Projects '51 Chevy powerglide to t5 swap

Figured I'd do a trans swap thread. I know there are a ton of them out there for 3 speeds but...I couldn't find a single one on changing from a Powerglide to a t5. I want to make this as detailed as possible down to part numbers for each item and tool sizes for each nut and bolt. I'm also going to include cost since this swap is way more expensive than it seems.

 

Alright let's get started. I picked up my '51 Belair off of a Craigslist ad in Century WV. I traded a '95 Jeep Cherokee and $1000 cash for it. I've been using it as my dd for the last year (a little over actually) and it runs perfectly. The only thing I don't like is auto trans. It's not that it doesn't work well, it's just that when you have four wheel drum brakes, it's nice to be able to use the clutch to help slow down. That's a no go with the powerglide. When you let off the gas going down any sort of a decline, you just keep building up speed. I was driving through the mountains with my kid and my brakes faded so bad I pretty much had nothing. That's when the decision was officially made to put a manual in. Now of course it would be easier (and less expensive) go with disc brakes, a factory 3 speed and keep my 3.55 rear but then I'm still limited to 55 mph or so. No good. Let's start collecting t5 parts.

 

It would be cheaper and easier to just put disc brakes on the front of it! If slowing it down is the main reason you want to change it to a stick.

 

Sounds like he wants the overdrive for highway speeds. Subscribed

 

Here's the list of things I bought so far and afterwards I'll make a list of things I still need. Now granted, I could have done this quick and easy (and shoddy) but I want to do it thoroughly so there will be no way to tell it wasn't a manual in the first place. Ok, here we go...

From the local yard:
- A t5 out of a '90 s10 w/ the 2-piece driveshaft. $291.50 including tax and a 60 day warranty.
- A rear out of a '95 Blazer 4x4 with 3.73 gears. $265 including tax and a 60 day warranty.
- A '50 Fleetline bellhousing w/ bolts, clutch pedal, clutch linkage, clutch fork and 9" flywheel w/ bolts. $180

From Rockauto (shipping not included):
- 2 Centric wheel cylinders (134.66021) $14.02
- Bendix brake shoes (ben 514) $25.79
- 2 Bendix brake drums (ben pdr0610) $53.58
- 2 Raybestos drum adjuster screws (h1566 and h1567) $10.26
- Raybestos brake hardware kit (h7068) $4.59
- Centric master cylinder (130.62113) $97.79
- National throwout bearing (146.1697C) $19.43
- Westar front motor mounts (em2091 and em2092) $6.90
- National pilot bearing (pb656hd) $4.21
- Pioneer pilot bearing (pb656) $1.39
-Dorman pilot bearing (690-034.1) $1.84
- Dorman pilot bearing (690-014.1) $1.37
- Sachs clutch kit for press. plate (1874.06) $101.79

From Napa:
- A Chevy Astro 9 11/16" clutch disc (nd4201). $39.23 including shipping and tax.

From NCA (shipping not included):
- Clutch pedal pad (4702). $6
- Clutch/brake shaft seal set (785). $8
- Bellhousing side mount set (5105-1). $16

From Chevs of the 40s (shipping not incl.):
- Throwout arm return spring (3653114). $10
- Rochester bc rebuilt carb (7007181). $190
- Pressure plate bolt set (838653). $13
- Flywheel bolt set (839756). $12

From DC Fabrication:
- Rear anti-wrap spring perches custom made to my specs for the Blazer rear and factory '51 springs. $31.44 including shipping.

From McGowan Customs:
- A '57 Chevy driveshaft. $50.

From Hotrod works (prices added shortly):
- t5 to 235 adapter
- t5 rubber mount

 

BJR you're absolutely right and I thought about that. On the other hand, Upspirate is right on too.

 

Honestly, I had the Hotrodworks adapter and the '57 rear and driveshaft from when I had my '54. Figured I may as well use them since I had them. I ended up selling the rear for a "profit" because I wanted to keep the drivetrain consistent with one vehicle. I plan on driving this car as my dd as well as all over to shows and such so ease of repairs is important.

 

Watching...

 

Alright, here's the list of s@#t I still need to buy and have done. Keep in mind, this is for anyone considering this identical swap. All these parts are not only for the trans swap but alot of them are also "since you'll have the motor pulled anyway" parts. Also, what better time to do a tune up? These are the things that'll nickle and dime ya:
- Full engine gasket set
- Differential cover gasket
- Trans/rear axle fluid
- Oil
- Plugs
- Cap/rotor
- Points/condenser
- Plug wires
- Coolant

And work that'll add cost:
- have crank nose drilled for bolt
- have 12v (10") flywheel turned
- have 6v (9") ring gear put on 12v flywheel
- have driveshaft shortened
- have intake/exhaust surfaced

 

Well you need the clutch pedal assembly for the the car but that shouldn't be hard to find.
Then you need a truck bellhousing 48/53 as car bellhousings don't have the right bolt pattern for the trans. Along with that you need the matching flywheel and clutch assembly.
Then you need a good T-5
Simple no nonsense way would be to swap the input shaft for a Jeep T-5 input shaft that is the correct length and matches the clutch. Info here http://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1044877
Then you need an open drive rear axle the right width with a gear ratio compatible with the engine an trans and having the Chevy 5 on 4-3/4 bolt pattern.
Then you either hunt down a correct length drive shaft or have one built.
I have no frigging ideal of the number or size of fasteners you need nor what wrenches outside of the normal 5/16 to 1 inch set of combination wrenches and a set of similar sockets.
As they said above a disk brake swap on the front end would cost a hell of a lot less and the car would only be down for a few hours rather than a few days.
Personally I'd do the disk swap and run it a while and then decide if I still wanted to do the trans swap.
When I was a kid we road all over the mountains in this area in my grandparents 54 tudor with powerglide and I don't remember the brakes fading but my never broke a speed limit in the 60+ years he drove. You just have to take the down hill a little slower to begin with. Caught a lot of little Brook Trout on those trips too.

