The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Hydraulic Clutch

Have a 53 custom truck with sbc and 700r4 trans. Want to install a T5. I have the clutch pedal but no other clutch hardware. I am trying to determine how to mount the clutch pedal and associated clutch master cylinder. I'm sure many have done this....please share some details. Pics would also be appreciated. thx sojo

Well if you got the money honey, we got the time. You got your master cylinder which pressurizes your slave cylinder to actuate your clutch fork. Read all This and you will be 80% there.
If you want to copy their idea, just get some Chevy hydraulic donor parts and/or fab it up.
Mo Money

An old 60's Chevy truck has hydraulic clutch. The bell housing has a slave cylinder mount built in on the passenger side. They had SBC in them. My 60 GMC has one also but it's a BBV6. Then there are some in the 80's, possibly 84 and up Chevy trucks for donor parts.
The hard part is the pedal set up. Need a rod pushing on a firewall mounted master. The good thing is MC connects to slave with a hose but there are two linkage setups to do. The pedal to MC and slave to fork. If you get all the parts and the pedal assy and the bell housing from a Chevy donor truck, you are done. Corvettes have them too.
I would avoid the forkless units. Failures are really hard to fix.
The web says: Be careful T5 does not take high torque, rated about 280. World Class does not increase. Largest factory motor used was 305? Lots of work to install sometimes. Fiddley Diddley install. Gotta get the right set of parts. Many have done it here with no problems I guess. You will hear from someone who did very near your 1953 setup probably.
Is your T5 from an S10?
I have done a lot of motors and transmissions and I like speed and acceleration. I would leave the 700r in there. If your hand is jittery to shift something and you want the look, put in a Lokar Classic nostalgia shifter for automatics. I did that too. A 700r4 and a T5 in the same 53....the 700 will blow your shorts off in 200 feet, even if you don't miss a gear. Both are OD.

Like I used to tell my high school students, a stick shift is something to play with. Leave the automatic transmission in there and cut the pockets out of your pants. It's cheaper, you'll have a transmission that's never in the wrong gear, and the shifter you get to play with is much more pleasurable than the Lokar unit.
Jerry

So, Joe, what do ya think now?

Hey, thanks for the input....a little more info on my situation. My sbc is a 383 with mild cam and other goodies. I have a 4:11 rear with 20" tires. I currently have a 2000 converter in it that I do not like. My driving is strictly cruising....but I want the "instant" throttle response....that's why I built the hi torque 383. The trans shifting is too soon and I always seem to be in the wrong rpm range when I want the instant response and I don't care for column shifting. I have tried calibrating the governor and I know I will never get it where I am satisfied. I've worked on this truck for 8 years and can't count the $$$$. I plan to go with the Tremic 5 sp to handle the torque. If it doesn't drive like I want after all the time and $$$ invested....someone else will be driving it!

I can handle the slave mounting to the bellhousing....my issue is with pedal mounting/clutch master cylinder etc. Are you saying an early 60's Chevy truck has pedals going thru the floor? I have a 65 that has hanging pedals. I assume that I would have to use the early 60's bellhousing for the ball support? Would the T5 mount directly to this bellhousing?? Thanks to all for the responses. sojo

The Lokar shifter is a floor shifter.
The 60's hydraulic bell housing is hard to find, the clutch pedal may be easier to find. The older master cylinder is available new.
The 60's pedal assy has a rod thru the firewall right into the MC.
After about 62, the Bell housings fit most motors and trannys, don't know about T5. Adapting your bell housing like the Novak link is the best idea for that part.

Whatever you do, you will need to install a clutch pedal assy from somewhere or something that uses a MC.
The older bell housing may have starter mounting unsuitable to your motor. Study/find a 84 and up truck hydraulic system. Find someone parting out and see if the pedal assembly can be incorporated into your truck.
Maybe a stock 50's pedal can be adapted after you see how the clutch push rod on the newer truck operates.

Keep in mind that the bell housing/slave/fork setup does not have to be from the same truck or the same era as the pedal/master cylinder. They connect via a hose. There are universal hoses available.

Food for thought/commentary, not criticizing:
You say "high torque 383" and the web says no for T5 use over 300 ft lbs. You are higher than that. There was a reason Chevy only had them in 305 V8's. S10's were V6's.
Some ford T5's and aftermarket modified T5's handle higher torque.
I think you need to read and study the work necessary and the strength regarding a T5. You have a gear crushing 4:11 with possibly large tires. You can't sell the truck with a busted T5. It is a relatively light duty tranny. Be warned.
Talk to an actual expert on automatic transmissions and get the proper converter for your "cruiser" that needs drag racing throttle response. It can be done.
This is just info. I do what I want to do in my trucks and you should also. You do want to be happy. If T5 is the ticket, I'll help with anything I can. No more winning from me. I am not a T5 expert by any means. I do read a lot. That can be good and bad.

Sojo, move your question to the HiPo Forum. The guys there deal with modifications all the time. Someone will have the solution. Sounds like a great truck (streetrod) and a fun ride.

There is a fellow on many forums called CaptainFab. He knows all about Chevy brake and clutch conversions, power steering, etc. He makes any and all pieces you need, can tell you what other pieces to get, how to do it, is honest and good prices. He IS your man for this.
PM me if you want to contact him.

The early 1960's master cylinder for the Chevy hydraulic clutch is a double-chambered unit that also operates the brakes. If you want a stand-alone master cylinder for the clutch, use a mid-1960's Dodge pickup clutch master cylinder and fabricate your own pushrod from a set of hanging Chevy pickup standard shift pedals. The MOPAR slave cylinder can also be used to operate a regular Chevy throwout fork.

The no-pocket pants still sound like a better option!
Jerry

There is a single on Classic Truck Parts site for 60-63 and 63-66. Wilwood has a universal MC for less, albeit smaller bore.
If you do your own, you will need to be familiar with stroke, bore, volume, area, pivot points and pedal stop. If you buy a kit, most of that is covered and the stroke is stated. The push rods on the MC and slave are adjustable somewhat. Not a big deal just FYI.

Thinking outside the bottle, I say you can use a 64-66 pedal assy. Even though it is not hydraulic clutch, just use the brake half as the clutch and modify it's rod for a single 60-66 MC. Remove the clutch pedal and modify the mounting bracket to fit up and under. Since the brake rod is made for a MC, maybe no mod to it at all. It will never know it's on a clutch.
Ebay example Just to get the thoughts going to think of options.

How do I move this to HiPo forum? thx sojo

Just ask SWEET (he is the driveline forum moderator) to move this whole thread over to the HiPo Shop Forum. Use the Private Message function to send him a direct message.