The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop T5 Trans Selection

I'm going to my first swap meet this weekend and would like to find a T5 tranny for my '66 Chevy truck. I'm told I should look for a 83-87 S10 that used the 2.8L engine. Is there a way to determine that at the meet?

I realize I could easily come home with something that wouldn't work at all.

Tom Langdon was going to fix one up for me about a year ago, and I had some unexpected surgery. Almost embarrassed to call him now....

This site has a T5 tag identifier. Won't tell you gear ratios. T5 tag identifier

Ol' KCMongo has a PDF listing of tag numbers and the respective gearing. T5 tag numbers and gears

I think it'd probably be best to physically run thru the gears and count revolutions as sometimes you'll not be able to read the tag numbers. At least 1st and 5th gears. Takes the guesswork out. You know exactly what yer gettin'.
-David
Kustoms-and-Sleds

When looking for a t5 you need to consider what cluch you will use, most s10 had a 14 spline input, v8 t5 have a 26 spline, ford uses a 10 spline and the input shat is longer. There is a good article at www.inliners.org under tech tips that will give you a little insight on this and there have been numerous discussion on this if you use the search tool.

wouldn't one from a 4.3 be better?

Zenish,
I'm not exactly sure why the v6 one is recommended, although, I think it had to do with the final (5th) gear ratio being the best for highway use. Someone correct me if I'm wrong (and that happens a lot)!

Where are the tags located that are referred to in some of the publications?

The V6's had varying OD's as you can see on Mongo's list. Seems the later S10's (on the whole) had better OD's, '87-'89 and such.
The metal tags to look for are on the left side of the tail shaft housing, attached with housing mounting bolt. They're easily swapped out so beware. There's also usually a sticker on the top cover with numbers that should match the metal tag. These are pretty much the only numbers that matter when trying to identify.
Print out Mongo's list and have it handy when you're at the meet.
I used a V8 World Class T5 for my swap. I opted not to use an S10 tail housing and instead modified my bench seat to accomodate the further back shifter. I like the position a lot. Feels good. My OD is .63 which is great 'cause I've got a 4.57 rear.
You can check out pics and text of my swap from beginning to end on my yayhoo! group: Kustoms-and-Sleds
You've gotta join the group to be able to view the "Files" but, you can un-join if you wish after viewing. I tried to be as thorough as I could with pics and info.
-David

S-10 T-5 BW's are the same for all engines. May have been 2 different gear splits, 1st gear I think.

Anyway, Shifter location to the front is from the truck. If shift tower is back by the tail it is from a car and the shifter will come up through the floor and interfear with your bench seat. If you have bucket seats, no problem.

82-88's are mechanical speedometer drive. 89-95 are electronic drives.

Use a clutch disc for an 82-84 S-10, 2.8L. It is 9 11/16-14 spline-1 inch. Close to 10 in. as we get!

Zenish,the 4.3 never came with a T-5 except for a few years of early Astrovans.The 4.3 in the S10 came out around 88 or 89 with auto only,was 91 when the 5 spd was offered.And that 5 spd was the NV3500,a more rugged unit.The 4 cylinder S10's probably had the T-5 a little longer.

Truckedup,
Does the NV3500 bolt up to the Inline sixes?

HotRod6,

That's good informations!! Thanks

Yes, it bolts up to the 230-292 6's using the intergal clutchhousing on the NV3500.But.......it has an electronic speedo drive,which can be fiddled with,originaly had a hydraulic clutch,so that needs to be fiddled with and they are somewhat pricey.

OK,
So it sounds like I have a couple of choices.

1.I can wait and try to find a A833 and bolt it right up.

2. go for a T5 out of a 83-86 S10 and make a couple of minor modifications...perhaps the astro van clutch, drive it with respect, knowing the T5 won't be an extremely strong tranny, but will be quite respectable for a six cylinder.
That sound close?

I think you can go up to '89 for a T5 and get a mechanical speedo. Seems like I saw a couple '89's when I was looking. Mine is from an '89 Camaro and it's got mechanical speedo. Inliners has a good page on doing a hybrid. T5 hybrid
To make this swap worth your while, an OD of .78 or better is the way to go. Many of the earlier T5's had .86 which is not much of an overdrive. Many of the later ones had .72, .73. Some Camaro/Firebirds had .63. You can use an rpm calculator such as this rpm calc. to see the difference between .86, .72 and .63 OD's.
You'll also want to take into account what you're gonna be doing with your truck for determining gear ratios. Such as, will you ever be towing or have a bed fully loaded?
What's the ratio in your rear by the way?
-David

I think I have a 4.11 as it is a positrack. I haven't ever lifted the rear wheels and performed the check, but I'm not sure posi-track came in too many rear ends other than the 4.11 in 1966.

I'm only looking to be able to cruise at 65 comfortably. May occasionally haul something from the hardware store, but not a heavy load.

With a 4.11, I'd definitely go with .78 or better. On the outside chance you ever want to bump it up to 70mph (in California that's the slow lane), with 30" tire and .72, that'll get you around 2,300 which would be nice.
A .86 would be decent with a 3.73 rear, about 2,500 rpm.

Mugsy,

I had my son help me today in trying to determine the gear ratio. We had to lift both wheels to get it ot turn, so, posi trac, but when turning the rear wheel for two full revolutions, I got just about 3 3/4 turns on the driveshaft. Looks like maybe I have the 3.73 after all. That opens up alot more possibilities at a swap meet I'm going to tomorrow!

Good luck and let us know what you come up with!

Well Mugsy,

I guess I learned my lesson today about swap meets.Perhaps the lesson is that all are not created equal. 3 hours one way to Indy, two hours at the meet, and nothing to take home. If you wanted something for your camaro, chevelle, Nova or corvette, the meet was outstanding!

