Do you want to run a mechanical speedometer and need the forward shifter location? If so you will want a pre 1989 (I believe) S10 trans. After that all S10' s became electronic speedometer. After 1994 they are all world class with 26 spline input shafts and the smaller (ford?) Bolt pattern. .86 is the typical ratio for 5th although I believe that there are some versions with a greater reduction then that. If the shifter location doesn't matter then a mustang or Camero transmission will have more car-like ratios. The electronic/mechanical speedometer year/usage breakdown will need to be addressed by someone else as I don't know much about mustang/Camero's. First gear in an S10 trans is low, works good for burnouts, other then that I typically just start out in second gear. I'm operating a bit off of memory here so I may be a year or so off one way or another. There is a spreadsheet online that breaks it all down by year usage ratio etc.
What engine are you running. An S-10 trans works great with a Flathead. If your running something other than a Flathead then you’d want to go with the world class trans ( V8 Camarillo or Mustang). On those you’d want to put the S-10 tail shaft to move the shifter forward.
i go with deuces comment. the fords have better ratios. search this forum for "the ultimate t-5 swap article."
Mine is not together yet, but I have collected a few parts. I have a NWC S10 4x4 transmission and a 2.95 gearset Camaro NWC transmission I will frankenstein together to create a close ratio S10 transmission with an adapter from Vintage Metalworks to use a closed driveshift. http://vintagemetalworks.blogspot.com/
I used a 92 chevy S-10 [v/6 truck] behind the 59 AB in my old 33 ford pickup. Used an Offy kit [sold by Speedway Motors] to adapt it. My truck already had an open driveshaft 46 Ford pickup rear. If I had it to do again. I'd use a higher rear gear. The truck rear axle used 4.44 gears. It would go 65-70 on the interstate in 5th gear but it was buzzing the old flathead.
This will let you know what that ID tag goes to. http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Borg-Warner-T5-ID-Tags.htm
There are two major ratio sets in S10 T5s. One has a very truck-like 4.03:1 first gear, and a barely overdrive, overdrive. That number is for the other one. With a better first gear, and overdrive, and a mechanical speedometer. That's the one I look for for lower output engines, like flatheads and inline sixes
You do know TREMEC makes brand new T-5s so we don't have to pull 40 year old junk yard trans out of beat on old cars for our builds? I wish someone had told me this before I went the junk yard route on my roadster.
Well...no. But the one I bought for that price (and built my car around AND paid a guy to go through it to make sure it was proper inside) doesn't work all that well. I would have rather spent the extra and had a better trans. Now I get to take it all back apart someday and rebuild it...again! I would buy the new one at this point but the shifter on the new one comes through the floor in the wrong place for my car.
S/T Truck 4.03 Gearset: 010, 012, 013, 014, 033, 042, 043, 055, 056, 057, 058, 146 1st - 4.03 2nd - 2.37 3rd - 1.49 4th - 1.00 5th - 0.86 S/T Truck 3.76 Gearset: 107, 108, 110, 136, 145, 186, 191, 192, 193, 201 1st - 3.76 2nd - 2.18 3rd - 1.41 4th - 1.00 5th - 0.72 The 4.03 gear set was intended to go behind 4-cylinder engines. GM did not have a high level of accuracy with transmission installation on the line, or with service replacements in that era, so check the tag. The 3.76 gear set should have been behind a V6. The 145 unit had some of the highest production numbers, so they tend to show up more often. Also, a whole mess of websites are copied from each other, as are some publications, and they are flat-out wrong about what went where. So check rotations. Bring a Sharpie marker. put a line on both the input and output shafts. Shift into 1st. Turn the input shaft and see how many times it takes to turn the output once. If it is at, or just over 4, thank the seller for their time and move on.
Uh, I rebuilt one in 2-1/2 hours, with mostly common hand tools, and a Youtube video. It has about 20,000 miles on it since. Still fine. My suggestion is to do the same.
$125 on half price weekend at PicknPull when I got mine. But that was 6-8 years ago, don't know how many would still be around. Cleaned it, slammed it in, works perfectly. Speaking of which, might be this Labor Day weekend...
The WC T5 I chose for my FH is a local 6 cylinder Ford model. Good ratio combinations and a shorter than V8 length input shaft which kept it a little closer to the engine ...... I also have an early S10 mechanical speedo tail housing attached to it. Similar ratios are also available in certain USA vehicles too. http://www.britishv8.org/Articles/Borg-Warner-T5-ID-Tags.htm Falcon 4.0L I6. 3.25 1.99 1.29 1.00 0.72 Reverse 3.15
I recommend you do some serious research and LEARNING about T5's in hot rods. Next, figure out what type of driving you will MOSTLY be doing with the car. This will determine what gear set will work best. If you like to drive fast and quick, check out the #202 gear set. T5's can be adapted to almost any engine so that is not a problem. Start with a world class unit. They are rated up to 335 ft. lb. of torque. Plenty for most hot rods. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF GEAR COMBINATIONS AVAILABLE FOR T5's. I do not recommend buying a wrecking yard unit and just bolting it in. The tags do not always indicate what is inside. Consider having a transmission shop assemble a unit for you out of reconditioned parts. Most shops will furnish a warranty on these. If there is no transmission shop in your area, try and locate one that is within driving area. If that doesn't work resort to the phone. Talk to them. Tell them everything about the car and type of driving. You will find that a short throw shift adapter with STOPS is necessary in a 40 Ford. You will have to use a relatively long shift stick (14 to 15 inch) and an original type shifter will give you a miserable 10 inches between 1 and 2. A short throw adapter will get you about 4 inches.. By going this route, you can have any type speedometer drive, shift stick location and gear set you want along with a warranty. These transmissions, set up right, can be one of the most fun things you can do with your clothes on. (if you decide to go this route, tell the shop to install an extra half of a bearing shell in the tail housing to give the slip yoke more support and put a street "L" in the oil fill hole in the side. This raises the oil level in the transmission 3/8 inch which helps prolong life.)