Projects '51 Chevy powerglide to t5 swap

Anytime.

 

Got my new steering components in and greased. I also got the holes drilled in the timing cover for the motor mounts. I just did them by eye and they line up perfectly. I put the motor in the car today to fire it up and see how it runs. It ran great as long as I was pouring gas through the carb. I think it had a bad fuel pump so I swapped the one from my old 235 on to it, since I know it works. I tried to put the whole setup in without cutting the crossmember but no dice. The damn clutch fork got me hung up on the e-brake bracket for like 20 minutes too. I wish that thing unbolted off the frame.

 

Got a ton of work done over the last couple days. I got the rear/torque tube out, the trans crossmember removed, the motor/trans in, the clutch linkage hooked up, rockers back on and adjusted, fuel line reconnected, bellhousing side mounts bolted on, and all the wires hooked back up to the motor. I hate the way the s10 shifter angles back so far. My buddy has an oxy/acetylene setup so we heated the top curve in the stub and, using the shifter handle, straightened it up a bit. With my angle on the motor, using the bellhousing mounts as my guide, the plate I made for the trans mount lined up exactly even with the bottom of the factory crossmember after I cut the center out. Unfortunately I can't raise the car to tack weld or box it all in due to the rear of the trans being supported on a jack stand, so I ended up ordering a Waltons crossmember. Then I started thinking...thats a long way from the timing cover mounts to the trans mount. After all, the Hotrodworks adapter is aluminum and pretty much the center support of the entire assembly. Have any of you used the same mount setup with success?

 

The plate you bought is made from 7075 Aluminum. It has a tensile strength of 83,000 psi. It is stronger than mild steel.
Many others are using this same setup with no problems. Including myself. Use it with confidence!

 

Yes, on numerous occasions, with success, both then, and ongoing. Hot Rod Works makes an exceptionally high quality product.

 

https://core-shifters.com/pages/shifters

These take any Hurst stick, of which there are bazillion.

 

I ended up heating the s10 shifter stub with a torch and straightening it up a bit. It's better but im going a little bit more I think. Here's something I never thought about until today, unfortunately. U-joints...I'm using the s10 t5 trans yoke and of course the s10 rear, but with a '57 Chevy driveshaft. I know the '57 shaft uses 1310 u-joints but I can't figure out what joint the s10 shaft uses. The trans is an '89 and the rear is a '94 or 5 s10 Blazer if that matters. If someone knows the conversion joint part # that would be ideal.

Edit...I figured out that the s10 shaft has 3rl (S44) u-joints in it. The conversion joints I got are Moog 372 (or a Dana/Spicer 5-3022-1X) for $20 a piece

 

Sounds like you are on top of it. What clutch disk are you going with?

 

You can get a "combo" joint, or you can just get a 1310 yoke for the T5. I try to avoid combo joints, so I can carry a single spare/am more likely to find a replacement on-the-road.

 

I got it from napa..ND4201. It's a 9 11/16". I wanna say it's from an astro van but I'm not 100% sure.

What does a new yoke cost? I guess I'd still need a combo joint at the rear though. I wonder how much it costs to just have a full custom shaft built?

 

Does anyone know how long of a shaft is needed? I have the t5 with the adapter and I'm using factory rear springs with my s10 axle moved back an inch and a half. I have a '57 Chevy shaft and it would be awesome if it would work without shortening. I got quoted $140 + to shorten/balance it on top of the $40 for the conversion u-joints

 

I got quoted damn near exactly that for having the S10 driveshaft shortened. Doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

 

It doesn't seem too bad but if I can save that much, I would love to

 

$57. for a 1310 yoke.

If you are using the S10 rear, the stock yoke takes the same joint as the stock S10 T5 then you need a drivehaft that has 3R joints at both ends. If you want to use the '57 shaft (if it fits) you would need a combo joint at both ends. Not a big deal.

If you find an S10 shaft at the yard, and have that shortened, you won't need combo joints.

You really should measure. Not every setup is exactly the same. This is an instance when 1/4" can make or break an installation.

 

The driveshaft is done. It came in at 49" exactly. Now for my new issue. I had everything back together, everything. The absolute last thing I did was pour the coolant in. That's when I noticed it leaking right back out, in front of the flywheel. I'm thinking it's the freeze plug in the center of the rear. Now, I'd like to pick one up to replace it before I get into the job of pulling it all apart, so I dont have to stop half way through to run to the store. Does anyone know what size it is on a '58 235? My '51s is two inches but I've read they're bigger on the later motors.