 

I started thinking about my motor having a hydraulic cam. Of course the manual motors have solid cams. I was thinking of getting a 261 cam, lifters and pushrods to put in the '51 235 when I found (or should I say it found me) a running '58 truck motor that already had one in it (along with an aluminum cam gear and 848 head). The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to pick that up (14 hours total drive) and when it needs a rebuild, I'll be waaaay ahead as opposed to rebuilding my dipper 235. That's another $200.

 

Did you start at the top my friend? All the post just run through the basics and make it sound really quick and easy. It's when you really sit down and this k that stuff starts to pop up.

 

This is one thing nobody ever talks about when talking about a swap. Steering such as tie rods ends/third link and STOPPING. My car drives as stright as an arrow but i noticed a little play in the wheel. In fooling with the gearing calculator, I figured at 3000 rpm which is high as I ever want to take it, I'll be going about 90 (speed limits around here are 75 in some spots). Better throw in a rebuilt third link from the Filling Station at $150, a long tie rod at $100 and short tie rod ends at $60/pr. from Chevs of the 40s. Loose steering at 50 is one thing but at 90 (or even 70 for that matter) it can go bad real quick. Then there's the stopping thing...hit up ebay for a disc brake kit at $300 give or take a bit and Waltons for a firewall dual master cylinder (if you want). I talked to ECI and they said I could use my new single master cylinder for disc brakes and just run proportioning valves out of each port respectively. I don't know if I want to do that or not.

 

Hmmm one of your earlier posts mentioned your kid in the car and you aren't automatically going with the dual m/c?

 

Now according to the Hotrodworks trans crossmember directions, you use the rear set of holes (there are two sets) after you remove the factory crossmember. Having the powerglide, the factory crossmembers already in the rear set of holes so I'm going to utilize it instead of spending another $250. I think that covers all the parts.

 

I most likely will, but I just wanted to point out that it's not "required" even with disc brakes. Know what I mean?

 

The 51 Bus Coupe the nephew and I put together, was done along the lines of an "old school" build, right down to the stock, but completely rebuilt, drum brakes. With a mild SBC 350, beefed aluminum Powerglide/stall converter, and a 56 rear end equipped with 4.88 Positraction, the drum brakes handled everything we threw at it. Now, we never did a slolom on mountain roads where the brakes did't cool down adequately, but they never failed to slow the car down from many drag strip style passes. I wanted to go with a 4-speed in the car, but the nephew wanted one of my built Powerglides and high stall converters, and since we were building the car for him.............................................With a stock six, there's not going to be a lot of high speed driving/braking going on, so the stock brakes should be fine; personally, I'd go with a power brake booster before a disc brake swap on this kind of car. When you sit down and start making a list, like you've done, it really drives home just how much is involved to do it right. Keep us posted on the progress, and I'm sure everyone would like to see some photos of the car. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Initially I was planning on keeping the drums, and I'll have them for a while after the swap, so if they work well with the trans helping me slow down I'll keep them. It's just those times on the highway when you're going 60+ and traffic comes to a stop for no reason that discs come to mind.

 

Here's a couple pics

 

Oh yeah. I bought so many pilot bearings because they listed one for an auto to manual conversion and then 3 more. They were so cheap I figured I'd get one of each so I didn't have to order and wait to get a different one. I've read some threads that say the conversion one is necessary and I've read some that say a standard one works so who knows. Guess we'll find out

 

Subscribing to see how this turns out...


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At this point I'm trying to line up a garage to do the work in. As soon as I find one, it'll be game time.

 

Going 70 MPH or whatever speed you choose with new steering linkage is your choice, but, for me, I need to consider the possibility of metal fatigue on upper and lower control arms, after 65 years of being in service.
Getting a 1990 T5 is an electronic speedo setup, I believe, which would require more $$$ to adapt to a mechanical speedo.
MORE T5 SWAP INFO, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/transmission-t5-tech-links.169265/

 

You are correct.

 

Yup, it's true and something I forgot to mention. Theres something by Dakota Digital called the ecd100 that's a converter from electronic to cable. It's $285 at summit. When I had my '54, I had a mechanical speedo t5 to put in it. When I sold the car, I sold the trans. I looked for about a year for another before I decided to get the best one I could find a D worry about the speedo later. I have a gps speedometer app on my phone until I get it squared away

 

I will be posting a thread later today on a new GPS to cable driven system that will let you use your original cable driven speedometer.

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Can you post a link to it in this thread when you do?

 

I am about the most technology challengeed person on the HAMB, I'll try but no promises. I will be doing good if I can just accomplish a halfway coherent and readable thread. I may have to have another one of you guys help out with that

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Thread is posted but I can't link it, sorry. Title is permanent solution for speedometer driven and calibration.
Maybe one of you guys can link it.

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Before spending $285 for an electronic to cable converter, I'd do my due diligence and find another cable driven tranny.