Sixizbest: I have been told many times that you CANNOT determine if a rearend is a posi by rotating the wheels. You have to remove the cover and look.

How about if you lay rubber with two wheels? :rolleyes: Cause I sure can do that!!

Well Six, don't get discouraged. Just keep an eye and an ear out. Check the boneyards, the PennySaver, Parts Trader, newspaper and ebay. It took me months to find mine. Got it on an ebay local auction here in S.D. Seller said "local pickup only" so I snagged it for $150. That's pretty good for a WC T5.
If you find one on ebay that someone's willing to ship, figure about $75 or $80 extra for shipping. If they don't specify shipping charges, email and ask 'cause a lot of people try to make extra money on shipping.
-David

Six,

Another possibility is the NV-1500 and NV-3500. They will bolt up to your 66 inline or V/8. They are from 90's fullsize Chevy trucks. They are like an automatic as the they are bellhousing inclusive. Outstanding transmissions! Have one bolted up to a 327 in our 50 Sedan Delivery. These are strong 5spd's.

Only problem on your truck is the rear x-member at the back of the engine interferes with the belhousing of the transmission. If you have the skill and you can make it work.

Otherwise the T-5 is your best bet and the easiest to install since you retain the original bellhousing and mounts! We converted a 60 1/2 ton with the T-5 and it is running 400 HP!

Does this just mean relocating the crossmember, or does a new one have to be fabbed up?

Let me get this straight!

83-87 s10 5 speed, good but wrong spine count on imput shaft. good tail housing. ok overdrive.

Camero/Firebird 5 speed better, but wrong tail housing. Better overdrive.

so you put a tail housing off a s10 t5 on the world class t5.

drill out the mount holes

get a camaro clutch with my 54 235 truck pressure plate and flywheel.

put it all togeter with adjusted driveshaft

that's it? did I miss anything?

Only the part about finding and shelling out the money for two transmissions!



Good luck.....

http://home.twcny.rr.com/schickling/1940Chevy/T5.html

William Schickling's web page includes his own experience and research on the T5 conversions. I think he visits here on occasion. You guys would not need the bellhousing mods he had to make for his '40, but I'm sure the rest will be of help. Great web site.

Big Kahuna, there's a lot of variables here. Many different GM T5's were made. An S10 or Camaro will be different input spline from your stock tranny. The easiest way to find a clutch disc is to go to your auto parts store and look in their books. In my case, I knew what size I needed so I went to Autozone and looked in their book until I found an 11x1-1/8x26. The book lists actual disc sizes for varying applications. Some T5's are 14 spline, some are 26. As for output shaft, a TH350 yoke (among others) will work. Find a late 60's-70's truck at the boneyard with a TH350 and snag the driveshaft and yoke. I used my original back half of shaft and then had the front half from the boneyard cut and both pieces balanced together. This way, if I ever wanted to install my 4 speed again, I still got my original front half of driveshaft.
If swapping tail housings, you'll need to relocate the speedo drive gear on output shaft. Check the hybrid link a couple posts up. If you've got bucket seats, the Camaro shifter position is nice. Camaro's usually had .78 or better. In my case, I got a .63.
With a T5, I think the most important thing is determining gearing that will work for you. Drive your truck on the freeway a lot (me everyday!) and you'll want a nice OD. Don't worry about input shafts, there's a disc out there that will work whether it's for S10, Astro van, Corvette, Firebird, etc.

Hotrod6, I would guess those NV's from 90's trucks will have electronic speedos?
I recall past threads mentioning installation of electronic T5 and using a conversion box. Cost for the box is around $300. Opens up more possibilities but, too rich for me, my whole swap didn't cost much more than that!
-David

Does anyone know which manual o-drive trannies came on 73 to present full-size chevy trucks besides the NV's.

It seems like there would be something else out there for the inline six that would be a bolt-in operation other than the T-5.

I don't think I could handle installing a T-5
Dano

good question..... The T5 swap sounds like a pain in the butt. It would almost be easier just to buy another engine with a trans and install that.

so all s10 trans are the same strengths,but different spline counts and gear ratios?what about input shaft lengths?

I thought the T5 swap was pretty easy actually. There wasn't anything that was a real pain. I had the 4 spd out and T5 in, in a couple days. The hard part is finding a tranny. Once you find the tranny, go buy a clutch disc with correct spline count. Compare length of input shaft and bearing retainer to old tranny, drill mount holes to 1/2" and she's ready to mount.
Zenish, the majority if not all S10's T5's will be 14 spline and are "Non World Class". Camaro T5's had both 14 and 26. The 14's generally came with the V6's and 26's with V8's. Some of the V8's (late 80's) were "World Class" and able to handle a bit more torque/HP. And yes, gear ratios vary.
As far as input shaft length, just compare with your old tranny. The only thing I had to do with mine was shave about 1/16" off the front of shaft. It probably would've been fine even if I didn't but, I just matched it to my 4 spd. I didn't have to mess with the bearing retainer or anything else. All was virtually identical to the SM420 4 spd with the exception of the 26 spline vs. 10.
-David

Tom Langdon simplified this for me once, by just using the steps shown below. He also offered to sell a completely rebuilt transmission with shifter and modifications 2 and 3 done for $500. Sounded like a good deal, I just couldn't make it happen at that time. He might still have the tranny and the deal available.....

1. purchase ’83-’87 S-10 truck V6 2.8L trans.

2. drill four mounting holes out to 17/32”.

3. cut input and front bearing collar to match your original transmission.

4. purchase new disc with matching splines and diameter to match flywheel.

5. shorten drive shaft.

go to a BIG transmission shop and have one built for you. My T5 has Camaro gutz and an S10 housing, the best of both and able to handle the HP