="20090709;21263200"><meta name="CHANGED" content="16010101;0"> <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> My truck has a 235 with a 4.11 rear from a 77 Camaro. I had a Saginaw 4-speed and it was a little low geared. I changed to a t-5 and it improved the drivability. I used a stock 9 1/8 clutch from an s10 part# CP4190V
I'm running an old saginaw 4 speed with the torque tube and stock rear in my '54 pickup. The motors a '58 235. I got the tailhousing and shaft from patricks. I like it. Give patricks a call.
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