 

Great thread. Very helpful and thanks for posting


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I'll add much more later tonight...stay tuned

 

Well folks, I have a brutal rear main seal leak so there's not much driving going on. I drove it for about a half hour and it runs beautifully. Here's a video I made that goes over it. Enjoy.

 

I drove it again today, just to see what would happen. No oil came out of the flywheel cover where as the first time I drove it, the oil came out of the hole in an almost steady stream. The dipstick still reads full as well. Now, when I got the motor, it had the non vented four hole valve cover with a 216 style filler cap, so no breather. Is it possible that the oil was pushing past the rear main seal due to the motor not having proper ventilation, and me putting my vented two bolt valve cover on relieved the internal pressure, eliminating the leak?

 

A little bit of blowby can cause a whole ton of crankcase pressure. Most rear main seals are not true pressure seals, just drip/splash seals.

 

Nevermind, it has a little puddle underneath it. I get my seal tomorrow so I'll get it taken care of. Let me ask you guys this...if I just undo the rear cap, will the old seal come out like a modern seal, assuming I have a rope seal? I've read to loosen all the caps to let the crank drop down but, how can it drop down with the timing cover, clutch and trans input shaft all holding it in place? I'm replacing it with a rubber seal from Best Gasket and I'm hoping that by '58 Chevy used the rubber seals in their truck motors

 

Maybe.

I wish I could give you a better answer. I have had some come right out when pushed with a plastic trim tool, with just the rear main cap removed. Others seemed like they were welded in there.

Try just the rear main cap first. You might just get lucky.

 

That's the plan, my friend.

 

Alright folks, here's my first few week update on the swap. Remember, I have the '58 truck 235, a 3.76 first gear, a .72 fifth gear, a 3.73 rear axle and 215/70r15 tires. First gear is almost useless since it only gets me to between 8 and 10 mph, but starting in second gear bogs me down. In fifth if the roads not flat, the car has a tough time keeping speed, unless I'm into the pedal which defeats the purpose of having od in the first place. With my gear selection, my intention was shifting at 2000 rpm, since that's where peak torque occurs. I found I need to shift at 2500 to maintain momentum, which of course has the exhaust screaming. The positive is that the car is more fun to drive, the compression braking is great and I can hit the highway now. I will be switching to a 4.10 rear next year in hopes of having some power on reserve in fifth and I'll start in second so I dont wind the rpm out so quickly. If I could do it all over again, I would've put a 3 speed in, kept my 3.55 rear with the newer motor and put mufflers on so I could run at 3000 rpm without getting pulled over. It would've saved me a ton of time and money. Either that or a 4.10 rear axle, which of course is what the tri-5s used with their 235/od combo. Guess Chevy was on to something with their selection of rear gears, huh? Just things to think about for those considering the same swap. As far as the powerglide swap thread, the only things I HAD to get that someone with a three speed wouldn't are a bellhousing, flywheel and clutch linkage/pedal.

 

Shifting at 2000 with a 235 is way too low. Even at 2500, it's probably too low.

Those are modern car EFI numbers.

I shift my Falcon out of first gear at 11, and it has EFI, and 5.13:1 rear gears.

Not sure why you would want to shift way before the torque peak. You should be shifting at, or just after it.

As for exhaust noise, it's not a good indicator of how hard the engine is working.

It is not screaming at 2500, it is just noisy. That's what mufflers are for.

 

The torque peak is 2000 so I based everything around that number

 

The published torque peak is 2400, not 2000, meaning you should be shifting at 2600 to 2900, not 2000.

 

How are you determining speed?

GPS? Stock speedometer? Is it calibrated?

 

I coulda sworn it was 2000 rpm but now that I know that I'm definitely going with a 4.10 rear. I have a gps speed on my phone since my trans is for an electric speedo.

 

Noticed a bit of smoking today under acceleration. I bought a quart of marvel mystery oil and poured it in, thinking maybe a ring was stuck. I haven't run it yet and now I'm having second thoughts about using it. Should I drain the oil/MMO out and refill with new oil, or will it be ok to run with it in there? I've never used it before so I don't know much about it. The bottle says to replace 20% of the oil with the mmo but it doesn't say if it should be left in there until the next oil change or what.